SCROLL
HEADLINES
OVERVIEW
NEW ENTRANTS
MARKET MOVERS
THE NET EFFECT
KEY THEMES
RISING RATES
EXPECTED TENANT
LONDON MOVES
The who, what, where and why of office relocations across the UK capital.
Established companies
comprises all occupiers that already have an office in Central London
MOVER
An occupier who has moved offices within Central London
STAYER
an office move within the same Central London submarket as the previous office
RELOCATOR
an office move into a new Central London submarket
an office expansion, either within the existing office location or a secondary/ tertiary location in Central London
EXPANSION
comprises all occupiers that have relocated their office from outside Central London or are a new occupier
NEW ENTRANTS
comprises all education & medical occupiers who have taken office space in Central London - not included in the relocations data
EDUCATION & MEDICAL
comprises all flexible workspace providers who have taken a traditional lease or signed a management agreement in Central London - not included in the relocations data
FLEXIBLE WORKSPACE
CONTACT US
KIRAN PATEL
Head of National Offices Research
kiran.patel@cushwake.com
Head of London Offices Research
heena.gadhavi@cushwake.com
Heena Gadhavi
Head of UK Research
daryl.perry@cushwake.com
DARYL PERRY
Head of UK OFFICES
ben.cullen@cushwake.com
BEN CULLEN
HEAD OF LONDON OFFICE LEASING
andy.tyler@cushwake.com
ANDY TYLER
Head of LONDON OCCUPIER REPRESENTATION
james.meikle@cushwake.com
JAMES MEIKLE
Head of LONDON OFFICE CAPITAL MARKETS
martin.lay@cushwake.com
MARTIN LAY
Head of lease transactions & advisory UK
alistair.brown@cushwake.com
ALISTAIR BROWN
531 DEALS IN 2024
339 WIDER CITY DEALS
43 NEW CENTRAL LONDON OCCUPIERS
24 WEST TO EAST RELOCATIons
88% of occupiers moved within their market
54% OF OCCUPIERS MOVED WITHIN THEIR SUBMARKET
3.27 MILLION SQ FT
NET
EXPANSION
88% OF 100K SQ FT DEALS EXPANDED
37% of all leases took place in the city core
0.7 MILES AVERAGE DISTANCE MOVED
38% AVERAGE INCREASE IN FLOORSPACE
70-82% EST RISE IN 2026 RATES LIABILITY VS FORMER OFFICE
EXPECTED TENANT MODEL
HOVER ON EACH BOX TO LEARN MORE
The majority of these occurred in the Wider City where 339 deals transacted - the most on record and 17% ahead of the 10-year average. The West End reported 183 transactions in the year, down 4% on 2023, while East London reported 9 deals.
CENTRAL LONDON MARKETS
CENTRAL LONDON OFFICE LEASING COMPOSITION
MAP SAMPLE FOR PLACEMENT ONLY
The profile of occupiers across Central London remains varied - demonstrating the strength of the appeal of the market.
In 2024, there were 26 transactions enacted by Flexible Workspace operators, equating to 590,000 sq ft. Momentum continued for Education & Medical occupiers, leasing 362,000 sq ft across 20 transactions - the joint highest count on record.
A further 43 deals were executed by new market entrants, with the remaining 408 transactions attributed to established Central London occupiers. The 451 total of new and established occupiers was down on the 481 deals recorded in 2023 but was ahead of the 446 seen in 2019 and remained 2% above the 10-year annual average.
Of the established companies, 101 opted to expand their current office footprint by adding an additional office space to their existing portfolio within Central London, equating to 1.81 million sq ft of take-up. This figure rebounded from the low of 2023, with some occupiers having to adjust for previous contractions in their floorspace. The remaining 307 occupiers relocated to new office premises across the market.
MAP SAMPLE FOR PLACEMENT ONLY
2024 NEW ENTRANTS BY SUBMARKET
The Wider City recorded 23 new entrants moving into the market in 2024, equating to 284,000 sq ft. The West End attracted 19 new entrants totalling 262,000 sq ft, while the final new entrant leased space in East London.
At the submarket level, the City Core has historically been the most active for new entrants, with 2024 building on this legacy. Both the count (10) and volume (162,000 sq ft) were above the 10-year averages of nine and 97,000 sq ft respectively.
