Office requirements in the City and Central London continue to grow in 2023, according to Savills, despite lower levels of take-up against ongoing economic uncertainty.
The agency's latest 'City Office Market Watch' report found that active requirements for companies considering those areas rose to 8.7 million square feet in March. This was 9% higher than in the previous month and up 12% on the long-term average.
Attraction to prime office space continues to be a key driver for occupiers, it added, with its data showing that 92% of all take-up this year has involved Grade A quality offices. Around 61% of those deals were for offices that were comprehensively refurbished or developed.
The report said a trend seen towards occupiers taking space in sustainable buildings "remains a focus", with over half of first quarter take-up being in buildings with a BREEAM rating of Excellent or Outstanding.
Overall total take-up in March reached 406,524 square feet across 34 transactions, which was more than double February’s figure. It said total take-up for the first quarter oreached 1,092,150 square feet across 72 transactions.
It also noted that deals were "taking ever longer" to complete due to ongoing market uncertainty, highlighting that activity is 23% down on the previous year.
Paul Bennett, Savills director of tenant representation in Central London, said: "Many occupiers are actively looking to improve their real estate, to better the experience of their staff, accommodate new ways of working in the office, and align themselves with important ESG goals."