The London office market will decide…
August is one of my favourite months. People come to the office in less formal attire, and holidays are on the horizon.
There’s space for quality time, some lateral thinking and perhaps a spot of networking. In the property world restaurants like Shampers in Kingly St, have seemed fuller than you would expect for August.
The low level of activity in the 2009 Central London office market led my wife to Google ”M” for Manchester rather than Mauritius in her quest to find our holiday destination for this year.
Mrs K then suggested a compromise – the shores of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. This seemed hopelessly extravegant after months of negotiating longer rent free periods and observing London office rents tumble from their pre credit crunch heights.
I was reminded however, that fees charged by FindaLondonOffice are linked to savings we successfully negotiate in the first year of a lease, so I chose not to put up too much of a fight…
The problem with summer holidays though is that after a few days sunbathing by the pool, the mind starts to wander back to Old Blighty.
One starts to wonder how the market is doing and whether come Christmas we will be Googling “B” for Bognor or “B” for Barbados…”
About Ian Kitchener
Ian graduated from Keele university with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and went on to obtain a Post Graduate diploma in Property Valuation and Law from (London) City University. He has advised Central London office occupiers for over 20 years. He loves fighting their corner and making sure they get what they need - a great office on the best commercial terms available. Ian feels that www.FindaLondonOffice.co.uk have identified a real gap in the market - to find the perfect office and then provide expert advice on the commercial negotiations against often very canny landlords. The speed and skill with which the FindaLondonOffice team do this can often make a significant contribution to their clients profitability. Ian lives in North London with his wife and 3 young children. Read more about Ian Kitchener.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Good point.
As a native of Manchester and a previous visitor to Mauritius there are some suprising similarities once one gets beyond the superficial difference (one’s sunny, tropical and full of splendid beaches, the other’s grey and indusrtrial etc).
In both cases you have got to watch yourself in bars because you’ll get fleeced if you’re not careful. In Mauritius (in the hotels and establishments I visited) it was by the barman when I had to pay astronomical prices for a drink. In Manchester it tends to be by a hoody outside!
Great blog. keep it up.