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- 12th April 2011
Office Space Market, London Guide
“London is a megalopolis of people, ideas and energy”. Wiki Travel (1)
Vibrant, exciting and rich in history; London attracts more international visitors than anywhere else in the world and stands today as a world leader for international finance and business. England’s capital is a unique blend of old and new- a collaged timeline of Roman ruins sitting side by side with contemporary high-rises and gothic architecture juxtaposed with chic stream lined towers. (2)
The City of London or the broader area surrounding Bank, Liverpool Street and Chancery Lane is where the City began in AD50 and is now one of London’s most thriving areas, home to some of the City’s tallest buildings. Heron Tower is the newest addition, designed by renowned architects KPF. Entrance into the property is through a triple height arcade with an impressive reception area, now home to Europe’s largest privately owned aquarium, containing over 1000 fish. (3)
The famous Landmark Gherkin building, also known as 30 St Mary Axe is the City of London’s second tallest building and London’s first ‘environmentally progressive’ business centre, which provides stunning panoramic views of the city skyline. The Gherkins attractive plaza with Arcadian garden is also open for members of the public to enjoy. Current occupiers of the property include Swiss Re, Kirkland and Ellis. (4)
South west of the City of London is the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Westminster, home to the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey and also one of London’s most popular places to live, work and visit. Unlike the City of London, Westminster has a surprisingly large residential population of a predominantly working class community, living in council and Peabody Trust estates at the back of Westminster Abbey and off Millbank. (5)
Westminster is a favorite spot for those searching for serviced office space through SOS> Search Office Space and it’s not surprising why. Situated only a short 10 minute walk across Westminster Bridge Road is the exciting world of the Thames River Walk; home to the Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe and Royal Festival Hall. To the west of Westminster is the beautiful 58 acre St James’s Park, filled with beautiful plants and landscaped garden areas and many wild breeds of ducks and birds.
Transport
Both the City of London and Westminster are served excellently by the underground and overground. Chancery Lane (Central line), Bank (Central, Northern, Circle, District and DLR Lines), and Liverpool Street (Hammersmith & City, Circle, Metropolitan and Central lines) are the City of London’s nearest tube stations. London City Airport is only a 20 minute train journey from Liverpool Street station. Westminster is conveniently served by both Westminster (Jubilee, Circle and District lines) and St James’s Park (Circle and District lines) tube stations.
London Office Space Market 2011
Research put together by DTZ shows that in 2010, Office space rental increased by 21% in the City of London and by 9% in London’s West End. The rises were due to a combination of rental growth due to decreasing supply of quality space and the effect of a change in local property taxes.
Globally, the most expensive place to rent office space in the world is now Hong Kong. London (City) was ranked 8th on the list and London’s West End 2nd. Geneva, Tokyo, Zurich, Paris and New York were other cities featured in the top 10.
DTZ predict that London’s West End will retain its position (until 2015) as the second most expensive place to rent office space in terms of occupancy costs per workstation. However occupancy costs outside of London will grow at a much slower pace. (6)
References:
1. https://www.visitthecity.co.uk/
2. https://www.herontower.com/
3. https://www.30stmaryaxe.com/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster
5. https://wikitravel.org/en/London