Brexit is no longer slowing down London office developers

Developers are starting to bet big on London again despite Brexit.

London’s office market has proven to be surprisingly resilient in the face of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, convincing many developers that it is time to break ground on new projects in the city, according to Bloomberg.

Land Securities Group, for instance, is now redeveloping the London building at 1 Sherwood Street, the first time in roughly five years the firm has launched a project without first securing tenants. British Land Co. has also submitted plans to construct its biggest development ever in the city’s Southwark neighborhood.

A Deloitte report found that developers started working on 37 projects spanning 3.5 million square feet in the six-month period through March, the most since the beginning of 2016. And data from broker Savills Plc. found that London development plots with enough space for roughly 6.7 million square feet of development were traded or put up for sale since the beginning of the year, a record number.

“Across Central London, the appetite for development and refurbishment opportunities is almost unabated,” Savills director Robert Buchele told Bloomberg. [Bloomberg] – Eddie Small