March 7, 2003—London, Tokyo and Paris have retained their position as the world’s three most expensive cities for office space in this year’s edition of Business Space Across the World, produced by property consultant Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker, the European division of New York-based Cushman & Wakefield.
The gap has widened between the cost of locating an office in London, Tokyo or Paris and the world’s other key business locations. These three top cities have not only experienced less downward pressure on rents, but also suffered to a lesser extent from the appreciation of the Euro.
This year’s edition of “Business Space Across the World,” an annual report looking at the world’s most expensive locations for office and industrial locations space, surveys 209 key office locations in 46 countries and 122 industrial locations in 38 countries.
David Hutchings, Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker’s Head of European Research, commented: “The threat of war and an increase in geopolitical tensions, as well as the large-scale financial scandals that took place towards the end of last year, have marred the performance of the world’s economies. And this has had a knock-on effect on the demand for offices.”
A square meter of prime office space in the West End of London is now priced at an average Euro 1,478 to rent each year, compared with Euro 1,104 in Tokyo and Euro 961 in Paris. In 4th place comes New York’s Midtown area followed by Moscow and Frankfurt, while Hong Kong has continued its downward descent, from 6th to 12th position.
Brussels is the biggest riser in the ranking. The “capital of Europe” climbed ten positions to 19th on the back of the strength of the Quartier Leopold business district, helped by strong demand from occupiers, the availability of good quality office space, a low vacancy rate, as well as proximity to the European Union Commission and to good public transport. “Brussels remains strong in light of the proposed enlargement of the EU,” concludes the report.
Looking ahead at the global situation for offices, David Hutchings commented: “Companies that occupy office space are likely to show on-going caution through the rest of this year, particularly while uncertainty surrounding the crisis regarding Iraq exists.”
For a full copy of the report, contact Chris Bond in the press office at 44/0-20 7514 2006.
