Take-up of office space in central London increased by 30% to 3.3m sq ft in the second quarter of 2017, 6% above the 10-year average, according to figures released today by CBRE.
There were quarter-on-quarter increases in all central London markets. Take-up was above-trend in the City, West End and South Bank and below trend in Midtown and Docklands.
The two largest lettings of the quarter were to co-working provider WeWork, which prelet 283,500 sq ft at 2 Southbank Place, SE1, and a 141,200 sq ft letting at 125 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2. There were a further six deals of more than 50,000 sq ft in Q2, including NEX Group taking 115,700 sq ft at London Fruit & Wool Exchange, E1.
Driven by the WeWork deals, the business services sector represented the largest proportion of take-up in Q2 at 36%, followed by creative industries (29%) and banking and finance (17%).
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