St James''s Square ''to break office rent record'' - commercial mortgages

09 August 2007

A property in St James''s Square in London is set to become the most expensive office space in the world following interest from a private equity firm, it has been claimed.

The office space, found on the recently-refurbished top floor of the building, has just been refurbished and it is thought it will be let for £135 per square foot, according to The Business.

Such rental income will no doubt far exceed that garnered by landlords with commercial mortgages, and is indicative of the limited supply within the London market, observers suggest.

"There''s a distinct lack of quality buildings coming through for the smaller financial services companies who want a West End base," Knight Frank''s Phil Hobley told The Business.

Earlier this week the British Retail Consortium''s head of property Paul Browne confirmed that the London office market was booming for such reasons, with rents reaching their highest level for seven years, according to separate Knight Frank research.