The proportion of London office space lying vacant fell during the third quarter, in further a sign that demand is recovering.
According to a poll from NB Real Estate, vacancy rates fell by 10.1 per cent during the period between July and the end of September.
The trend means that there is currently 8.6m square feet of office space on offer in the capital, compared with 10m square feet during the first three months of 2009.
Simon Smith, divisional director of NB Real Estate, commented: “Landlords haven’t felt in a position to play hardball because, until recently, genuine demand has been so thin. In a sliding market, the benchmark is the terms you might have to accept in 12 months’ time and that has driven decision-making for many landlords in this cycle.
“The huge holding costs of an empty building, plus the pressure on landlords from their investors and bankers, are also big motivators to getting deals done.”
The City of London was found to be the forefront of the recovery, with the number of deals completed during the most recent quarter up by 240 per cent to £1.4 billion.
This compares with the second quarter when the total value of deals was just £413 million.