London office construction hits seven-year high

Office construction in London is up by 18 percent over the past six months, the second successive rise since 2013, according to Deloitte Real Estate’s latest Crane Survey.

There were 26 new starts in the period totaling 3 million square feet and taking total space under construction in central London to 11 million square feet. However, despite a surge in activity, this is still half the amount of space under construction at the previous peak in 2002 (19.5 million square feet) and comes at a time when vacancy rates in the capital are at a 15-year low.

The City and West End account for 73 percent of the total volume of construction. The City office market was the leader with 13 new buildings, including Brookfield’s 100 Bishopsgate. Overall, construction activity in the City rose by a quarter to 5.7 million square feet. And there were four new starts in the West