The fate of a small office in London’s Holborn in which the lift has been out of action for two decades shines a light on just how tough it has become to find an occupier for poor-quality workplaces.
52 Doughty Street, WC1, has been empty since September 2022, before which it had been home to two software companies, according to Radius data. The building dates backs to the 1820s and has been used as offices since at least the 1970s. Now, a new owner wants to convert it into a single-family home and has lodged plans for the change of use with Camden Council.
Documents from Miltiadou Cook Mitzman Architects describe the existing building as in “a dire state of disrepair” and in need of renovation. “The proposal seeks to restore the building and reinstate much of the lost historic details,” they add.
A marketing report from boutique consultancy Ashurst Real Estate paints a picture of an office that now has practically no hope of attracting new tenants. The building, which has a lower ground, ground and three upper floors, has a lift “theoretically rising to all floors”, the report said, but which has not worked since 2004 and would now require “significant investment” to mend.
The office has been advertised on multiple real estate websites since March 2023, Ashurst said, appearing in almost 47,000 searches. But it has received only 24 expressions of interest from possible tenants, nine inspections and no leasing deals.
“It is our honest opinion that a full, protracted, open-market campaign for the subject property will yield no return whilst in its current condition and specification,” Ashurst said. “We also believe that if the subject property were to be refurbished, it would attract little interest due to its configuration and location.”
The firm added: “Poor quality and poorly located offices have become almost unlettable in our experience of the market during the last three years,” Ashurst said. “The subject property falls into this latter statement and is practically unlettable in its current condition and with its current specification in our opinion.
“Even high-quality offices in the local area are struggling to attract occupiers… Demand for offices in this part of central London has dramatically fallen whereas the supply of offices has considerably increased.”
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