Shoreditch reported the second most new entrants in 2024, with five deals by new occupiers totalling 54,000 sq ft. Clerkenwell and King's Cross followed with four new entrants each, amounting to 39,000 sq ft and 30,000 sq ft respectively.
NEW ENTRANTS BY YEAR
NEW ENTRANTS BY SECTOR
The number of new entrants (43) consists of both new occupiers and those who have relocated from outside of Central London into the market. This was marginally below the 46 new entrants averaged from 2015 to 2024 and amounted to 567,000 sq ft of take-up.
The 25 new entrants who relocated from outside of Central London into the market accounted for 364,000 sq ft of this total - the highest volume recorded in the last 10 years. This points to a flight to centrality that was previously in question during the pandemic.
Technology companies remain the most numerous new entrants to the market with 16 in 2024. This is the second highest number of new market entrants by the sector, behind only 2023 with 17. Looking ahead, the future is expected to be strong as firms increasingly seek to understand and harness AI and as innovation continues at pace.
This was followed by Manufacturing & Energy at eight, tied with 2023 as the highest number of new entrants on record - reflecting the recent profitability of the sector.
Comparing each sector to the 10-year average of new market entrants, the majority underperformed. This highlights the challenging business environment – but also suggests there is room for growth ahead if the right conditions can be developed.
MARKET MOVERS
During 2024, there were 307 occupiers who moved between offices in Central London. While this was down on the 342 relocations recorded in 2023, it was above the 293 averaged over the last 10 years. This equated to 5.51 million sq ft which is 57% of total take-up over the year.
142 businesses moved into a new submarket (relocator), whilst the remaining 165 remained within their existing submarket (stayer). This was the first year on record where the number of stayers exceeded the number of relocators in both count and quantum, amounting to 54% and 60% of the total respectively.
There are two key drivers behind this trend: activity was more heavily concentrated within core areas, and occupiers remained more loyal to their existing locations. Both of these are explored further latterly in the report.
Across the Central London market, 78% of occupiers who leased office space in 2024 expanded their office footprint with just 22% contracting. This is broadly in line with the typical 76% of occupiers enacting expansions averaged over the last 10 years.
However, while the number of firms expanding (320) and contracting (88) remained relatively consistent with that of 2023 by count, expansions were of a greater magnitude in 2024 while contractions were smaller.
This resulted in a significantly greater net expansion in terms of sq ft in 2024, with a net increase of 3.27 million sq ft – well ahead of the 1.86 million sq ft recorded in 2023 and the highest net expansion figure since 2019.
On net, the Banking & Finance sector was the most expansionary with 55 more occupiers expanding their space versus contracting resulting in a net expansion of 1.34 million sq ft across the market.
Professional Services companies were the second most expansionary sector on net, with 41 more occupiers expanding their footprint versus those contracting amounting to a net expansion of 558,000 sq ft. However, this was the third consecutive year of decline in net expansion – reflecting the cost-savings measures which have been implemented by some top consultancies.
Conversely, 89% of Manufacturing & Energy firms who leased space in 2024 expanded on their former footprint as elevated energy prices helped to bolster revenues. This equated to a net expansion of 379,000 sq ft – the highest on record for the sector.
This comes as banks benefit from higher interest rates delivering stronger returns on loans and debt, while challenger banks and fast-growing FinTech firms have also been acquisitive – including Revolut and Wise.
Additionally, investment firms have also been particularly present following strong growth periods for global stocks in the post-pandemic period.
EXPANDERS & CONTRACTORS BY SIZE BAND
EXPANDERS & CONTRACTORS BY SECTOR
ABOUT CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global commercial real estate services firm for property owners and occupiers with approximately 52,000 employees in nearly 400 offices and 60 countries. In 2024, the firm reported revenue of $9.4 billion across its core service lines of Services, Leasing, Capital markets, and Valuation and other. Built around the belief that Better never settles, the firm receives numerous industry and business accolades for its award-winning culture.
For additional information, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com.
There is a considerable range within this however, with some occupiers reducing their liabilities while others more than doubled their charges. This change in liabilities can be broken down into a few parts.
