Prime office rents soar along central section of Elizabeth line

PRIME office rents along the Elizabeth line’s central London section have leapt, in some cases by 20% since preCovid, as businesses seek commuterfriendly locations for employees, research for the Standard has found. The data comes in the same week Transport for London said 150 million journeys have been taken across the Elizabeth line in its first year since opening in May 2022. Property consultancy Carter Jonas looked at lettings at more than 5000sq ft at new office developments, and found annual rises and growth ahead of pre-Covid levels.

Liverpool Street and Farringdon average rents gained most, with the latter up 20% at £90 per sq ft in the second quarter so far, against £85 per sq ft and £75 per sq ft for the same quarters in 2022 and 2019. In the same period Bond Street had the third-highest growth, up 18.2%.

Michael Pain at Carter Jonas said several new developments have been built in these areas. He added part of the rent rises “reflect the desire of many businesses to relocate to areas of central London that offer quick and frequent rail connectivity to Heathrow airport and the key business districts of the capital”.

In another study, Colliers’ Guy Grantham said all stations within the central section showed headline rental growth above the London-wide average over the past five-years.

@Es-Joanna1