Piece of writing to Deal with Looking out for Offices in London

For those looking for offices to let London, now is a somewhat trying time. The market in office space London has always been a law unto itself, holding the twin crowns of being the both the UK's capital, and the de facto capital of world finance. That combination can see rents heading down in the rest of the UK, whilst in the central London market, rents are roaring ahead. See, offices to let soho. Much of that contrariness is down to the hard-wire of office property to the performance of the finance sector. This has long operated independently of much of the rest of the UK's economy. The financial services dominate the state of supply and demand in office space, as was demonstrated by the prolonged crash after the credit implosion of 2008. That property price collapse saw rents for offices to let in London plunge over 30%, as the banks consolidated, or fell. But although it was an overall bad experience for everyone, those who came through the tumult reaped the benefits of a benign rent regime. And being in London became a more affordable option for many businesses. A period of quiescent rent levels lasted from Q4 2008, through much of 2009, until Q1 2010. During that time, rents for London office space stayed at levels similar to those prevailing 5 years earlier, in 2005. Of course, such a relatively low level was unlikely to persist long in the financial hotbed of London, and things did change substantially in 2010. The investment banks recovered quickly, and bounced back into rude health. Then the international investors came over to London, on one of their regular trophy hunts, on the lookout for prime West End property to bag. Take-up rates subsequently increased, and vacancies have plummeted. This left office rents starting a relentless march upwards through the year. For those looking at offices to let, the question is – which way will rents be moving over the next 6 months. That is not easily answered, even by those with experience of the London office space sector. There is still a big push upwards on rents, due to lack of new build. That would weigh the balance in favour of a faster move into any postulated rental deals - so as to avoid the worst of a rent price spike. But there are dark storm clouds gathering on the economic horizon, too. Inflation is rising, economic recovery may stall, under the impact of public spending cuts, and that may put a halt to rising levels of uptake. So the office space London market is finely balanced. With the axe of the Public Sector Review now firmly swung, public sector office vacancies are likely to increase markedly, providing an overhang of supply during the year. Take that, together with an already noticed trend for increasing availability of lower-end office space, in less sought-after locations, and a renewed downturn in rents could also be on the cards. So for those who have some discretion as to the timing of their forthcoming move into central London office space, it may have to be a waiting game. But in these situations, having an adviser who knows the London office market inside-out is essential. A savvy realtor is more likely to be able to make a good call the peculiarities of the London market.