^{Source: Savills Research}

■ The largest transaction to complete in December saw The Carlyle Group become the first tenant to take space at the Crown Estate and Oxford Properties' St James’s Market. The Carlyle Group acquired 63,514 sq ft on a 15 year lease at an average rent of £106.83 per sq ft. The transaction is the largest to complete in St James’s since 2001.

■ For the seventh year in a row the Technology & Media sector was the most active in the West End, accounting for 33% of total take-up in 2015. The Insurance & Financial Services sector was the next most active accounting for 19% of total take-up. Highlighting the sector's growing prevalence in the West End, Serviced Office Providers were the third most active business sector in 2015, accounting for 9% of total take-up.

^{Source: Savills Research}

■ Supply at the end of December stood at 3.61m sq ft, equating to a vacancy rate of 2.9%. This represents a decrease of 4% on the 3.76m sq ft that was available at the end of November and is 12% lower than the 4.06m sq ft of space available at the end of 2014. 657,452 sq ft (18%) of supply is currently under offer.

■ The strain on supply and high levels of demand lead to the West End experiencing significant rental growth in 2015. The average Grade A rent rose 9% from £67.26 per sq ft in 2014, to £73.89 per sq ft. Similarly, the average Prime rent rose 6% from £102.37 per sq ft to £108.95 per sq ft. Continuing the trend, the average Grade B rent rose 15% from £42.70 per sq ft to £50.28 per sq ft.

■ The highest recorded rent in December was £157.00 per sq ft, which is the second highest rent ever recorded in the West End. The transaction saw HCBG acquire 4,055 sq ft, at 8 St James’s Square on a 10 year lease.

■ Looking forward, a total of 2.7m sq ft of new developments and refurbishments are scheduled to complete in 2016, 40% above the long term average of 1.6m sq ft. However, the increase in development activity is being counteracted by a rise in pre-letting activity, with 22% of 2016 completions already pre-let.

^{Source: Savills Research} 

Analysis close up

^{Completions due in the next six months are included in the supply figures}

^{* Average prime rents for preceeding three months}

^{** Average rent free on leases of five years for preceeding three months}

^{Source: Savills Research}