As rates are primarily based on the volume of space occupied, some of the increase can be attributed to the difference in size between the new and former offices, with an average increase of 38%. As per the 'more and better' theme, new offices also tend to be of better quality - generally resulting in higher rateable values.
There is also a locational aspect. The additional 1.8p City of London supplement has impacted a greater number of deals this year due to the record number of transactions within the City Core submarket - accounting for 25% of all market movers in 2024. This sits in addition to the 2p Elizabeth Line supplement applicable across all London boroughs.
Office movers in Central London have also been subjected to considerable increases in business rates liabilities as well as rents. Comparing the rates liabilities of 2024 established occupier relocators which had a former office of more than 5,000 sq ft, we estimate that 88 of 156 saw their rates liabilities increase from their former to new offices, with an average rise of 34%.
CHART_1 SAMPLE FOR PLACEMENT ONLY
To estimate the impacts of the 2026 revaluation, we have produced two scenarios - both of which assume the standard multiplier decreased to 50.7p to adjust for inflation, and that the City of London supplement rises to 2.2p. Additionally, the reinstatement of fitout costs at £4.65 per sq ft has also been incorporated into the estimation of rateable values.
Scenario A includes a 5p levy on properties with a rateable value over £500,000, while Scenario B increases this to 10p. Our modelling suggests that the 2026 revaluation will see overall rate liabilities increase by a further 38% to 49% on top of the increase already seen in 2024. This would mean that in 2024 office movers will be liable for a 70% to 82% increase in their rates liabilities in 2026 versus what they were paying in their previous office.
The extent of the impacts from the 2026 revaluation are yet to be determined by government, however forward planning of their potential impacts is highly advisable in the meantime given the considerable potential scope.
While increase in rates liabilities for 2024 movers is significant, there is more to come. The 2026 revaluation will likely result in considerably higher rates liabilities for office occupiers across the UK - particularly in prime city centre markets.
CHART_1 SAMPLE FOR PLACEMENT ONLY
New rateable values will be based on rents as at 1st April 2024 instead of the 1st April 2021 rents used currently. Over this period, prime headline rents have risen by 35% and 46% in the City and West End respectively - with super prime exceeding this.
Adding the expected increases in rates liabilities into this means that some prospective office occupiers may have to reconsider either their location or the quality of their new office.
Taking onboard the ‘focus on the core’ theme that has been present over 2024, it would appear occupiers may prefer to compromise on the quality of their future workspace in order to remain in a central core location.
However, future changes in occupational costs in less central locations – through lower historic and future rental growth, as well as the higher levels of supply – could see a greater number of occupiers relocate to these submarkets.
As a result, there could be a greater differentiation in location amongst occupiers, with low-margin, more price sensitive sectors moving further out whilst more profitable firms remain in the centre.
Companies are already facing higher occupational costs. As previously mentioned, rents are at record high levels across Central London, with service charges also increasing. At £208 psf for a mid-tier specification, and ranging up to £310 psf for a high spec finish, Central London fit out costs are the highest in Europe adding a considerable up front cost to office moves.
Implications from a considerable increase in rates liabilities in 2026 are also uncertain, but can be inferred.
2024 RATES LIABILITIES
2026 REVALUATION
IMPLICATIONS
Cushman and Wakefield Expected Tenant (XTe) model analyses the last five years of office moves within Central London to suggest the top three sectors and submarkets future tenants will come from for a particular space at a specified rental tone.
XTe takes into account three key data points, each aggregated by sector and submarket across the last five years:
The comprehensive data behind London Moves can also be leveraged to provide valuable insights for sourcing future tenants.
Central London reported 531 office transactions in excess of 5,000 sq ft across the market in 2024. This was 3% below the 2023 count but remained 3% ahead of the 10-year average.
EXPECTED TENANT
RISING RATES
THE NET EFFECT
NEW ENTRANTS
OVERVIEW
HEADLINES
OCCUPIERS MOVING FROM THE CITY CORE
OCCUPIERS MOVING INTO THE CITY CORE
WHERE ARE THEY MOVING?
MARKET MOVERS
Additionally, only five occupiers moved from the City Core submarket into a new office beyond the Wider City market, with the vast majority remaining within the City Core and the immediately adjacent submarkets.
