Tech Companies Drive Post-Brexit Demand For London Office Space
Demand for office space in post-Brexit London was well above the long-term average in Q3, according to a new report by Knight Frank.
Between June and September, office searches in the central business core exceeded 9.5M SF, way ahead of the long-term quarterly average of 7.9M SF. Demand is being driven by the tech sector, with Spotify, Expedia and Deliveroo all looking for space in London.
Take-up in Central London in the third quarter totaled 2.7M SF, a 15% increase on the previous three-month period. This figure was buoyed by Apple’s pre-let at Battersea Power Station, acquiring a new 500k SF London headquarters, with Knight Frank advising the landlord. Apple’s deal is the biggest pre-let to kick-start the development of a new district in Central London since the 1980s. It is second only to Credit Suisse’s pre-let at 1 Cabot Square, which initiated the development of Canary Wharf.
Other notable transactions in the third quarter included US bank Wells Fargo acquiring 225k SF at 33 King William St, and WeWork letting 65k SF at Aldwych House.
