Demand for office space in the City of London is stalling, a study reveals, amid signs of a faltering economic recovery and a shortfall of available space.
According to a report from market researchers Equipe, the last six months was notable for no offices larger than 50,000 square feet being leased.
The downturn became even more marked in the most recent quarter when the total office space leased in the capital’s financial hub slowed to a level last seen in 2009.
Other parts of London performed much better. Perhaps most notably in east central London, where take-up from tech and media companies saw office space leases in Farringdon rise 125 per cent.
Meanwhile, the EC1 postcode as a whole experienced a surge of 30 per cent.
Experts attribute the surge in demand in eastern central London to the more compact office space options available in the area, as well as relatively low rental prices on offer.
Central London office space take-up was also up by ten per cent, driven by Double Negative’s move to Portland Place.