South East of England set to experience chronic shortage of sustainable office stock

The South East of England is set to experience a "chronic shortage" in office stock that meets strong sustainability requirements over the next few years.

Knight Frank has warned that the United Kingdom's attainment of 2050 net-zero targets depends on reducing the energy-use intensity of operational buildings by more than 60 percent. This means U.K. regulations are likely to set a mandatory B-grade Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating requirement for buildings by 2030.

The stipulation of this minimum EPC rating — which shows the energy current and potential energy rating of a property — would dramatically alter the dynamics of England's South East office market, exacerbating the current under supply of new, best-in-class space that meets sustainability credentials. Data from Knight Frank shows that of the 11.3 million square feet (1.05 million square meters) of vacant space listed in the South East at the end of first quarter 2021, only 34.5 percent had an A