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INSIGHTS

London Moves

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OVERVIEW

London Moves 2025 is Cushman and Wakefield's detailed analysis of the who, what, where and why of office relocations across the Capital. 

We delve into the intricacies of the market, providing thought-provoking insights and actionable data for investors, occupiers, and developers.

London Moves analyses 9.7 million sq ft of office leasing transactions across 531 deals Central London leasing transactions that took place across 2024. We dissect the data by a combination of metrics and categories including relocation type, submarket, business sector and size. 

New for 2025 – We have leveraged the comprehensive data behind London Moves to create our new Expected Tenant (XTe) model. We can walk you through how this tool will assist with office occupier targeting.

Read the full report and get in touch with the team to understand how this data and insight can be applied for you.

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READ THE FULL REPORT

“The 2025 edition of our annual London Moves report shows what we've felt on the ground for some time now, that occupiers are increasingly invested in getting the right workplace for their employees. We can see this through their focus on core, highly connected and well-amenitised locations, and through their trend of taking not only better quality space but also taking more of it, in order to give their employees a full range of workplaces to enable them to be at their most productive. This ability to track how occupiers' spatial preferences are changing on a case-by-case basis is what makes London Moves such a powerful insight piece for our clients.” Ben Cullen – Head of Offices, UK

WATCH VIDEO

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An introduction to London Moves 2025

Watch Kiran Patel, Head of London Offices Research, highlight the key themes of Focus on the Core, Loyalty to Local and More and Better in this year’s edition of the London Moves report.

KEY TAKEAWAYS


  • Focus on the Core: Core markets have seen robust demand, retaining existing occupiers and attracting new ones.
  • Loyalty to Local: 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.
  • More and Better: Across the Central London office market, more occupiers expanded than contracted in 2024, taking total net expansion for the year to 3.27 million sq ft. This was up 76% versus 2023 and was the highest net expansion figure recorded since 2019.

Read the full report External Link

FAQS

The volume of deals in 2024 stood at 531, which is 3% lower than the volume recorded in 2023 but 3% up on the 10-year average. This was mainly driven by a high volume of deals between 5,000-25,000 sq ft which numbered 452, an increase of 3% on the prior year and accounting for 85% of the total deal count.

Core locations of Mayfair & St James’s and the City Core, and submarkets bordering these areas, remain the most attractive for investors, occupiers, and developers, showcasing strong rental prospects and lower vacancy rates compared to non-central locations. With supply expected to tighten in the core over the coming years, competition for space will drive further rental growth.

In 2024, 175 deals were signed in the City Core, which was the third highest count of the last 10 years. 75% of occupiers who enacted office moves and were previously located within the City Core chose to remain within the submarket. In the West End, Fitzrovia was the most active with 23 deals signed during the year, followed by Victoria at 22 and Mayfair at 17.

Retail & Leisure and Government &Public Sector occupiers remained the most footloose within Central London, maintaining long-term trends.

In 2024, there were 43 new Central London occupiers. Of this number, 18 were new businesses acquiring their first office space, while 25 occupiers relocated from outside Central London.

In 2024, 320 occupiers expanded their prior accommodation, either through relocation or an additional office. This resulted in a total expansion of 4.10 million sq ft.

In 2024, 24 occupiers relocated from the West End to the City, which was a decline from the 46 recorded in 2023. Whilst cost is always a considered driver, the lack of available grade A space in the West End may see a greater number of cross-market migrants in the medium-term future.

In the 100,000 sq ft+ market, there were 8 deals in total. Of these, seven occupiers expanded while only one contracted, resulting in a net expansion of 668,000 sq ft - the strongest figure for the 100,000 sq ft portion of the market since 2018 despite continuing low deal numbers.

The average distance moved by occupiers who relocated within Central London in 2024 was 0.7 miles - the lowest distance on record.

While the exact terms of the 2026 business rates revaluation are yet to be confirmed by government at the time of writing, we estimate that liabilities will increase by 38-49% per sq ft versus 2024 liabilities for those who moved offices in 2024. This is a considerable increase and will impact the leasing environment across Central London, likely increasing the exclusivity of core markets (which will also be impacted by tightening supply) and pushing some occupiers to fringe locations.

CONTACTS

Kiran Patel.jpg
Kiran Patel

Associate, Head of Regional Offices and Head of Life Sciences Research
London, United Kingdom

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Heena-Gadhavi
Heena Gadhavi

Associate, Head of London Offices Research
London, United Kingdom

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Daryl Perry
Daryl Perry

Head of UK Research & Insight
London, United Kingdom

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Ben Cullen - London
Ben Cullen

Head of Offices, UK
London, United Kingdom

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Andrew Tyler- London
Andy Tyler

Head of London Office Leasing
London, United Kingdom

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Martin Richard Forbes Lay
Martin Lay

Head of London Office Capital Markets
London, United Kingdom

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James Meikle
James Meikle

Head of London Occupier Representation
London, United Kingdom

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