There is a supply-led component to this, with the strength of development in the City Core – particularly of best-in-class buildings – meaning that occupiers seeking such spaces are drawn into the submarket, as well as amenity and transport components.
Supply is consequentially being outpaced by demand in the City Core, with the vacancy rate decreasing from 9.9% in Q4 2023 to 9.1% in Q4 2024 following 1.79 million sq ft being absorbed in the submarket on net – the highest net absorption figure since 2018.
As per the last 12 years, the largest volume of movers went into the City Core (113) with 78 stayers and 35 relocators. This was the third highest volume of City Core movers, behind 2015 and 2023 respectively.
OCCUPIERS MOVING FROM SHOREDITCH
OCCUPIERS MOVING INTO SHOREDITCH
Only 11 businesses moved within Shoreditch, with 15 relocating from other submarkets. This is the highest number of non-movers on record, showing the how the location has evolved and matured.
Additionally, the in-movers came from nine different submarkets across Central London, reflecting the diverse appeal of Shoreditch.
This broadening of demand has resulted in 11% rental growth in the submarket over 2024 – having risen just 2% over the previous five years from 2019 to 2023.
Momentum in Shoreditch continued to grow, with the 26 relocations taking place in 2024 tied with the record high last achieved in 2019 and the fourth consecutive annual increase.
There were no relocations into Mayfair & St James's from the Wider City or East London for the first time since 2014, albeit most years only record one or two of these relocations.
This reflects the growing rental disparity between the core West End submarkets and elsewhere in Central London, as well as the limited supply of stock. Prime headline rents increased to £150.00 psf in Q4 2024 in Mayfair & St James's, 33% ahead of the next submarket by rent.
This is partly as a result of the supply picture, with just 1.16 years of Grade A supply available across Mayfair & St James's at the end of Q4 2024 - well below the 1.77 years averaged over the last 10 years and less than half that of Central London as a whole.
These trends look set to persist, with a limited development pipeline suggesting greater competition amongst occupiers for the remaining spaces – driving further rental growth.
Mayfair & St James's activity was limited by the amount of available stock, with just 17 combined movers - the lowest since 2020.
OCCUPIERS MOVING FROM MAYFAIR & ST JAMES'S
OCCUPIERS MOVING INTO MAYFAIR & ST JAMES'S
NET SQ FT BY SUBMARKET
NET OCCUPIERS BY SUBMARKET
NET
MIGRATION
MARKET MOVERS
Shoreditch reported the highest gain in number of occupiers at 11 with 26 in-movers versus 15 out-movers - again demonstrating the maturity of the submarket.
The City Core followed in second place with a net gain of nine firms from 113 inbound movers and 104 émigrés.
Mayfair reported the greatest decrease with a net loss of 12 occupiers. This is attributed to the lack of stock in the market, with a Grade A vacancy rate of just 2.15% in Q4 2024.
The flight to centrality is evident in these figures, with central markets reporting the highest level of net inward migration both by count and volume, with the exception of those submarkets where limited supply levels acted as a constraint.
Looking at how many occupiers moved into and out of each respective submarket, 10 submarkets gained occupiers on net, seven lost occupiers and eight reported no change. By volume, 15 submarkets increased their occupied space, with seven decreasing and four reporting no change.
CHART_1 SAMPLE FOR PLACEMENT ONLY
WHO IS MOVING?
MARKET MOVERS
The Wider City maintained the majority share of Professional Service activity, with 59 movers - over half of which (39) were in the City Core.
Professional Service firms tended to remain within their previous submarket, with 57% being stayers - the highest on record for the sector and well ahead of the 43% 10-year average.
The Professional Services sector was once again the most active in 2024, with 87 moves recorded through the year totalling 1.33 million sq ft. This was below the 102 and 96 movers of 2022 and 2023 respectively, but remains well ahead of the 65 averaged over the past 10-years.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES – LARGEST MOVES
Moodys were the only other deal over 100,000 sq ft for this sector in 2024, pre-letting 111,000 sq ft at 10 Gresham Street in the City Core.
BDO was the largest Professional Services transaction of the year for this sector, pre-letting 221,000 sq ft at the M Building in the North of Oxford Street submarket in an expansionary move.
