The Office Gossip

Canary Wharf on the up

By Fiona Cooper on May 16, 2012 10:07 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

The Financial Times has reported this week that Canary Wharf has now overtaken the City as the largest employer of bankers in Europe. The transfer of 8,000 JP Morgan staff to 25 Bank Street will cement the rise (literally and figuratively) of the area. See the original article here.

Whilst the number of banks calling the city home is higher, large operations such as HSBC and Barclays, sited at 8 Canada Square and 1 Churchill Place respectively, and JP's American neighbours Citigroup and Morgan Stanley mean that Docklands has a greater number of staff. The shift is seemingly driven by economic rents and the availability of large amounts of space in the same building.

Although it is clear that Canary Wharf has become a great financial centre - other industries have managed to find their way into the mix as well. If we look at the number of office deals since 2010 for the Docklands area in terms of occupiers, two other players are evident. Broadly termed under electronics; software consultants, data centres and other tech based industries constitute the same percentage of deals as the financial sector; not surprising given that they provide the support that keeps the financial element running. The government is also making inroads East with LOCOG, the Financial Services Ombudsman and the EMEA all taking new space, for geographical and also financial reasons.

Continue reading Canary Wharf on the up.

Broadgate Circle to get a makeover

By Matthew Williams on May 9, 2012 10:27 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

The owners of the Broadgate Estate in the City of London have submitted a planning application for the redevelopment of Broadgate Circle, the semi public space in the middle of the 1980's development.

British Land and Blackstone Group want to see more shops and restaurants featured around the lower level of the amphitheater-style space. They also want outdoor seating and new canopies so that the space is used throughout the year, not just when it's sunny. The basements will also be re-designed and pitched as a gym space (great location given the number of workers passing through the area). The Circle will continue to host the ice rink in the winter months, ensuring that the space is used year round.

A huge redevelopment of 4 and 6 Broadgate is currently underway. The new UBS headquarters building, to be known as 5 Broadgate, made headlines last year when English Heritage opposed the scheme and tried to list the 1980's estate. In this case however, English Heritage has come out in support of the Circle's redesign, acknowledging that the proposals will help preserve the original character of the space.

London offices - not such a big deal in Q1 2012.....

By Tom Pilkington on April 30, 2012 3:14 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Whilst trying my hand at some new skills this afternoon I have taken the EGi London Offices take up data for Q1 2012 and had a look to see where different sizes of deal were occurring. With a little bit of zooming in and out, the map below not only demonstrates a lack of larger deals (green markers for those over 100,000 sq ft, yellow for over 50,000 sq ft, purple for over 30,000 sq ft and pink for over 10,000 sq ft, with red making up the smallest), but it also demonstrates that when those larger deals are happening, they are happening away from the City Core and even on the fringe of the West End.

If you have any ideas for different types of analysis like this then please drop me an email at tom.pilkington@estatesgazette.com.

Q1 London Offices Market Analysis

By Tom Pilkington on April 23, 2012 4:38 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

There might be a buzz and sense of excitement around London in 2012 with the Olympics fast approaching and the Jubilee around the corner, but it does not appear to be translating into office lettings. EGi's London Offices Market Analysis for Q1 has reported a meagre half a million sq ft of take up in the City Core for the last quarter - should the figure be similar for the three remaining quarters of the year then the annual total will be well below the five year average of 3.8 million sq ft. The West End - littered with lettings to high-end retailers - faired somewhat better with just under 800,000 sq ft let which would put it on course to just about match the five year average.

With respect to the all important league tables, Jones Lang LaSalle sit top of the tree in the overall table for the first quarter of the year, followed by DTZ who have started the year strongly. H2SO climbed into the top 10 for the first time since 2010, having disposed on the Savills deal at 33 Margaret Street and also Ashdown House to Jimmy Choo. In the sub-markets, CBRE topped City Core and Docklands; Jones Lang LaSalle took the City Fringe and the West End; Monmouth Dean finished on top in Midtown; and EA Shaw finished ahead in South Bank. To view the full report, please click here.

