Skip to main content
Facilitate Magazine: Informing Workplace and Facilities Management Professionals - return to the homepage Facilitate magazine logo
  • Search
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @Facilitate_Mag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management Logo of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
    • Comment
    • People
    • Reports
    • Research
  • Features
    • Analysis
    • Features
    • Round Tables
    • Webinars
  • Outsourcing
    • Contract Finder
    • Contracts
    • FM Business Models
    • Interviews
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Opinion
    • Procurement
    • Trends
  • Know-How
    • Explainers
    • Legal Updates
    • White Papers
  • Jobs
  • Topics
    • Workplace Services
      • Hospitality
      • Catering
      • Cleaning
      • Front of House
      • Grounds Maintenance
      • Helpdesk
      • Mailroom
      • Manned Guarding / Security
      • Pest Control
      • Washroom Services
      • Disaster Recovery
      • Specialist Services
    • Professional Performance
      • Behavioural Change
      • Continual Professional Development
      • Education
      • Management
      • Recruitment
      • Training
    • Workplace Performance
      • Benchmarking
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Operational Readiness
      • Procurement
      • Security
      • Workplace User Experience
      • Workplace Culture
    • Compliance
      • Health & Safety
      • Risk & Business Continuity
      • Standards
      • Statutory Compliance
    • Building Services
      • Architecture & Construction
      • Asset Management
      • Building Controls
      • Building Fabric
      • Drinking Water
      • Fire Protection
      • HVAC
      • Landscaping
      • Mechanical & Electrical
      • Building Security
      • Water, Drainage & Plumbing
    • Technology
      • Building Information Modelling
      • CAFM
      • Data & Networks
      • Document Management
      • Information Management
      • Internet of Things (IoT)
      • Software & Systems
    • Energy management
      • Energy Management Systems
      • Electricity
      • Gas
      • Solar
      • Wind
    • Sustainability
      • Environmental Quality
      • Social Value
      • Waste Management
      • Recycling
    • Workspace Design
      • Agile Working
      • Fit-Out & Refurbishment
      • Inclusive Access
      • Lighting
      • Office Interiors
      • Signage
      • Space Planning
      • Storage
      • Vehicle Management / Parking
      • Washroom
    • Sectors
      • Corporate Office
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Manufacturing
      • International
      • Retail
      • Sports & Leisure
      • Regions
  • Buyers' Guide
Quick links:
  • Home
  • News
Research
Surveys
Market Analysis
Health & Safety
Risk & Business Continuity
Fit-Out & Refurbishment
Corporate Office

London office starts increase as market confidence grows

Open-access content Tuesday 23rd November 2021
Authors
Facilitate Team
web_city-of-london_credit_iStock-1014327992.png

iStock

Confidence in the London office market has dramatically improved with an increase of new starts, according to research.

Deloitte’s London Office Crane Survey Winter 2021 shows that the volume of new office space started had increased by 10 per cent from 3.1 million square feet in the previous May survey, to 3.4 million square feet.

The number of new starts, however, has fallen, meaning that the average size of schemes has increased by 28 per cent to 122,339 square feet, which the survey report suggests is a sign of a greater appetite for risk. The proportion of pre-let volume under construction is down from 45 per cent last year to 31 per cent this year. The report says this is below the 44 per cent long-term average, suggesting that developers and investors are willing to “look through” current low occupancy because of the pandemic.

The proportion of new-builds versus refurbishments has increased to 46 per cent of the total new start volume, up from 33 per cent last year. The report points out, however, that there is still a trend towards refurbishment, which it interprets as a structural shift driven by sustainability.

Philip Parnell, real estate valuation lead at Deloitte, said that concerns over embodied carbon had also prompted an aversion to outright demolitions.

“The focus on refurbishment over redevelopment is unlikely to diminish as carbon accounting including embodied carbon and the drive to net zero continues to gather momentum,” said Parnell.

Developers also seem less concerned about the impact of homeworking on office space than at the beginning of the pandemic. In the survey, 37 per cent said they expect no impact on leasing demand from homeworking, compared with only 12 per cent a year previously. 

