Refurbishment and development activity in London’s West End has climbed by 16% since January, outpacing activity in the capital’s Docklands and Midtown areas.
The overall development pipeline in the City of London also rose by 4% to 19.8m sq ft since the start of the year, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate in its autumn refurbishment and development activity report.
However, the agency also said the level of building completions in Midtown during the same period is well below the 10-year average.
There is a lack of prime office space in Midtown. UK & European’s 1 Kingsway, WC2 development was the only large completion in the district this year.
Docklands construction activity also remained low, but Canary Wharf Group’s 25 Churchill Place, E14 scheme will be boosted by a 250,000 sq ft prelet to European Medicines Agency.
Dan Bayley, managing director of central London at BNP PRE, said: “The study reveals that the property sector is responding positively to the lack of top-quality office space being experienced in the capital’s main business areas, and that London will be well placed as the economy recovers.”
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
