New office developments in the City of London are unoccupied.

Costs and lack of demand are just two of the reasons why offices are remaining empty according to new reports.

Many of the office developments in the capital are remaining unoccupied due to a lack of demand and the high expense of office space in the weak financial climate.

The current economic downturn has also seen some companies extend existing leases rather than seeking out new ones upon expiration.

Some of the most well-known skyscraper projects have remained empty following their completion including Minerva’s Walbrook in London’s financial district.  The Walbrook is just one of the buildings that remains unoccupied in the area, two years after its completiton. In fact it is estimated that in the vicinity, 66% of the office space completed this year is yet to be leased.

It was reported by Colliers International that the amount of office space built in the financial district this year was 43% lower than the 10 year average but still most developers are yet to find tenants for their projects. In the first half of the year Savills Plc also stated that the rate of new rentals had dropped by 52%.

Of course, leasing office space in the City is expensive, which is why some companies have chosen to look elsewhere. The site of the 2012 Olympics in the east of London is one of the most enquired about at the moment with some developments already being planned on the cheaper site.

Digby Flower an executive director at CBRE Group said: “The deterioration in the economic outlook since the summer has forced developers to reconsider the timing and feasibility of schemes.

“The development pipeline will be lower than anticipated six months ago.”

According to Jones Lang LaSalle even some legal firms are trying to remove office staff from the capital and use space more efficiently. The cost of leasing space in London is currently so high that companies are being left with no choice but to look elsewhere for new space.

Allen & Overy LLP, who have moved moved their H.R, I.T and finance jobs to Belfast, are said to save £11m in the first five years and £8m a year thereafter, with some of these savings being in real estate.

In 2010, City rents rose by 22% according to Jones Lang LaSalle, with the total space leased increasing by 37% thus prompting landlords and brokers to predict strong growth for 2011. This encouraged developers to undertake projects without first securing tenants.

Director of investment bank, Evolution Securities Lts, Mike Bessell said that some of the big corporate occupiers will not take space in some of the current developments as they will be leased on a floor-by-floor basis which is not suitable.

As London’s banks are hurt by slowdowns in Britain and Europe, the forecasts for projects are now being scaled back, with the prospect of lease extensions being favoured.

Bessell added: “If global macro-uncertainty concerns continue, they might take a five-year extension while they wait and see.

“These days, a landlord would bite their arm off for that.”

Santander are said to be considering the property in London’s Square Mile.

Minerva has announced that it is in talks with Santander concerning the leasing of the Walbrook building in London. The company have been finding it hard to secure a tenant for 410,000 square feet office building on Cannon Street.

“The market was quite quiet in the second half of last year. It has begun to improve in the last few weeks but the City is not racing away,” commented Tim Garnham, development director at Minerva.

Minerva is currently in takeover discussions following an unwanted bid from the company’s largest shareholder, entrepreneur Nathan Kirsh. The firm have blamed the current market for the lack of tenants whilst dismissing rumours that Minerva’s lender have set a rental price level on the property.

Santander is currently in talks with Minerva about leasing office space in the building, previous companies that have shown interest include Bloomberg and Schroders.

The company is marketing the property on a floor by floor basis in case it cannot find a sole tenant. The current lack of available quality office space in the UK capital means that Minerva will most likely benefit from rising city rents when they sign on tenants.

Minerva is also looking for prospective tenants for the top floors of its other large development in London’s Square Mile, St Botolph. As it stands around 45 per cent of the property is leased by companies such as insurance broker Lockton, café chain Eat and law firm Clyde & Co.

The firm had recorded losses of £187 million last year, but have just reported H1 profits of almost £46 million. The key to this return to success is the thriving London office space and commercial property market. Their current property portfolio is now worth almost £1 billion, when it had previously fallen by 27% in the last 12 months.

They have recently finished the Walbrook scheme in the centre of London, containing a mixture of retail and office space. The 445,000 sq ft site is located close to Bank and Cannon Street stations and they are currently seeking a tenant for 410,000 sq ft of office space at the site.

Chief executive of Minerva, Salmaan Hasan feels highly confident about the prospects both for the Walbrook scheme and the general progress of the company, The high demand for office space in London is really driving the market, which in turn will help fill empty space and provide income to create new developments.