BANKING & FINANCE - LARGEST MOVES
For only the second time in the last 10 years, there were more Banking & Finance movers in the Wider City versus the West End at 35 against 28 respectively.
The three deals in excess of 100,000 sq ft in 2024 were spread across the markets with one in each. Citadel recorded the largest of these in the Wider City, pre-letting 252,000 sq ft at 2 Finsbury Avenue.
This was followed by Evercore pre-letting 105 Victoria Street in the West End, and Revolut taking space at YY London in East London. All three represented significant expansions on their previous accommodations.
Banking & Finance occupiers were also active in 2024, with 64 recorded movers totalling 1.54 million sq ft.
TECHNOLOGY - LARGEST MOVES
The Wider City continued to claim the majority of Technology firm's activity, with 37 of the firms moving offices choosing to locate within this submarket of which 18 were stayers.
The largest technology deal of the year was enacted by a confidential occupier who expanded within their existing submarket.
This was followed by Monday.com who leased 81,000
sq ft at 1 Rathbone Square in the West End.
Both of these deals saw the occupier remain local to their existing or previous location, with Monday.com moving just 100 metres down the road from 20 Rathbone Place.
With 52 movers registered in 2024, the Technology sector has seen a reduction in activity from 72 and 62 moves in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nonetheless, it remains the third most active sector by this measure and acquired 722,000 sq ft in 2024.
CENTRAL LONDON SUBMARKETS
FOCUS ON THE CORE
As the position of the workplace has changed in the minds of employees and their employers, so too have the locations that serve these renewed requirements.
2015 - 19 TRANSACTIONS OVER 20,000 SQ FT BY COUNT
Deals were spread over Central London, with hotspots of activity in the City Core and core West End, but also in Canary Wharf, Hammersmith and more peripheral submarkets.
Before the pandemic, from 2015 to 2019, transactions had a broader distribution.
2022 - 24 TRANSACTIONS OVER 20,000 SQ FT BY COUNT
Activity around key transport hubs increases, with proximity to the Elizabeth Line proving particularly important.
Occupiers have gravitated to the City Core in particular, where a strong quantum of new supply supported with the connectivity of Liverpool Street.
The introduction of the Elizabeth Line here, as well as the volume of new offices drawing commuters in, has led to Liverpool Street increasing its passenger count by approximately 14 million in 2023-24 versus the previous year.
Activity in the West End also concentrated largely around Elizabeth Line stations, where available stock allowed, as well as in the core markets.
Looking in the post-pandemic period, from 2022 to 2024, the splash of activity has contracted, shrinking away from the edges.
2024 TRANSACTIONS OVER 20,000 SQ FT BY COUNT
Peripheral areas reported lower levels of deal activity while central locations reported robust demand. The aforementioned flight to centrality is clearly visible.
This was particularly notable in the City Core, which claimed a record high 37% of all new and established company leases in Central London.
This can be attributed in part by the supply of high quality space within the City Core, as well as the positive influence of the Elizabeth Line – both of which are of rising importance to occupiers and their employees.
Despite the variation in activity, all submarkets reported rental growth over 2024, with the exception of Hammersmith.
2024 saw this concentration on the core continue.
WHERE ARE THEY MOVING?
NET MIGRATION
WHO IS MOVING?
LOCAL LOYALTY
KEY THEMES
Across 306 deals, the average occupier moved just 0.7 miles from their former to new office.
2024 recorded the lowest average distance travelled by occupiers on record.
This was the most on record for this distance bracket, significantly ahead of the 143 10-year average.
185 occupiers moved under 0.5 miles – equivalent to the distance from London Bridge to Tower Bridge.
A further 61 moved between 0.5 and 1 mile, in line with the average.
This was the second lowest figure on record, behind only 2020.
Finally, just 60 occupiers moved more than 1 mile in 2024.
ALL 306 MOVERS
185 OCCUPIERS MOVED
UNDER 0.5 MILES
61 MOVED 0.5 TO 1 MILE
60 MOVED OVER 1 MILE
CENTRAL LONDON MARKETS
We can also see how the trend played out across markets, with the Wider City in particular achieving a high degree of loyalty amongst its occupiers.
