The latest London Office Crane Survey by Deloitte Real Estate has highlighted that 9.7 million sq ft of commercial property space is being built in London right now.
Not only is this an eight per cent rise from six months ago, but it also marks a four-year high. This means that construction in the capital city has more than tripled since the middle of 2010.
It has also emerged that tenants have been signing more leases on new space in London. In the first three months of 2013, 33 per cent of space which was under construction had already been pre-let, the same amount of office space as six Shard buildings. This is in comparison to 2011, where only a mere one per cent of space was pre-let, whilst leasing has more than doubled in the past six months.
Anthony Duggan, head of research at Deloitte Real Estate, said: “The increase in construction and leasing transactions recorded in the latest survey reflects the improving sentiment being felt in the London office market. Importantly, a number of the ‘bellwether’ vacant schemes across London are now transacting, reducing the ability of potential occupiers to sit back and wait for conditions to improve. This is likely to add a little more urgency into the leasing market over the next few months."
Within the financial City district, 4.5 million sq ft of office space is being built; not only half of the entire total in the capital city, but also a ten per cent rise from when the last survey was carried out in November 2012. The West End meanwhile will see 1.6 million sq ft completed in 2013, the highest amount seen since 2006, whilst Mayfair will also see a large influx at 400,000 sq ft.