Banks and other financial institutions in London are crying out for new office space, a demand that is almost certain to speed up the development of new commercial property in the area, according to industry analysts. BNP Paribas Real Estate claims that banks and similar institutions will be needing at least a further one point six million square feet of office space over the course of just the next three years, a desire that is likely to have property companies in the capital "rubbing their hands with glee", according to the head of research at property consultancy company Savills PLC, Matt Oakley.
Oakley is not alone in his beliefs, with the director of commercial property advice company DTZ Holdings, Colin Wilson, also concurring that the development of new offices in London, which has been held up by nervous developers thanks to the recession, could well be speeded up considerably by banks and other financial institutions hungering for more offices to rent.
BNP Paribas Real Estate says that employment within the financial industry is set to expand, an expansion that will inevitably lead to a need for more office space - space that, at the moment at least, just is not there. "To put it into perspective, this is the equivalent of four extra Shards or five extra Heron Towers," says the head of BNP Paribas Real Estate's Central London offices, Dan Bayley. Bayley acknowledges that the demand is undeniably "good news for the city in particular as this is where most of the banks will be looking".
