Lease break and expiries in London's office market are set to rise over the next five years with up to 36.4m sq ft of space at risk of vacation, equivalent to the amount of office space in 72 Shard of Glass, SE1 and representing nearly 17% of overall office stock in the capital, according to Radius Data Exchange.
Here’s a challenge – think of a swear word beginning with O.
Alright, there’s maybe a couple of slightly edgy ones in there but nothing that will get you summarily ejected from the Long Room at Lord’s. There is one, however, that would make landlords and property agents as uncomfortable as Theresa May engaging with the general public: obsolescence.
The battle to avoid the "o" word is fought (and measured) differently across property sectors but with technological advances and occupier demands moving at an ever-quickening pace, the task for property developers and owners to stay ahead of the curve is getting tougher all the time.
The London office market stands at the heart of UK commercial real estate – and is a perfect example of how shifting sands have intensified the battle against space becoming obsolete, and why landlords have to be more responsive than ever to changing market dynamics.
Looking at lease breaks or expiries over the next five years (2019-2023 inclusive), Radius Data Exchange calculates that 36.4m sq ft across the capital is as at risk of vacation, equivalent to the amount of office space in 72 Shard of Glass, SE1 and representing nearly 17% of overall office stock in the capital.
That figure also includes more than 300 individual buildings that are at risk of having their entire footprint emptied.
If you ran an identical search in May 2010 you would see that 26.7m sq ft was at risk across the subsequent five-year period (2011-2015 inclusive), which represented just under 12% of stock.
This is primarily due to lease lengths shortening and more regular
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