The provisional results of the RICS UK Commercial Market Survey have been revealed, and show that office space in London continues to outperform everywhere else in the United Kingdom. Serviced Offices in Soho are doing particularly well. The picture of the commercial property market in London continues to look considerably more positive than anywhere else in the country, while the office market is likewise looking a fair degree healthier than other sectors such as industrial and retail when it comes to both investment and occupier markets.
Perhaps most importantly, in every other sector, the outlook for values and rents in all markets other than office space remains in the negative in London, and in all sectors throughout the rest of the United Kingdom. However, while new several new developments are well underway to provide extra office space in the capital city, development of both industrial and retail sites is continuing to decline.
On the plus side however, there is a continued demand in investment all over the United Kingdom, although the office sector once again continues to be ahead of the pack. Tenant demand has risen for the third quarter in a row on a national level, but improvement remains relatively minor.
"Once again, the results of the UK Commercial Survey show a stark regional divide with sentiment in London generally more upbeat than elsewhere around the country," says the chief economist of RICS, Simon Rubinsohn. "Moreover, within the capital it is the office sector which has enjoyed the most pronounced recovery."
