Christmas will be upon before we can say “over indulgence” and 2012 has certainly been a year of mixed gifts for London.
The latest must-have expensive gadget was the Olympics which almost single handedly dragged the economy out of recession.
The small box containing some beautiful and pricey jewellery was central London’s retail market with retailers breaking all sorts of rental records to secure space in the prime locations. The hedge funds, normally the top payers for office rents tried to do the same in Mayfair but were left behind by the affluent art dealers.
However, for every rich cousin with good taste there is an aunty who likes to hand-make gifts. The badly knitted jumper this year was the sluggish take-up for London’s office market. It is safe to say that the TMT sector pretty much saved the day, filling the gap where financial services demand normally sits.
A report by the GLA into the capital’s future office requirements suggests that space-less growth might curtail some major regeneration projects or at least result in a rethink. Aunty will have to adapt and learn to use a knitting machine.
So what does it all mean for 2013? We asked our forum that very question and the answers are mixed – muted economic growth for London is the common denominator. But, in what seems like an eccentric uncle on too much egg-nog, there is one mention of “boom” in relation to residential development. Maybe this uncle is wiser than he appears, we’ll have to wait and see.
