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London reaffirms its position as Europe’s top legal centre
29 Dec, 2007, London
The UK capital is followed by Paris-Ile de France and Warsaw in terms of office take-up in the first nine months of 2007 by the legal sector.
London accounted for nearly half (47 per cent) of the total office space let to law firms in Europe’s top 16 legal centres in the first nine months of 2007, according to the latest EMEA Legal Services Business Briefing published by global real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield.
The UK capital, which saw 91,600 sq m leased to the legal sector over the year to September, is followed by Paris-Ile de France with 19 per cent (38,160 sq m) and Warsaw, which is emerging as a key legal centre in Central Europe, with 5 per cent (8,800 sq m).
Mark Pollitt, head of Cushman & Wakefield’s EMEA Legal Group, comments: “London has emerged as a global gateway for the legal sector. It is home to Europe’s top four law firms – Freshfields, Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance, Linklaters and Allen & Overy – which have all expanded dramatically internationally over recent years. Its success as a legal centre is also down to the phenomenal growth of London’s capital markets over recent years.”
When compared with the same period last year, take-up by the legal sector increased by more than a third (35 per cent) in London in the first nine months of 2007. London also accounts for six of the top ten leasing transactions involving legal firms, with the top transaction in Europe being the leasing of 22,450 sq m to Mayer Brown at the new development at 201 Bishopsgate in the City of London.
However, Mark warns: “We are beginning to see activity slowing in all sectors across London as decisions are put on hold in the short term as part of the credit crunch affect. However, given the current shortage of good-quality office space in the right location an extended period of low activity is not anticipated.”
Overall, the legal sector accounted for around 2.7 per cent of total European office take-up across the 16 locations in the first nine months of 2007, with 195,930 sq m of space being let to law firms. However, this was marginally down (by less than one per cent) on the same period last year when 197,470 sq m was transacted.
Other key findings of the EMEA Legal Services Business Briefing include:
- Law firms accounted for 24 per cent of total office take-up in Edinburgh in the first nine months of 2007, followed by London with 12 per cent, Glasgow 8 per cent and Rome 7.9 per cent.
- Take-up in Frankfurt was only 5,036 sq m, 67 per cent down on the same period last year, as law firms focus on other cities in Germany. Munich in particular is favoured by new entrants given the large number of blue-chip companies headquartered there.
- Europe’s five most important legal centres – London, Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels and Amsterdam – saw their share fall by 5 percentage points to 77 per cent of total take-up for over the year to September.
Regarding Warsaw’s emergence at No. 3 in the take-up ranking in the first nine months of this year, Alicja Sitkowska of Cushman & Wakefield’s Advisory Department in Poland says: “Total office take-up has steadily increased in Warsaw, driven by the capital’s general economic development as well as by increasing prosperity, with the professional services sector, especially the legal sector, accounting for a greater share of the demand each year. However, this expansion is conditional on the availability of high-quality office space in the centre of the city, and both the demand and the supply factors have been met at the same time in Warsaw.” The largest deal this year in Warsaw is the leasing of 2,800 sq m by French legal firm Salans in the Rondo 1 office tower.
TAKE-UP BY LEGAL FIRMS JAN-SEP 2007
|
Location |
Q1-3 2007 |
|
London – West End/City & Docklands |
91,626 |
|
Paris - Ile de France |
38,160 |
|
Warsaw |
8,798 |
|
Brussels |
8,082 |
|
Edinburgh |
7,701 |
|
Rome |
7,480 |
|
Amsterdam |
7,400 |
|
Glasgow |
7,035 |
|
Frankfurt |
5,036 |
|
Prague |
3,188 |
|
Moscow |
2,689 |
|
Budapest |
2,411 |
|
Milan |
2,400 |
|
Madrid |
1,775 |
|
Lisbon |
1,729 |
|
Barcelona |
420 |
|
Total |
195,930 |
TOP 10 OFFICE TRANSACTIONS IN THE LEGAL SECTOR (Jan-Sep 07)
|
Ranking |
City
|
District
|
Tenant
|
Address
|
Square metres |
|
1 |
London
|
City
|
Mayer Brown
|
201 Bishopsgate
|
22,448
|
|
2 |
London
|
City
|
Reed Smith Richards Butler
|
Broadgate Tower 201 Bishopsgate
|
14,400
|
|
3 |
London
|
City
|
Charles Russell
|
Ludgate West 14 Farringdon Street
|
7,829
|
|
4 |
London
|
City
|
Speechley Bircham
|
6 New Street Square
|
7,161
|
|
5 |
Düsseldorf
|
Kennedydamm
|
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
|
Four Elements Georg-Glock-Straße 4
|
6,800
|
|
6 |
Paris
|
Paris CBD
|
Herbert Smith
|
66 avenue Marceau
|
5,218
|
|
7 |
Vienna
|
Centre
|
DLA Weiss-Tessbach
|
Schottenring 14 1010 Wien
|
4,956
|
|
8 |
London
|
City
|
Halliwells
|
1 Threadneedle Street
|
4,645
|
|
9 |
London
|
City
|
Bryan Cave
|
88 Wood Street
|
4,069
|
|
10 |
Düsseldorf
|
Banking District
|
CMS Hasche Sigle
|
3Hoch5 Breite Straße 3-5 |
4,000
|
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