West End hit by a typical pre-election slowdown.

Supply and demand snapshot

■ Letting activity slowed down in March, when take-up reached 201,885 sq ft, down by 45% on March 2014. This could partially be attributable to a period of uncertainty, in the run up to the General Election. From March to May 2005, West End take-up fell by 46%. Similarly, from March to May 2010, take-up dipped by 68% in the lead up to the 2010 election.

■ However, Q1 2015 take-up is only 7% down on the equivalent period in 2014, so it is too early to predict whether the General Election will have a material impact on 2015 take-up.

Click on image below to enlarge

GRAPH 1Take-up

^{Source: Savills Research}

■ A record rent of £185 per sq ft has been achieved at Green Property's 8 St James's Square, SW1. Helly Nahmad Gallery have leased 2,494 sq ft on the sixth floor.

■ The average prime rent in Q1 2015 stands at £118.01 per sq ft, up 12%, on Q4 2014 of £103.33 per sq ft. If the letting of the 6th floor of 8 St James's Square is excluded from the data, the prime rent would be £108.96, up by 5.6% on Q4 2014.

■ Average Grade B rent increased to £52.29 per sq ft, which is still significantly less than the £62.02 per sq ft high point achieved in Q1 2008.

click on image below to enlarge

GRAPH 2Rents

^{Source: Savills Research}

■ Over half of the transactions in March, took place in the W1 postcode, accounting for 122,898 sq ft.

■ Current total supply is 4.1 million sq ft, equating to a vacancy rate of 3.3%. Marginally down from February, the proportion of Grade A stock increased from 71% to 79%.