London office construction up 137% on six months ago

Drivers Jonas Deloitte publishes Summer 2011 London Offices Crane Survey

Article posted: 05 May 2011

Construction of office space in Central London is now at 6.4m sq ft compared to an all time low of just 2.7m six months ago (up 137%), according to Drivers Jonas Deloitte’s latest London Offices Crane Survey, which has recorded twenty-five new schemes now under construction.

In the City, three new towers alone will deliver over 160 floors in 2014 and construction of office space in the West End has hit a two year high with 2m sq ft and a record number of new starts.

Construction of office space in the City of London has doubled over the last six months to 2.8m sq ft with five new starts recorded, the first new activity in 18 months. The much talked about City towers are responsible for the majority of the impending space (80% of all space being built in the City) with 20 Fenchurch Street, The Pinnacle and The Leadenhall Building all scheduled for delivery 2014.

In the West End the Crane Survey accounts the largest number of new starts ever recorded in the area in a single survey. This means the West End now has the highest amount of space under construction for over two years. Thirteen new schemes totalling 1.4m sq ft of floorspace have started over the last six months bringing the total volume of office space now being built to just under 2m sq ft. This is a clear sign that developers are taking note of the low levels of Grade A space and the rapidly rising rents. At present just 8% of current available office space in the West End is of Grade A quality, therefore developers are working quickly to turn new space back into the market to capitalise on the anticipated rental growth.

Outside the City and West End, developers of office space in Midtown have also been busy with six new starts – tripling construction activity in just six months with just over 600,000 sq ft under construction.

Anthony Duggan, head of research at Drivers Jonas Deloitte, says: “This survey records a dramatic positive change in construction activity as anticipated in our last report. The race is on to deliver schemes to take advantage of the dwindling supply of Grade A space in 2012 and 2013.”

To request a copy of the survey please contact Anthony Duggan, Head of Research at Drivers Jonas Deloitte: aduggan@djdeloitte.co.uk

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Posted by Josh