Office buildings on the rise in London

Research from property consultancy GVA Grimley for the second quarter of 2006 found that there were 843,400 square metres of offices under construction in the area, a 6% increase in the first three months of this year. The majority of the construction activity was in the City (64%) while the West End and Docklands accounted for 31% and 5% respectively.

The report found that across the area demand for offices was “robust” with some sizeable City and Docklands buildings placed under offer for sale in the quarter. The vacancy rate for central London decreased from 7.9% of total stock to 7.8% this quarter, the sixth consecutive decrease and the lowest rate for nearly five years.