Office take-up in Holborn and the City fringe jumped 43% to 289,000 sq ft in the first quarter.
Take-up rose from the 202,000 sq ft calculated in the final quarter of 2011, according to EA Shaw.
Availability declined 1% to 1.6m sq ft during the same period.
Charlie Killen, head of commercial at EA Shaw, said: “The increase in activity in the City fringe market was due to occupiers keen to tie up deals in anticipation of further shortages of space over the next 24 months.”
Soho take-up showed a fall of 51% to 77,000 sq ft, but its Q4 2011 figure was particularly high because of large lettings at the Crown’s Air W1 scheme.
EA Shaw added that across the sub-markets it covers in central London, 700,000 sq ft of offices are currently under offer.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
