Metropolis Office Requirements – Q3 2014
October 30, 2014 Leave a comment
9.5m sq ft of demand
Our team here at Metropolis researched over 370 UK company office requirements in Q3 2014, representing 9.5m sq ft of office demand.
6m sq ft of this demand was for space in Greater London and 4.9m sq ft was demand for space in central London.
Demand for City of London space continued to be strong during Q3, with 2.4m sq ft required in over 60 planned relocations. Three of the top five largest requirements in the City were searches by technology and media companies. EC2 demand made up 37.5% of the total space required.
1.4m sq ft of demand was identified in the West End of London, split equally between requirements for space in London SW1 and W1. Again three of the top five largest requirements were searches by technology and media companies, with two significant searches by financial service sector companies identified.
Mid Town office demand was largely focused on London WC2, with 100,000 sq ft of the 300,000 sq ft required in this postcode attributed to media sector requirements.
Just over 0.6m sq ft of demand was researched in London’s Southbank, 200,000 sq ft of which was triggered by an energy company’s requirement for additional space in the area.
Similar to H1 results, the Banking & Finance sector is leading the demand for new UK offices, with 1.4m sq ft of requirements in the UK, just over 0.4m sq ft of which is sought in the City of London.
Requirements from media sector companies represented just over 1m sq ft of demand, a 300,000 sq ft requirement in London W1 significantly boosting this figure. Technology & Telecom sector requirements came a close third with 0.9m sq ft of demand. The law sector accounted for 0.8m sq ft of demand and the insurance sector 0.5m sq ft.
Simon Sluszny October 2014
Copyright Metropolis Property Research Ltd
Lawyers racing for space
October 30, 2014 Leave a comment
The annual London law sector report from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) calculates 33 London law firms are looking for office space. This headline figure reinforces research this month by Metropolis which has reported 31 new London law firm requirements so far in 2014.
JLL report that although the cost of prime office space is rising to £60 per square foot, the increasing costs and squeeze on available space that the total amount of space from all current London law sector requirements is 871,000 sq ft, of which 372,500 is under offer.
In the first three quarters of 2014 have been 14 transactions involving law firms, equating to 400,000 sq ft which is a slight drop on the same time last year. Firms agreeing deals recently have included Macfarlanes, Mishcon de Reya, Howard Kennedy, Davis Polk and Ropes & Gray.
JLL have identified a trend for companies to look further ahead. Traditionally law firms would start planning 2-3 years before the end of a lease, but because of an impending development squeeze in London, this could rise to as much as five years. The longer time periods also enable firms to influence fit-out.
Looking ahead, Metropolis is discussing future lease expiries with firms such as Dechert (60,000 sq ft), Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (60,000 sq ft), Plexus Law (30,000 sq ft) and Mills & Reeve (10,000 sq ft) which could prompt further searches.
Filed under Market Comment, Metropolis Market Reports Tagged with JLL, law sector, London, office space, requirements, searching, sq ft