Siobhan Godley, real estate leader at Deloitte, said that it was clear the focus for the future was on high-quality sustainable office space. 

“Occupiers’ requirements are also changing as flexibility becomes a key priority to accommodate varying work patterns and the market is responding with a wider choice of leasing arrangements for offices,” she said. “Amenities continue to be shaped by the impact of the pandemic, increasingly centring on promoting health and wellbeing, from improved ventilation and mindful spaces to removing unnecessary touchpoints such as lift buttons.”

Most developers (90 per cent) believe that the leasing market is in better shape than six months ago, with 35 per cent saying it was “much better” and 55 per cent saying “a little better”, compared with 14 per cent and 43 per cent respectively in the summer.

Three-fifths of developers said they had made lots of progress in achieving net zero from new developments, with only 5 per cent saying that they had not started. And 25 per cent of those canvassed expect all new developments to be net zero by 2024, with 45 per cent expecting this by 2029.

Mike Cracknell, director of real estate at Deloitte, said: “The volume of new starts points to the resilience of demand for offices as an asset class, in spite of the dramatic shift in working practices in response to the pandemic and months of homeworking.”

The London Office Crane Survey analysed office construction data over the six months to 30 September 2021, and included a survey of London’s biggest developers conducted in September.

Image credit | iStock

 

Today’s top news stories

web_Khalid-Barbary.png

Atlas expands security team with key account manager

Atlas Security has appointed Khalid Barbary as its new key account manager.
People
Friday 20th May 2022
Open-access content
web_tree-growing-in-modern-city_credit_leolintang_shutterstock_619667831.jpg

Green body launches circular economy drive

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has opened applications to apply for the task group that will help to shape the content of the new deliverable System Enablers for a Circular Economy.   
Research
People
Reports
Friday 20th May 2022
Open-access content
web_Hybrid-working_credit_VectorMine_shutterstock_2053274192 (1).jpg

‘Businesses looking to expand office portfolios as working patterns evolve’, shows study

A significant majority of businesses, (68%) expect to be promoting a more regular return to the office by the middle of this year, states the latest EMEA Occupier Sentiment Survey from global real estate adviser CBRE.
Reports
Surveys
Friday 20th May 2022
Open-access content
web_Diamond_FS_ev-solutions-1024x620.png

Diamond starts up EV division

Birmingham-based Diamond Facilities Support has launched a new national division – Diamond EV Solutions.
Thursday 19th May 2022
Open-access content
web_Locking-prison-door_credit_MikeDotta_shutterstock_789621847.png

Gov Facility Services Ltd hires interim CEO

Gov Facility Services Ltd has appointed Matthew Garner as GFSL’s Interim chief executive officer to oversee the Southern FM Prisons portfolio for the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service.
Thursday 19th May 2022
Open-access content
web_video-call-at-home_credit_iStock-1300311871.png

UK living crisis forcing workers to reassess work life

A third of white-collar professionals have stated that they are “very likely” to leave their job in the coming months, unless more understanding and assistance is directed toward personal matters that affect their work.
Surveys
Thursday 19th May 2022
Open-access content
Filed in:
News
Also filed in:
Research
Surveys
Market Analysis
Health & Safety
Risk & Business Continuity
Fit-Out & Refurbishment
Corporate Office

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Today's top reads

 

Latest Jobs

Project Leader (Maternity Cover One Year Contract)

Cambridge
Circa £50,000 Pro Rata + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56378

Maintenance Supervisor

Surrey
Up to £43,000 + Excellent Package & Opportunities
Reference
56376

Regional Facilities Manager

South West England
Circa £40,000 + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56375
See all jobs »

 

 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to print

Sign up to receive our bi-monthly magazine

Subscribe
Facilitate magazine cover, June 2020
​
FOLLOW US
@Facilitate_Mag
Facilitate Magazine
Facilitate Magazine
CONTACT US
Contact us
Tel: 020 7880 6200
​

IWFM

About IWFM
Become a member
Qualifications
Events

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to Facilitate Magazine
Write for Facilitate Magazine

General

IWFM Jobs
Help

© 2022 • www.facilitatemagazine.com and Facilitate Magazine are published by Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