The office market in Central London has suffered a substantial slowdown, according to a new report. The Central London Offices Monthly Overview for August from CBRE shows that the market for office space within Central London has substantially slowed since the beginning of this year, a fact reflected in the take up rate in July, which dropped over all markets to just 658,000 square feet.
Just four deals for office space of more than 20,000 square feet were made in July, a number which was as much as 31 per cent beneath the average long-term trend. Deals for newly completed space did show a sharp increase, but the overall transaction figure was driven well down thanks to a fall of almost 45 per cent in the take up of second-hand office space. The majority of activity was centred firmly in either the City or the west end, with take up figures of 310,800 and 227,200 square feet respectively.
Following six months of falling availability for office space, supply did increase slightly during July to get to 13.9 million square feet, a rise being attributed to the amount of new office space that is currently under construction in London.
"Take up was very subdued during July as occupiers continued to reflect the current economic conditions and remained cautious about committing to significant amount of space," says the head of Central London Agency, Digby Flower.
