London Office Construction at 13-Year High

London is currently riding a 13-year record in the construction of purpose-built office space.  As if that wasn’t enough good news for the construction industry, new reports from The Telegraph suggest that the city’s skyline is set to be transformed with the addition of 455 new skyscrapers in coming years.

Overall construction spending shows no sign of slowing, with the total office space in the capital expected to reach a staggering 39 million square feet by 2021.

Details published in the latest Deloitte London Office Crane Survey Summer 2017 – which covers seven major office markets within the capital, shows an increase in the amount of available office space in London to some 13.9 million square feet in 2017.

Buildings Made to Order and Open to the World

Since the previous survey was published, there has been a completion of 3.9 million square feet of office space, with 43% of that space already agreed to be let.

28 new construction starts were made during the six months to the end of March. Of these new starts, new builds accounted for half of all projects.

Experts at Deloitte remain confident in the future market prospects, as Britain remains an attractive global home for many of the world's largest companies. Brands such as Google and Spotify are helping shape the physical landscape of the capital, further boosting the confidence within London’s construction industry.

Where these brands lead, others follow, with large sporting companies such as the PGA Tour looking to migrate to the English capital to centralise their business operations.

Rebuilding, Renovating and Repurposing

Demolition rates remain relatively high, as sought after locations receive a much-needed facelift for the modern business or office client.

Nigel Shilton, managing partner of Deloitte Real Estate, echoed the positive sentiments of contractors who are expecting a rise in construction contracts in the coming 12 months.

“Looking at the development pipeline, we forecast around 39 million square feet to be delivered by 2021. Very few schemes have been cancelled, highlighting continuing developer confidence.”

The report highlights that this demolition process is a solid indicator of the forthcoming construction projects pencilled in with demolition levels up 11% on the previous 12 months, giving a good indication that more construction starts are imminent.

Ten newly started schemes in The City accounted for 40% of the volume of all new space started - with three-quarters of these projects being new builds. London’s Midtown also saw a large recovery to workloads with an increase of 9% after a 20% fall in projects during the previous period.

The Southbank has also been boosted by around 6%, thanks in part, to the Ian Simpson 50-storey luxury One Blackfriars site.

Central London’s booming construction industry is already offering plenty of roles, from Quantity Surveyor positions to Managing Consultants.

Looking even further ahead, the Business Insider UK projection for the next five years continues to record a significant volume of planned construction, leaving a wealth of opportunities to become part of the projects shaping our capital city.

Be Part of the Boom

Maxim Recruitment has plenty of opportunities for skilled professionals in the UK construction industry - quantity surveyors at all levels, surveyors, estimators, engineers, project managers and more.

“The recruitment team at Maxim in the UK are excited about the ongoing business confidence in the construction sector and we are always looking for the best talent to join our repeat clients,” says Maxim Recruitment Director, Steve Thomas. “Our expertise covers buildings and infrastructure, as well as contractors and consultants of all sizes.

Make sure we have a copy of your up-to-date CV and keep an eye on our jobs pages. You can also register for relevant job alerts.

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Steve Thomas
Recruitment Director