East is Best?

Many people were surprised to see that take-up of London offices is up this month. With the backdrop of the economic recession and problems in the Euro zone many expected the usually resilient office market to suffer as well; however this does not seem to have been the case. Many overseas investors believe that London is an economic ‘safe haven’ for investment and the property market is no exception. London last year saw 60% of investment coming from foreign investment, really emphasising how important this group of investors is with regard to London’s property market. 

As we have noted before, the sector which seems to be driving the London office market at present is the media/technology sector. Media firms of all sizes are at the core of this London office take-up. Offices in Shoreditch over the last year have seen their rents jump from £32 per square foot up to £42 per square foot. The reason for this: media companies. 

Such companies have historically been based in Soho and its surrounding areas; however, with rents rising there they moved east and settled in Shoreditch. Tom lax, a senior agent at Morgan Pryce, believes, “Shoreditch’s rising rents is down to one thing: media firms. Shoreditch currently can offer exactly what they want, too – warehouse-feel space. The resulting influx of media firms moving east has put a strain on supply and rents have gone up. However, with this huge demand for warehouse/media-type space led by media companies, we are seeing at the same time a lack of demand for conventional office space – hence Shoreditch occupies a two-tiered market, of media space and of conventional space.”

Morgan Pryce is 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.