Q1 Breakfast Briefing - Friday 20th April

By Matthew Williams on April 18, 2012 11:51 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

There are now only 2 days to go until the EGi Q1 2012 London Offices breakfast briefing which is being held at Olswang, 90 High Holborn, London WC1, this Friday (20th April).

Please follow this link to find out more and register to attend this event, which is free to EGi subscribers and includes a free breakfast! As with previous events, there will be registration and breakfast at 8am, followed by a summary presentation from the EGi research team at 8:30am, including the much anticipated agency league tables.

It has been a very quiet quarter for the London office market with just half a million sq ft let in the City core, which is an annual equivalent of just two million sq ft, far below the average annual take-up of 3.4 million sq ft. The West End performed slightly better, with take-up more than 50% higher than that of the City core, which is more in-line with the long-run average. A full analysis of all sections of the Central London area will be provided at the breakfast briefing so we hope to see you there.

Bentinck street keeps its character

By Fiona Cooper on April 5, 2012 4:36 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

When out and about site visiting, the EGi research team are witness to all stages in the construction process. Although this photo taken by the LRR team may look like the site of a disastrous building collapse, it in fact shows the impressive facade at 17-23 Bentinck Street now freestanding, with the aid of some heavily re-enforced scaffolding.

The development is currently being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield, Colliers and Glinsman Weller, it will provide 30,000 sq ft of office space.

Google opens new technology campus

By Matthew Williams on April 3, 2012 3:07 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Chancellor George Osborne has vowed to make the UK the 'technology centre of Europe'.

He was speaking at the opening of the new Google campus, located at 4-5 Bonhill Street, EC2 in an area dubbed Silicon Roundabout.

The seven-storey building will be used as a technology community centre offering desk space and mentoring for start-up technology companies. On the sixth floor there will be SeedCamp, an early stage investment programme which injects funds into about 20 young tech companies each year.

It is hoped that the campus, along with the government's Tech City initiative, will help create the next generation of British technologies and attract research and development companies to the area, helping to keep the UK at the forefront of innovation.

Since the Tech City initiative launched two years ago, the number of tech firms around the Old Street roundabout area has more than trebled, from 200 to around 700 today.

Picture Galleries

By Tom Pilkington on April 3, 2012 12:28 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

A couple of great galleries on The Telegraph website today with one looking at Dubai's incredible skyline in thick fog and a second debating the ugliest buildings in the world. In contrast to these monstrosities (depending on your opinion), the stunning Shard has now reached full height.

Deals deadline draws near

By Fiona Cooper on March 22, 2012 10:18 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

As the end of the quarter draws near, we are still seeking any last minute deals to complete the first London Offices Market Analysis of 2012. To be included in the report all deals must be submitted by the end of the of March 31st.

The breakfast briefing will be held at 90 High Holborn on the 20th of April, we hope to see many of you there. An invitation will follow shortly, so watch this space!

Resi redevelopment of Portland House

By Matthew Williams on March 14, 2012 10:13 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Back in January I blogged about the possible residential conversion of the 1960's 34-storey Centre Point tower above Tottenham Court Road tube station. Well, it is now looking increasingly likely that Land Securities will jump on the conversion bandwagon by redeveloping its 29-storey Portland House, next to Victoria station, into residential units.

The modernist tower block was built in 1963 and is 101 meters (331 feet) tall. It's architecturally very similar to the Metlife Building in New York City and the two were constructed at the same time.

Any redevelopment would see Portland House join a growing number of tall residential schemes in Central London, which include Strata at Elephant and Castle, The Heron in the City and One St George's Wharf in Vauxhall. Given the fact that Portland House is in very close proximity to the West End, it can be sure to command super prime residential prices, especially from the top floor penthouses.

It is speculated that the concrete tower would almost certainly be re-clad, with other options being a full demolition and rebuild. All the current office tenants are on short-term leases, meaning that any redevelopment could start relatively soon.