TMT sector holds on to City space

Figures released last week have shown that the TMT sector (technology, media and telecommunications) snapped up almost 25% of the available office space in London’s Square Mile during 2013. 

The amount of office space distributed across this sector amounts to one million square feet, according to research by JLL and DTZ. The City, traditionally the home turf of the financial industry, is increasingly being targeted by TMT companies, who are looking at larger offices and have ambitions for expansion. 

The TMT sector’s take-up level was 2% over that of the financial sector during last year, at 23%. The increase, in comparison with the year before, might only be 1% but the steady growth in numbers of companies arriving in the City is significantly more than in the years preceding the financial crisis, when just 8 or 9% of offices in this area were taken by this sector. 

The unstoppable increase in the development of media, telecoms and technology has led to greater investment in this area, and ever more companies springing up in the capital, all of which need an office or offices as their base. 

The increased dependency of modern life and work on digital communications and media, as well as the expansion of technology in all areas from transport to medical, means that jobs will continue to be created in London in this sector, while the financial industry remains somewhat cautious. 

Estimates are that London’s working population will increase further during the next ten years, from 315,000 to 357,000, while bigger and taller buildings will inevitably be required to house these new workers and businesses. 

It is also likely that the rest of the UK will witness an increase in the presence of this sector, particularly where a business has flexibility in terms of location and where rents are potentially lower with good landlord deals to be had. 

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.