Surge in demand for prime site office space in London, says Land Securities

The spot marketplace is showing signs of strengthening pursuing the pandemic with enactment successful the superior picking up pace, according to commercialized spot elephantine Land Securities

Commercial spot elephantine Land Securities (Landsec) has reported a surge successful request for cardinal London bureau space, with retailers seeking "fewer, but bigger and better" store locations.

The spot marketplace is showing signs of betterment post-pandemic, with enactment successful the superior accelerating. Landsec disclosed that it bounced backmost to a pre-tax nett of £243m for the six months ending September, from a nonaccomplishment of £193m the erstwhile year. The full worth of its spot portfolio remained dependable astatine £9.96bn for the caller period.

The institution noted an expanding usage of offices successful cardinal London, with a increasing request for modern and sustainable spaces. Retail brands are focusing connected "fewer, but bigger and amended stores successful cardinal locations", starring to store expansions and renovations for brands similar Primark and JD Sports.

Rents are connected the emergence owed to a shortage of disposable spaces connected the market, portion contention among investors has intensified, according to Landsec. The company's portfolio includes bureau abstraction and retail destinations specified arsenic the White Rose buying centre successful Leeds, the O2 Centre successful London, and the Bluewater buying centre successful Kent.

Mark Allan, CEO of Landsec, has commented connected the existent governmental climate: "Whilst planetary geopolitical uncertainty has increased, for the UK the general election implicit the summertime has created an constituent of governmental stableness that has eluded the state for astir a decade, ever since the EU referendum."

He besides noted the imaginable interaction of fiscal argumentation connected businesses: "Whilst governmental decisions ever necessitate an constituent of compromise, we are mindful of the hazard that the outgo of accrued taxes could dilatory down concern decision-making."

However, Allan acknowledged the Government's affirmative intentions, adding that their economical maturation ambitions were "admirable" and helium anticipates benefits from plans to beforehand municipality residential development.

These remarks travel arsenic galore retailers and hospitality groups person expressed concerns astir facing higher taxation bills pursuing caller measures introduced successful the Government’s autumn Budget, which see a planned summation to the complaint of leader nationalist security and a emergence successful the nationalist minimum wage starting adjacent April.