Media and Tech Companies Dominate Take Up of London Office Space in Q3

17 Oct, 2012, London

The ongoing boom of Media & Tech companies continues to be a welcome relief to the challenged London office sector according to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield. In Q3 2012, Media & Tech companies dominated take up of office space in London accounting for almost 534,000 sq ft of the total 1.8 million sq ft of space occupied in the quarter. This is more than 50% above the five year quarterly average for Media & Tech take up of reflecting the continuous growth of this sector.

Media & Tech companies accounted for (30%) of all space taken up during the quarter compared to Financial Services (incl. Banks) (25%) and Legal & Professional Services (15%)

Significant lettings during the quarter include; Publicis at 76 Oxford Street, W1 (44,400 sq ft) and their new lease at 82 Baker Street, W1 (61,000 sq ft) which they will reoccupy following redevelopment; Mimecast at 1 Ropemaker Street, EC2 (40.427 sq ft), Mind Candy at at 15 Bonhill Street, EC2 (29,886 sq ft), 4C Group Ltd at Air W1 (28,000 sq ft) and TRG i2i Events Group Ltd at 2 Kingdom Street, W2 (27,830 sq ft). Other key deals so far this year include; The Economist at 20 Cabot Square, E14 (45,000 sq ft); Pushbutton (Amazon) at 26-28 Glasshouse Yard, EC1, (48,085 sq ft); MacMillan Publishing at D2 - Regent Quarter, N1(80,656 sq ft) and Skype at 2 Waterhouse Square, EC1 (88,801 sq ft)

In the year to date, a total of 1.29 million sq ft (26% of all take-up) of new office space has been let to Media & Tech companies. This is an increase of 4% on the same point in 2011- in contrast to the total market which fell by 5% over the comparable period. Advertising companies accounted for 15% of Media & Tech take-up to date, followed by Publishing at 13%.

The Q3 total of all space taken up in London of 1.8 million sq ft is down on 2.3 million sq ft in Q3 2011 and brings year to date total to 5.1 million sq ft (5.5 million sq ft Q1-Q3 2011)

Increase in active demand will continue to bolster office market
Active demand from the Media & Tech sector has increased by 30% since the start of the year and there are 3.4 million sq ft of enquires currently searching for space across Central London. The sector accounts for 38% of active demand, compared with the 5 year average of 18%. The Media companies alone account for 21% of active demand, with Advertising, Publishing and Broadcasting the most active subsectors. Active requirements include Google (750,000 sq ft), Omnicom (400,000 sq ft), Warner Brothers/Time Warner (250,000 sq ft ) and Ogilvy & Mather (200,000 sq ft).

George Roberts, Head of London Occupiers at Cushman & Wakefield said: "The sector will continue to exert an influence on the market and will increasingly fill the vacuum caused by the financial crisis. Media demand is being driven by continued growth in UK advertising spending [2012 forecast 3.4% growth], with particular growth in digital marketing [2012 forecast 14.2% growth]. Tech demand is being driven by fast growing tech / content companies seeking to locate in Central London to take advantage of the wider availability of creative talent. Nokia [58,500 sq ft] at Kingdom Street and Telefonica [51,000 sq ft at Air W1] being recent examples."

He continued "The attractions of vibrant locations for young creative talent added to a lower cost base is causing traditional West End media companies to review the suitability of locations such as Shoreditch and Clerkenwell as potential long term homes."

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