According to Deloitte Real Estate’s latest London Crane Survey, new office development has increased in the West End and declined in the rest of Central London.

The total construction activity for new offices in Central London totals 12.6m square feet which is a 9% drop on the same survey 6 months ago. The City of London itself has seen an 11% fall in construction, although it is important to note that the current construction rate is still higher than the long term projected average. In addition, the demand for office space in London remains, with 44% of the new offices under construction having been let already. The largest industry taking up office space is the finance industry, reflecting London’s position as a world financial capital.

However, despite this overall decline, the West End has thrived and is one of the best performing parts of London’s prime property industry. There are a total of 14 new schemes which have started in the West End, including British Land’s new development of 1 Triton Square. These new building projects will add an additional 675,000 square foot of office space to the West End market. This is the largest single increase of office space for the West End in any survey and means that there is now a total of 1.4 square feet being built throughout the West End. This is a 20% increase on the last survey and most of the schemes are refurbishments rather than new builds and account for 70% of new West End office space.

Analysts predict that build costs for new developments will continue to rise due to uncertainty caused by Brexit, and pace of workplace change. However, the survey proves that London’s West End is still very resilient and bucks the overall trends. This makes West End office space the ideal investment for high net worth individuals and means it is also a great place for companies to base their offices.