The office sector in the London submarket of Southbank East has shifted back into positive absorption after two consecutive years of net demand losses, according to CoStar.
In fourth quarter 2025, annual net absorption exceeded 200,000 square feet, marking the strongest quarterly performance in more than a decade. Southbank East had previously experienced two years of declining demand, as a surge in new space deliveries towards the end of 2023 coincided with a slowdown in leasing volumes.
The submarket’s vacancy rate reached a 12-year high of 11.5 percent at the beginning of 2025, rising from less than 2 percent in 2019.
“The increase has been driven by a wave of development completions, resulting in almost 1 million square feet of new space delivered between 2020 and 2025, which is more than five times the amount delivered in the preceding five-year period,” said Patrick Scanlon, senior director of market analytics at CoStar Europe. “Occupiers seeking l