MOVERS FROM THE WIDER CITY PRIMARILY STAYED IN THEIR MARKET
The arrows on the map show were Wider City movers relocated from and to in 2024.
The vast majority stayed local, with 94% of Wider City relocators remaining within the market – the highest proportion on record. Just 12 occupiers moved from the Wider City into the West End, with no moves recorded into East London.
The shorter distance moved reflects the focus on core, central locations that occupiers have shown over 2024 and in the last few years with these areas reporting a high share of overall deals and a high number of stayers.
THE ARROWS ON THE MAP SHOW WHERE WIDER CITY MOVERS RELOCATED FROM AND TO IN 2024.
MOVERS FROM THE WEST END
There were 24 movers from the West End into the Wider City, continuing the long-term migration trend across the two markets with 12 cross-market migrations on net – albeit at a significantly slower rate than the 19 West to Wider City movers averaged over the last 10 years. No moves were recorded to East London from the West End in 2024.
Looking ahead, supply shortages in core West End markets may drive a higher degree of migration across markets – and further rental growth for the remaining spaces.
In the West End, occupiers also reported a high degree of loyalty to their existing market. Of 2024 movers previously located in the West End, 79% remained within the West End market. This is above the 73% averaged over the last 10 years.
CENTRAL LONDON SUBMARKETS
This can be shown through sector ellipses, which encompass two thirds of the transactions that occurred within their respective sector in 2024.
These are calculated by mapping one standard deviation around the geographic mean of the deals within each sector.
Not all sectors moved in the same way, however. Some were more footloose than others, while some remained highly location sensitive.
SECTOR ELLIPSES
Banking & Finance is also specific in location, concentrating on core West End areas and Wider City.
The Insurance and Legal sectors are the most locationally sensitive, confining themselves to the City Core primarily with the Insurance sector particularly focused on the tower cluster.
Retail & Leisure, Manufacturing & Energy and Media are all broadly spread across Central London, from the West End into the Wider City.
Professional Services firms are more distributed but remain focused on central locations in particular.
Government & Public Sector is the most footloose, spanning from the West End into Canary Wharf and Stratford. This reflects the broad range of occupiers within this grouping, as well as their more price-sensitive requirements.
The Technology sector also has a wide base, pushing further north into the tech clusters of King's Cross and Shoreditch.
LESS BUT BETTER
MORE AND BETTER
While there are some examples supporting this, it is not the case for the majority of the market. Occupiers are taking better space - but in higher volumes.
Comparing their new to former office space, occupiers in 2024 increased their floorspace by an average of 38% - the highest figure since 2018.
Larger spaces, better quality and rising rents has meant that occupiers have had to consider what value offices provide to their business and staff - with evidence strongly pointing toward an uptick in the perceived return on investment that they can provide.
Comparing headline rents at the start of the new lease with that of the start of the former lease, across the top 10 largest office transactions in 2024 there was an average increase of 73% in total rent liabilities on an annualised basis (although this does not take into account rent reviews).
With 65% of office space leased in 2024 being of Grade A quality (the second highest share on record, behind only 2023), there is also a clear trend of occupiers seeking out the best space - and taking more of it.
As a result, 'more and better' is in fact a closer reflection of the reality on the ground.
The focus on these higher quality spaces has put pressure on supply. While availability was elevated overall, the 'right' offices continued to see strong demand as a greater proportion of the market concentrated on these assets. Consequentially, strong rental growth has been recorded across Central London in 2024, particularly in central locations, reaching 12% in the City Core and 9% in Mayfair & St James’s.
‘Less but better' has been commonly cited as the direction of travel for office occupiers over 2024, with the theory being that companies were opting for smaller but higher quality accommodation.
NEW VERSUS FORMER AVERAGE OFFICE SIZE BY YEAR
KEY THEMES
FOCUS ON THE CORE
LOCAL LOYALTY
MORE AND BETTER
A record high number of deals transacted in the City in 2024 at 339, 2% ahead of 2023 and 17% higher than the 10-year average. The West End reported 183 transactions, down 4% on 2023 and 8% behind the 10-year average.
RECORD HIGH
At 531, the number of deals in 2024 remained high, 3% lower than the volume recorded in 2023 but remaining 3% ahead of the 10-year average.
