W1, SW1, W2, SW3, SW7, W8, NW1
Key Headlines
Gamesys signed the largest deal of the quarter acquiring the entire building (65,869 sq ft) at 25 Golden Square, W1.
The Media Tech sector has been the most active sector this year accounting for a 25% share of H1 2020 take-up, followed by the Banking and Finance and the Professional Services sector, equally taking a 17% share.
At the end of June supply rose to 2.6m sq ft up on the same period last year (2.4m sq ft) and 20% of which was tenant return space. This equates to a vacancy rate of 3.8%, below the long term quarterly average of 4.9%.
884,000 sq ft of office developments are set to complete this year, 57% has been pre-let.
Take-up
Q2 2020 WE Prime rent
Q2 2020 West End Vacancy rate
Q2 2020 West End take-up
Take-up by Business Sector
WC1 & WC2
In Midtown take-up levels reached 0.1m sq ft in Q2 2020 bringing H1 take-up to 0.3m sq ft. This is 37% below H1 2019 (0.4m sq ft) and down 55% on the long term average for the first two quarters.
The largest deal to complete was to Claranet Ltd at The Eye, 110 High Holborn, WC1 on the 6th floor comprising 8,862 sq ft. In addition to this six deals were recorded in the 5,000 – 9,999 sq ft size bracket, on par with the same period last year.
The Professional Services sector accounted for the largest share of take-up in H1 2020 at 19%, closely followed by the Services sector (16%).
Supply levels in Midtown remained steady in Q2 2020 at 0.8m sq ft, and rose marginally on H1 2019 levels, equating to a vacancy rate of 4.0%. The long term quarterly average is 5.7%.
With a further fall back in development completions, 49,821 sq ft of developments are scheduled for completion this year in Midtown.
Vacancy rates
Q2 20 Midtown Prime rent
Q2 2020 Midtown End vacancy rate
Q2 2020 Midtown take-up
E1, EC1. EC2, EC3, EC4
KEY HEADLINES
Leasing transactions were muted in the City reaching 0.5m sq ft in Q2 2020, bringing H1 take-up to 1.8m sq ft, which is 30% down on the same period last year (2.5m sq ft) and 36% down on the long term average for the first half of the year.
In addition to Covington & Burling’s deal, Q2 2020 saw Queen Mary University London acquired four floors (47,899 sq ft) at Dept. W, 81 Mile End Road, E1.
The Professional Services sector continues to drive City take-up this year accounting for a 38% share at the end of June, followed by the Banking & Finance sector (15%).
Increasing tenant return space has resulted in a rise in supply standing at 6.4m sq ft at the end of June. This equates to a vacancy rate of 6.8%, and remains below the long term quarterly average of 7.2%.
3.2m sq ft of office developments are set to complete this year, 53% have been pre-let. The largest building set for completion is Twenty, 22 Bishopsgate, EC2 which is 66% pre-let.
Q2 2020 City Prime rent
Q2 2020 City Vacancy rate
Q2 2020 City take-up
SE1
In the second quarter of the year take-up in Southbank reached 0.1m sq ft, bringing H1 levels to 0.2m sq ft. This is well below (-59%) H1 2019 (0.5m sq ft) and down 51% on the long term average for H1 take-up.
The largest deal to complete in Q2 2020 was to Avenir Global, acquiring 34,791 sq ft at Riverside House, 2A Southwark Bridge Road, SE1. The Professional Services sector dominated H1 take-up, accounting for a 35% share followed by the Services sector (15%).
In Q2 deals comprising <5,000 sq ft drove take-up in the Southbank accounting for 77% of transactions, up from 53% in Q2 2019.
Supply rose to 0.5m sq ft in Q2 up 31% on the previous quarter (0.4m sq ft) and remains below the long term quarterly average of 0.9m sq ft. The vacancy rate in Southbank is 2.5%, below long term quarterly vacancy rate of 4.6%.
Q2 2020 Southbank prime rent
Q2 2020 Southbank vacancy rate
Q2 2020 Southbank take-up
Take-Up
E14
Docklands take-up reached 0.3m sq ft in Q2 2020, encouragingly a 79% rise on the previous quarter (0.2m sq ft). This brings H1 take-up to 0.4m sq ft, down 29% on H1 2019 (0.6m sq ft) and just down 9% on the long term average for H1 take-up.
In addition to BP’s deal at Cargo, 25 North Colonnade, E14, taking 205,000 sq ft, another notable deal was at 20 Churchill Place, E14 where Barts Health NHS Trust signed an 8 year sublease on the 8th to 9th floors (45,135 sq ft).
The Services sector accounted for the largest proportion of Docklands take-up in H1 2020 at 52%. The Public Sector followed closely taking a 16% share.
The vacancy rate remained steady at 11.2% in Q2 and remains well above the long term quarterly average of 8.7%.
Q2 2020 Canary Wharf prime rent
Q2 2020 Docklands vacancy rate
Q2 2020 Docklands take-up