Stratford – an emerging market

When a businesses lease come up for renewal, if you are based London the realisation you will double your occupational costs by staying put, hits home. What do you do? This is the question over 50% of Morgan Pryce’s client come to us asking.

If the company must has a presence in London they downsize as much as possible and move the majority of employees outside of central London. If the company is lucky enough to not need a London presence they can move out – but where to?

The location of Stratford will not suit those in the West End, however if you want close proximity to the East and City then Stratford is well connected. There has been significant expansion and regeneration from 2012 brought about from the Olympics, approximately 10,000 new homes have been built and a Westfield Shopping Centre is pulling in shoppers. New offices and residential buildings in the International Quarter, schools and public facilities have breathed much needed life into Stratford.

Brand new grade A office space can be found in Stratford for £40 psf, refurbished grade A buildings command rents between £25-35 psf and refurbished grade B space office space costs £17-20 psf. Rents are expected to remain low in 2016 and into Q1 2017 but as Stratford continues to appeal to businesses priced out of London we will see rents creeping up alongside demand.

For the time being low cost, good public transport and London prices will continue to draw businesses – perhaps now is the time to secure a long lease as the Stratford office market is still emerging.

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.