London office construction starts slump by half – Building

London saw the number of new office building starts in the last six months fall by nearly half, with just four schemes getting underway in the Square Mile compared with the 11 that kicked off earlier this year.

According to the latest London Office Crane Survey, published twice-yearly by consultant Deloitte, the capitals financial hub witnessed work start on just 200,000ft of development in the past six months, versus the 1.2 million ft recorded by the previous survey.

Overall, London witnessed a 49% slump in new office construction starts, with work starting on 24 schemes 1.8 million ft compared to 37 schemes, or 3.5 million ft, in the previous six months.

But while Deloitte reported the volume of total new starts was nearly 15% down on the long-term average of 2.1 million ft, it said the latest numbers revealeda rebalancing of office development following a three-year high of new construction starts, rather than a worrying decline.

Beyond the City, Deloitte said the West End had seen 11 new starts in the last six months, including seven refurbishments, with 35 new offices set to add 2.2 million ft of space to the market.

Londons Midtown more commonly known as the Holborn and south Bloomsbury districts and the South Bank had seen an increase in construction activity, with the latest survey highlighting four and three new offices breaking ground in the areas respectively.

The South Bank has seen the start of the Bankside Yards 220,000ft office development, the first phase of a massive 1.4 million ft mixed-use scheme being developed between Tate Modern and Blackfriars Bridge by Native Land.

Multiplex and Balfour Beatty are in the running for that job, which includes an 18-storey office block, called Arbor, as well as two residential buildings comprising 257 homes, all designed by PLP.

The technology, media and telecoms sectors enthusiasm for new high-spec space saw its share of pre-let accommodation under construction shoot up from 35% in the first three months of 2019 to 43% in the third quarter, while the proportion of pre-completion lettings for the financial services sector dipped from 29% to 16%.

Mike Cracknell, Deloittes real estate director, said the crane survey suggested developers were taking time out.

But he added: Looking ahead, central London still has three million ft of proposed office space in demolition, which indicates the next survey could see an uptick in new starts, albeit modest.

Cracknell said delays in the completion of some large schemes, notably the 22 Bishopsgate tower, the Citys tallest and due to complete next spring, meant the total completion volume for 2019 was set to fall short of the 2018 figure by 23%.

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London office construction starts slump by half - Building