London office market returns to normality in latter half of 2021

Avison Young’s latest research has found that occupier activity in the London office market last quarter increased to 3.1 million square feet, 27 percent more than the previous quarter, to reach levels last seen in 2019 in a strong sign that London’s occupiers are approaching their workplace strategies and office use with increased confidence. Nine deals greater than 100,000 square feet were completed during the last six months, more than in the preceding 18 months.

This figure also represents a 29-percent increase from the 10-year average and a 21-percent increase from typical pre-pandemic quarterly volumes. There were 132 individual deals completed in the period, representing a fourth consecutive quarterly increase in both the volume of completed transactions and in the quantity of space let.

With London’s office market gradually building back its strength across 2021, this culminated in an end-of-year take-up total of 8.8 million square feet – a 71-percent i