London education office take-up tops 350,000 sq ft

London office lettings for education-based occupiers reached 351,091 sq ft over the 12 months to the end of June. According to data from Knight Frank, those lettings are 8.6% above the 10-year average, although down by 12.5% compared to preceding 12-month period. The agency found that occupiers focused on the east of the capital, with almost three-quarters of lettings in two markets. The City saw 41% of education-based occupier lettings, and Docklands 32.5%. Almost 15% of lettings were in Stratford and 11.6% in the West End. The largest deal was Northeastern University taking 98,138 sq ft at 1 Portsoken Street, E1 at £50.76 per sq ft.  The US higher education institution agreed a 12-year lease for four floors in Alfred Equities’ 230,000 sq ft grade-A office building, which was refurbished and repositioned in 2021. In April, the University of Sunderland leased 95,628 sq ft at Harbour Exchange, E14. According EG Radius data, office rents there are around £27-£35 per sq ft. The university signed a 15-year lease with the Gaw Capital owned buildings at 4 and 5 HX, where it was occupying 9,559 sq ft.  The third biggest lease in the educational occupier space was Liverpool Media Academy leasing 52,300 sq ft at Here East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, E20.