Is Central London office take-up taking off?

Property Week has highlighted some encouraging data from Cushman & Wakefield this week on Central London office take-up, focussing on the reported 69% hike in take-up for Q1 2022 as against Q1 2021.

An increase is arguably not a surprise given that Q1 2021 sat squarely within the third national lockdown, but the percentage increase is big and the overall picture reported positive. The City, for example, is reported as having seen its highest Q1 figure since 2018 and overall Central London take-up is reported as being 4% above the five year Q1 average.

All of this will be well received not only by Central London landlords but also their investors and lenders, as well the cafes, sandwich shops, restaurants and retailers whose businesses rely heavily on people being "in town".