Office take-up in central London has staged a notable recovery over the first half of the year, with the amount of space secured by occupiers almost doubling in the City and the West End.
New figures from Savills show that take-up over the six months hit 3.1m sq ft in the City, up from 1.57m sq ft a year earlier and 13% ahead of the 10-year average. In the West End, take-up stood at 2.17m sq ft compared with 1.2m sq ft – 8% ahead of the 10-year average.
Savills said that deals are taking longer to move from under-offer to completion in both markets, but maintained that the amount of space going under offer underscores occupier confidence in the capital.
In the City, the cumulative total of offices under offer during the past four months has remained at around 1.9m sq ft, 36% above the long-term average. City rent-free periods have decreased marginally and average prime rents over the six months increased by 3% year-on-year to £83.72 per sq ft. A record number of deals (23%) achieved rents over £70 per sq ft in the first half of the year. The vacancy rate in the West End is 5.9%, its lowest since November 2020, with average prime rent steady compared to the end of last year at £119.38 per sq ft.
Jon Gardiner, head of central London office agency at Savills, said: “While some have been sceptical of the resilience of occupier confidence in central London, the H1 stats speak for themselves: well-designed, quality space is still going under offer across both the City and West End. Tenants are willing to pay above-average rents to secure the best space, with the markets skewing towards the top end.”
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