CBRE and JLL battled to a tie in the race to dominate London’s office markets in Q2. The two American giants took two submarkets a piece in EGi’s office agent league tables as take-up in London rose by 25% in the second quarter of the year.
CBRE was top in the Docklands and West End, while JLL came up trumps in the City and South Bank. Hatton Real Estate and DTZ came in with one each in Midtown and the City fringe.
But the two lettings dominating the market – a combined 695,000 sq ft to Transport for London and the Financial Conduct Authority – were not even in central London.
Including Stratford as a separate sub-market, JLL would lead in three instead of two submarkets. Without them, CBRE would have been top agent for disposals by a huge margin.
Rivalries aside, it was a booming three months for London offices, with nearly 3.6m sq ft let, excluding Stratford, – the highest level seen in the second quarter since 2007.
Disposals were up by 400% in the Docklands, by 30% in the City Fringe and West End, and holding steady in the City, while the number of deals nearly doubled overall, to 446. Even in markets that saw a fall, rising rents hinted at a lack of supply squeezing the figures, rather than lack of demand.
That meant agents had to work hard for deals. While space acted on rose, deal size was down in almost all markets – by 34% on average, nearly 50% in Midtown and the City Fringe and by 58% south of the river.
