46 PROPERTY
Greenwich offices take-up 2005-2012 to date Source: Colliers International
5,000 sq ft size band with 85% of individual transactions falling in that bracket.” By contrast, the town
centre market has merely ticked over recently. Peter Wilson, Commercial Manager at estate agent John Payne recalls that in 2007/08 there was evidence of businesses leaving Canary Wharf for cheaper premises in Greenwich. But now, as the economic uncertainty drags on, every commercial landlord appears to be competing on price for cost-conscious tenants. “Perhaps in this market
the rates over the water have become quite good and people are staying where they are or they are negotiating with their landlords and rents have not increased,” he says. Wilson says the best offices in Greenwich town
centre command rents of £17-£19 per sq ft, while tenants can pay £28-£30 per sq ft for fully serviced accommodation, such as the Leygatecourt property that dominates Burney Street. Colliers says headline rents in the Peninsula offices are £32 per sq ft. In Canary Wharf they are more than £35 per sq ft although once tenant incentives are taken into account the real rent payable is closer to £25 per sq ft – still a premium over Greenwich. One of the few high-quality developments available at the moment is the recently completed
Greenwich offices take-up by unit size 2005-2012 to date Source: Colliers International
refurbishment on College Approach, where Greenwich Hospital Trust is marketing offices above shops. Black Vanilla has leased both shop and office at 5 College Approach while the trust’s agent, BNP Paribas Real Estate, reports strong interest in the remaining three office units in the scheme. “In certain circumstances there is good demand,” says BNP Paribas director Paul Turton. “It’s a local market or it’s people coming in from outside for short- term space during projects. Greenwich has got good transport links but so have other places. And people’s needs for offices are changing. People are working from home or they might not need as much space. People are more mobile. I think the market in Greenwich will focus on local occupiers.” But then again, Turton also believes the town centre offer of shops and restaurants remains a more attractive option to prospective office tenants than the Peninsula. “When the Greenwich Peninsula gets more retail space it will bring more competition,” he says. “But I’m not convinced that they’ll be as flexible in office space over there because they are quite meaty schemes. The benefit here is that if someone wants 300 sq ft, we can find 300 sq ft.” Such flexibility will be important
given the figures supplied to Greenwich by consultant Jones Lang LaSalle. They reveal that in the first quarter of 2012, the take-up off offices throughout Greenwich, Docklands and Stratford totalled 185,000 sq ft and yet occupiers require two million sq ft in London. Greenwich may yet benefit from this mismatch between supply and demand.
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