Is the tide finally turning for London office tenants?

We have been helping London office tenants navigate the central London market for many, many years, but it would be fair to say the last few ain’t been that easy.

We have had to cope strong office demand combined with a shortage of quality space and rising office rents. And I have to say it: this cocktail has not encouraged landlords and their letting agents to become any less tricky!

Is the tide now turning in favour of tenants?

It’s still early days, but it does appear that the tide is now turning. London office tenants will shortly enjoy a slightly more balanced, tenant-friendly market.

It’s early days, but the tide is turning. London office tenants will enjoy a more balanced market.

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But what will this mean – in practical terms – for tenants?

More choice and better terms for London office tenants?

Firstly, tenants will start to benefit from a bit more choice. And – secondly – when their hidden gem reveals itself – we will be able to help negotiate better terms, including:

Lower headline rents.
More flexible lease terms – ideally incorporating a tenant’s option to break
Longer initial rent-free period to help pay for fit-out and all the other costs of a move.
The ability to limit external repairing liabilities via a service charge cap.

More tenant-friendly market conditions have not been reflected in the latest update to our central London rent guide (29th Sept 2016) – unchanged since the previous quarter – but I suspect they will become more obvious over the next 3 months…