Office take-up in London reached 4.8m sq ft in H1 2025, up 4% on the long-term average, according to the latest data from Savills.
The increase was helped by a strong Q2 that saw 2.7m sq ft of lettings across 149 transactions – an increase of 18% on the same period last year.
The volume of transactions of 50,000 sq ft and above was the highest since H1 2019, while the number of deals of more than 100,000 sq ft hit the highest level since 2017. The insurance and financial sector was the primary driver of leasing activity, accounting for 29% of H1 take-up.
Prime office rents continued to climb in H1 2025 with the City and West End markets setting new rental records. The average prime rent in the City reached £130.79/sq ft and in the West End the average was £178.11/sq ft – an increase of 10% on the H1 2024 average.
Active demand continued to rise across Central London and at the end of H1 stood at 13.7m sq ft – up 50% on the long-term average and 15% up on H1 2024.
Philip Pearce, executive director of Savills’ Central London agency team, said: “The strong office take-up stats are positive and reflect a wide range of businesses across London growing their headcounts. There were a couple of significant pre-lets in the market, a trend that is likely to be replicated in H2.”