Occupiers focused their attention on central core markets, with limited transactional activity in peripheral areas as companies look at what locations work best for their employees.
West to East migration continued albeit at a slower rate with 24 occupiers relocating out of the West End into the City, down on the record high 46 achieved in 2023. Meanwhile, 12 moved the other way, also down on the figure from the previous year (14).
There were 43 new Central London occupiers taking space across the market, slightly down against the 10-year average of 46. Of this number, 18 occupiers were new businesses acquiring their first office space, while the remaining 25 occupiers relocated from outside of Central London.
The Wider City recorded the highest number of internal moves, with 177 occupiers moving within the City market – 4% ahead of the previous record set last year in 2023 and 30% above the 10-year average. The West End reported 89 internal moves, down 6% against the 10-year average.
This was the first year on record where there were more stayers versus relocators in terms of both count and quantum, amounting to 54% and 60% respectively.
The average distance moved in 2024 was just 0.7 miles on average from an occupier's former location to their new office, 15% below the 0.9 miles averaged in 2023.
Of the established companies, 320 occupiers expanded on their prior accommodation, equating to total expansion of 4.10 million sq ft. A further 88 occupiers reduced their space through relocation, a loss of 834,000 sq ft, resulting in an overall expansionary market of 3.27 million sq ft –the highest net expansion figure since 2019.
Occupiers who moved offices in 2024 are estimated to be paying 34% more in business rates in their new office versus their previous accommodation. Additionally, this is estimated to rise by between 70% to 82% on average following the 2026 revaluation.
Drawing on the comprehensive data that drives London Moves, our proprietary Expected Tenant model provides bespoke analysis of which sector is most likely to occupy a specific space in a particular location, and where they are likely to relocate from.
RECORD HIGH
RECORD HIGH
RECORD HIGH
RECORD LOW
There was a clear trend of occupiers taking more space of better quality, rather than the ‘less but better’ trend which has been referenced.
Seven of the eight deals over 100,000 sq ft increased their floorspace with a total net expansion of 668,000 sq ft. This is the strongest figure for the 100,000 sq ft plus sect of the market since 2018.
KEY THEMES
These values are compared against the specified location, size and rent of an office space, with the resulting values rolled up into a single suitability measure for each sector - the XTe Score - with 100% being a perfect match.
THE AVERAGE SIZE OF LEASES
THE AVERAGE HEADLINE RENT ACHIEVED
THE PROPORTIONAL SHARE OF TRANSACTIONS BY COUNT
This can be used as a guide for tenant targeting for available spaces, as well as for informing their design to best cater for the most likely occupiers.
The model is fully customizable to provide bespoke locational analysis for any given office space within Central London. To demonstrate what’s possible, we have provided three example scenarios.
Take a hypothetical 50,000 sq ft City Core office targeting headline rents of £100.00 psf. Based on transactional evidence over the last five years, the Legal sector has the highest XTe Score at 64%, followed by the Banking & Finance sector at 57% and Insurance at 49%. The component scores of each of these sectors are broken out to understand the drivers behind the overall XTe Score. While the Banking & Finance sector was the most prevalent in the submarket historically (shown by the count score), and the Insurance sector was well aligned with the size, it was the Legal sector which received the highest rent and size scores – enabling it to achieve the strongest total XTe Score.
From here, we can see that occupiers from all three of the highest XTe scoring sectors who lease office space within the City Core typically move from offices already located within the submarket.
This can then be leveraged alongside lease events data and active requirements as well as outlooks for sector growth to more precisely target potential occupiers.
CENTRAL LONDON OFFICE LEASING COMPOSITION
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HEADLINE
OVERVIEW
NEW ENTRANTS
MARKET MOVERS
WHERE ARE THEY MOVING?
WHERE ARE THEY MOVING?
MARKET MOVERS
THE NET EFFECT
KEY THEMES
RISING RATES
WHERE ARE THEY MOVING?
NET MIGRATION
WHO IS MOVING?
