February 2014

The Shard, of which 95% is owned by the Qatar Central Bank, has now let 30% of its office space to various financial and media companies, the property manager advised recently. These include the media group, Al Jazeera, the New York-based investment bank, Duff & Phelps Corp, as well as...

The London office market is becoming increasingly tighter as a lack of space and increased potential occupiers make it a very tough situation for tenants in the market. This, combined with the more relaxed planning application laws across the country, stretching into the capital have meant the market is moving...

The way we work is getting more and more important to office occupiers, gone are the days of cellular offices, large executive private offices and a small dingy sink with no sitting or break out area. Google were the first major occupier who challenged the thinking behind how best to...

This week the Morgan Pryce offices are being refurbished to present a more client-facing office, which is in line with the clients that they are meeting on a day-to-day basis. We, the staff, have been asked to be mobile in the way they work this week and to spend as...

Last year we reported on London’s position in the world office market, particularly in terms of price per square foot. Once again, for the second year in a row, the West End has claimed the prize as the most expensive office market in the world. Hong Kong, whose office market...

A collection of five properties comprising office space in King’s Cross, Camden, Highbury and Islington has been acquired recently by the London developer Development Securities plc, the company has announced. 

The Shard, the building feted as London’s tallest skyscraper, which opened in 2012 and which became a tourist attraction in its own right, appears to be slowly but surely filling up its rental space.  While some ambitious construction was put on hold during the recent financial crisis, The Shard was...

This year we are bound to see continued investment across the entire market. This will mainly be made up by overseas investors who make up the majority of purchases in Central London, but also the UK institutions are expected to be very active again. It is expected that the UK...

In an ever tightening West End office market it is becoming harder and harder to achieve good savings of the quoting terms. In the last few months average rent free periods have dropped below one month per year term certain in central West End locations. 

In the current office and commercial property market in London, landlords and investors are looking to maximise their income and returns as much as possible, and as quickly as possible. The market has now swung into the landlords’ favour due to the restricted availability of prime office space in the...