The amount of London office space taken up by financial services companies increased by 85% in the first half of the year, research by Cushman & Wakefield showed.
That put pressure on rents, which have risen by 10% to a record high £66.50/sq ft this year and are set to keep rising next year.
The company’s head of central London research, Elaine Rossall, said that while 2m sq ft of office space is set to be added in the city’s financial district by the end of 2017, much was pre-let.
