With over £90m already invested in its London Office portfolio, the property firm Helical Bar will seek to “ramp-up” its development pipeline as it seeks to rebalance its activities toward income producing buildings.

“Our ability to outperform our peers in the future will depend upon the strength of our development pipeline and it is that part of the business that offers the greatest opportunity for growth.” explained Michael Slade, Chief Executive at Helical Bar.

Current office development include 200 Aldersgate, Mitre Square and Barts Square in the City of London – providing over 1 million square feet of office space.

“We are increasingly redirecting our hard earned equity to London and the South-East, markets which currently represent 47% of our portfolio.” continued Mr Slade.  

“The next few years are all about Central London and happily that is where we hold our most exciting assets. The prospects for substantial profits in respect of our London and retail developments provide cause for optimism for the future performance of the Company.”

According to developer Great Portland Estates, which has a property portfolio valued at £2 billion in the Capital, commercial rentals for the firm totaled over £29m during the last year – with foreign investors and office space demand from tech and media firms said to have boosted the market.

Singled out was the demand for office space in London’s West End, with a growing number of firms seeking to expand their offices in this area of the capital.

Commenting on the activity, which accompanied the firms Preliminary announcement of results, Chief Executive Toby Courtauld explained:

“While we can expect further turbulence in the UK and eurozone economies, conditions in London’s property markets, particularly the West End, remain favourable.

“Tenant demand for new space is trending at the long-run average, with some pockets of strong interest from the likes of the TMT sector, while the supply of new space is low.”

This announcement follows information from Land Securities stating that concerns over the future of the Euro had slowed the take-up of office space in the Capital in recent months.

Building on their previous success, the new building in EC2 will offer 24-hour access and provide a modern and tech-orientated environment for businesses operating from the site.

Introducing the new building, Orega Managing Director Zach Douglas explained:

“After the successful launch of our Hammersmith business centre just two months ago, we have accelerated our opening programme in London to capitalise on the weight of demand for quality, flexible office space,”

“Finsbury Pavement is a fantastic location and has the wonderful bonus of offering clients a slice of outdoor life in the heart of the city via their own personal roof terrace. We think this feature gives our offices an extra dimension which will have universal appeal.”

Opening in August 2012, 101 Finsbury Pavement will be the 11^th business centre offering serviced office space by Orega.

Orega will be taking two floors of 101 Finsbury Pavement, close to the Moorgate tube station and Liverpool Street. Over 17,000 square feet of office space is expected to attract a number of local businesses with a new fit-out, air conditioning and access to a spectacular rooftop garden.

“After the successful launch of our Hammersmith business centre just two months ago, we have accelerated our opening programme in London to capitalise on the weight of demand for quality, flexible office space,” says Managing Director of Orega, Zach Douglas.

“Finsbury Pavement is a fantastic location and has the wonderful bonus of offering clients a slice of outdoor life in the heart of the city via their own personal roof terrace.

“We think this feature gives our offices an extra dimension which will have universal appeal.”

The building in Finsbury Pavement will be Orega’s 11th business centre in the UK and a potentially successful additional to a competitive portfolio.

The Holborn Bars offices with their recognisable Gothic architecture were originally designed specifically for Prudential in 1885 by Alfred Waterhouse and opened its doors for business in 1901. Prudential occupied the building at its headquarters until 1999 when it relocated to Laurence Pountney Hill.

With the lease now due to expire, Chairman Harvey McGrath has announced a possible intention to move back to the Grade II listed property that Prudential still owns:

“Holborn Bars would be one of the options,” Mr McGrath confirmed to his shareholders this week.

Part of the complex is currently occupied as prime London office space, although the insurer’s name is still branded clearly in stone over the iconic entryway and its archives remain in storage there.

Others interested in the building include such impressive brands as Skype and Saatchi & Saatchi and Prudential has in fact been rumoured to be looking elsewhere as well, in locations such as the Shard, Heron Tower and the Walbrook Building.

The scheme, due to be undertaken in part by CLS Holdings, will see hundreds of thousands of square feet of new space appear in ‘Spring Mews’, by Vauxhall Square.

The area overlooks the Thames and has long been a centre for regeneration in the South London area. In total, upon completion, the project will see 399 student rooms and a wealth of new office space for the local area.

“Gaining planning consent at Spring Mews is an important achievement for our plans in Vauxhall,” says CLS Executive Chairman, Sten Mortstedt.

“Vauxhall is an area of London which we expect will see significant regeneration and growth in the next few years.”

According to a report from the news agency Reuters, Land Securities has revealed that many firms are putting-off the acquisition of commercial premises due to the uncertainty hanging over the fate of the troubled Euro.

The firm, who are the largest listed developer in the UK and control a property portfolio that includes prominent buildings such as the new ‘Walkie Talkie” tower,

“In London, uncertainty in the euro zone weighed heavily on business confidence, leading to lower demand than expected for office space.” explained one commentator.

With a flurry of high profile office developments bolstering the London skyline, such as the Shard, Cheesegrater and the rather more normally named 100 Bishopsgate – the slowdown could concern developers as they seek to fill the 2 million plus sq. ft. of floor space they will deliver to London’s office market.

According to one report, the consolidation of their office space could result in a saving of around £1m each year on business rates alone – while the soon to be vacated offices still leased by Clifford Chance will be made available to a long-term tenant.

While the aim of the move seems to be led by the financial benefits, it is also expected to help integrate employees from the various teams involved in the move.

In terms of the open-plan trial, this is expected to run for an initial period of 6 months and represent a significant change in working habits and practices. This is perhaps highlighted by the mix of volunteers and conscripts participating in the trial.

As Clifford Chance consolidate their office space and begin looking for a long-term tenant to fill their soon to be vacant space, it may be that the financial sector could offer a solution – with Canary Wharf set to become the new financial capital of London following the arrival of a string of financial institutions.

The relocation of 8,000 employees from one of the world’s largest financial institutions to office space in Canary Wharf will create Europe’s biggest collection of bankers in the next few months, moving the capital of the UK and Europe’s financial centre away from the City of London.

In what appears to be a cost saving measure, the office space of Canary Wharf apparently provides a £19 per sq. ft. saving for banks such as JPMorgan when compared to keeping their existing offices in the City of London – just by moving 3.4 miles east.

The move to Canary Wharf, which provides around 15 million square feet of office space and retail space across over 30 buildings, is also likely to be relatively easy, with the transport network running to the site benefiting from both underground connections and the Docklands Light Railway.

Despite the shift over 30,000 financial workers are expected to remain working from offices in the City of London.

Office space in The Shard once earmarked for Southwark Council has been given up – in favour of the skyscrapers developers
committing to a local employment project at helping unemployed residents in the local area.

Valued at 500k, the employment project will run over 3 years and aims to deliver 6 months employment to 300 residents. The deal
also stipulates that a third of these jobs must be located in The Shard or the nearby London Bridge Place Development.

“To simply provide space doesn’t do anything towards delivering the outcome that the council and we as a developer share.” explained Hamish McKenzie of Sellar Property Group.

“We have set out on this project trying to deliver something that is not just bricks and mortar – or glass in the case of
the Shard – but that will really, tangibly affect the lives of people in Southwark.

“One of those aims is to make sure that we offer people who live in Southwark the opportunity of working within this new
environment.”

Once completed the shard will provide over 500,000 sq. ft. of office space to rent spread over 26 storeys.