The lack of new office space coming on to the market in London has seen quarterly take-up figures decline; however, pre-lets are at their highest level since the third quarter of 2007, new research by Colliers International has shown. According to the firm, the amount of grade A office space on offer in the UK's capital "remained flat" during the three months from July to September, with overall vacancy rates standing at 7.7 per cent.
In the City, the level of vacant properties also failed to change over the quarter, with the rate continuing to hold at 9.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the organisation commented that "a shortage of new supply still remains a concern", highlighting the West End, where the total amount of new and refurbished office space has fallen by 33 per cent over the past year.
However, the picture is slightly different in other regions of the UK, with the latest Commercial Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealing that occupier demand fell across the country during the third quarter of the year. The body registered a 15 per cent increase in the number of respondents stating that available space had risen rather than fallen during the three-month period.