Commercial Real Estate Analysis of Central London Office Space

Our quarterly review of the central London office occupier and investment markets.

There continues to be a slow but sure uptick in demand for central London offices, with the second quarter of 2021 being the most active quarter since the onset of the pandemic in terms of signed deals. Additionally, while the market continues to move relatively slowly in terms of occupiers committing to space, an increasing number of large businesses are looking to commit to office space in the short-medium term with JLL, IBM and ITV all committing to significant new premises during the quarter.

After a quiet first quarter, the second quarter of the year was relatively buoyant. Investment was close to that seen in the final quarter of 2020 and very much in line with an ‘average’ quarter as liquidity continues to increase. We also continue to see diversity in the type of deals transacting across the market, particularly with regard to core and value add opportunities. At the larger end of the market, there were ten deals that completed over £100 million.