JLL has launched London Unlimited, a new multi-disciplinary team which will help existing investor and developer clients, local landlords and businesses look for real estate opportunities in areas outside of the traditional core Central London market.
With recent research predicting office employment in London to grow by a quarter of a million people (11%) in five years (2015 – 2019), there is an increasing pressure on landlords to keep pace with the rising demand for office space, infrastructure improvements and a changing occupier mind set regarding their location.
Michael Davis, who will lead the team, said it will take a holistic approach to provide cross sector knowledge to real estate assets and will draw on the wider expertise of JLL’s other service lines including office leasing, investment and development, occupier representation, residential, planning and retail to deliver unrivalled advice.
He added: “With companies embracing new ways of working, an increasingly distributed office network, and increased occupational costs, businesses are more footloose than ever.
“The UK property industry is now more open, diverse and inquisitive than in previous generations and there is a continual blurring of the lines between offices, retail and residential. This is never more apparent than in dynamic neighbourhoods such as Hackney, Ealing, Deptford and Peckham.
“Sustained population and employment growth in London over the next five years will lead to an under provision of office stock of 23 million sq ft which is why we’re excited about these developing areas.
“Not only do they provide a great opportunity for our landlord clients to invest in new markets, they also offer our occupier clients more value for their money.”
Neil Prime, head of UK Office Agency and Board Member, continued:
“This is a really exciting development in our business model going forward ensuring that we are able to provide the best most experienced advice in these markets for our clients, both old and new.
“It is a first in terms of the larger real estate services businesses in London and additionally shows our commitment to grow and develop in pioneering markets and develop a more diverse offering to our clients.”