Flush with Asian cash, the London office market looks Brexit-proof – for now at least

A “circus”, “Disneyland” and a “failed state”. Prior to the turmoil unleashed by its vote in 2016 to leave the European Union, it was unthinkable that Britain – a country long admired for its political stability and pragmatism – could be referred to in such a disparaging way.

Yet with Britain now knee-deep in a political and constitutional crisis – and just weeks away from crashing out of the EU with no agreement in place on how to continue doing business with the bloc – the country’s reputation, at home and abroad, has been severely tarnished. The British brand, many diplomats and investors believe, is damaged beyond repair.

However, in the London office market, the fallout from Brexit is scarcely detectable. Last year, take-up (the amount of office space let, pre-let or acquired for occupation) reached 12.5 million square feet, slightly up from 2017 and 6 per cent above the five-year average, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield, a property consultancy. For banking and financial services – the segment of the occupational market that has the most to lose from a no-deal Brexit because it would mean the end of “passporting”, which allows banks to service the rest of the EU from their London hubs – take-up rose nearly 20 per cent.