531 DEALS IN 2024
339 WIDER CITY DEALS
RECORD HIGH
531 DEALS IN 2024
43 NEW CENTRAL LONDON OCCUPIERS
37% OF ALL LEASES TOOK PLACE IN THE CITY CORE
RECORD HIGH
88% OF OCCUPIERS MOVED WITHIN THEIR MARKET
RECORD HIGH
339 WIDER CITY DEALS
RECORD HIGH
24 WEST TO EAST RELOCATIONS
3.27 MILLION SQ FT NET EXPANSION
38% AVERAGE INCREASE IN FLOORSPACE
88% OF 100K SQ FT DEALS EXPANDED
24 WEST TO EAST RELOCATIONS
In 2024, there were 26 transactions enacted by Flexible Workspace operators, equating to 590,000 sq ft. Momentum continued for Education & Medical occupiers, leasing 362,000 sq ft across 20 transactions - the joint highest count on record.
A further 43 deals were executed by new market entrants, with the remaining 408 transactions attributed to established Central London occupiers. The 451 total of new and established occupiers was down on the 481 deals recorded in 2023 but was ahead of the 446 seen in 2019 and remained 2% above the 10-year annual average.
Of the established companies, 101 opted to expand their current office footprint by adding an additional office space to their existing portfolio within Central London, equating to 1.81 million sq ft of take-up. This figure rebounded from the low of 2023, with some occupiers having to adjust for previous contractions in their floorspace. The remaining 307 occupiers relocated to new office premises across the market.
Additionally, only five occupiers moved from the City Core submarket into a new office beyond the Wider City market, with the vast majority remaining within the City Core and the immediately adjacent submarkets.
There is a supply-led component to this, with the strength of development in the City Core – particularly of best-in-class buildings – meaning that occupiers seeking such spaces are drawn into the submarket, as well as amenity and transport components.
Supply is consequentially being outpaced by demand in the City Core, with the vacancy rate decreasing from 9.9% in Q4 2023 to 9.1% in Q4 2024 following 1.79 million sq ft being absorbed in the submarket on net – the highest net absorption figure since 2018.
There were no relocations into Mayfair & St James's from the Wider City or East London for the first time since 2014, albeit most years only record one or two of these relocations.
This reflects the growing rental disparity between the core West End submarkets and elsewhere in Central London, as well as the limited supply of stock. Prime headline rents increased to £150.00 psf in Q4 2024 in Mayfair & St James's, 33% ahead of the next submarket by rent.
This is partly as a result of the supply picture, with just 1.16 years of Grade A supply available across Mayfair & St James's at the end of Q4 2024 - well below the 1.77 years averaged over the last 10 years and less than half that of Central London as a whole.
These trends look set to persist, with a limited development pipeline suggesting greater competition amongst occupiers for the remaining spaces – driving further rental growth.
Shoreditch reported the highest gain in number of occupiers at 11 with 26 in-movers versus 15 out-movers - again demonstrating the maturity of the submarket.
The City Core followed in second place with a net gain of nine firms from 113 inbound movers and 104 émigrés.
Mayfair reported the greatest decrease with a net loss of 12 occupiers. This is attributed to the lack of stock in the market, with a Grade A vacancy rate of just 2.15% in Q4 2024.
The flight to centrality is evident in these figures, with central markets reporting the highest level of net inward migration both by count and volume, with the exception of those submarkets where limited supply levels acted as a constraint.
For only the second time in the last 10 years, there were more Banking & Finance movers in the Wider City versus the West End at 35 against 28 respectively.
The three deals in excess of 100,000 sq ft in 2024 were spread across the markets with one in each. Citadel recorded the largest of these in the Wider City, pre-letting 252,000 sq ft at 2 Finsbury Avenue.
This was followed by Evercore pre-letting 105 Victoria Street in the West End, and Revolut taking space at YY London in East London. All three represented significant expansions on their previous accommodations.
As rates are primarily based on the volume of space occupied, some of the increase can be attributed to the difference in size between the new and former offices, with an average increase of 38%. As per the 'more and better' theme, new offices also tend to be of better quality - generally resulting in higher rateable values.
There is also a locational aspect. The additional 1.8p City of London supplement has impacted a greater number of deals this year due to the record number of transactions within the City Core submarket - accounting for 25% of all market movers in 2024. This sits in addition to the 2p Elizabeth Line supplement applicable across all London boroughs.
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