In this quarter's South East Offices Snapshot, we highlight the following trends -
- Whilst South East take-up in Q3 was 37% down on the quarterly average, unlike Q2 there was no single large transaction to dramatically skew the figures.
- Although transaction levels are below the long term trend, it is encouraging to see a significant increase in the number of transactions signed.
- While 350,000 sq ft is under offer at present, transactions execution remains sluggish with many occupiers taking a 'wait and see' attitude.
- Vacancy levels stand at 8.4% across the South East and while Central London has seen an increase in tenant release space, this trend seems to be less prevalent in the South East as offices located outside of Central London, particularly those with parking which are considered more accessible to staff.
- There is likely to be a proliferation of Cat A+ and fully fitted offices, proving attractive to occupiers looking to avoid unnecessary capital expenditure.
- Q3 2020 saw investment transaction volumes of £370 million across 18 separate transactions. Whilst there are encouraging signed of increased activity in the South East office market, there remains and element of COVID-19 uncertainty moving forward.
