West London Office News

Welcome to our Q4 update, where we share the latest insights into the commercial property market in West London. Featured in this issue: Market Summary, Take-Up At a Glance, and other news.

We round up on the last quarter of 2024 West London Office News and reflect on the year. In the occupational market we saw more companies taking decisions on their office requirements after several years of uncertainty. Working out space requirements to meet changing working habits and a desire to offer the best environment for staff return and retention is driving requirements. We have continued to see a strong demand for fitted space, particularly at the sub 5,000 sq ft sector.

In the capital markets, interest from developers continues with office to resi conversions being the main focus whilst owner occupiers remain more cautious with high interest rates being an issue. Financial markets are currently forecasting a sub 4% bank rate by December 2025 which will provide some welcome confidence in the markets. The outlook for 2025? Probably much the same as 2024, it is positive, and moving in the right direction, just not at speed.

Office take-up in the West London region (Paddington, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Chiswick, and Wandsworth) during 2024 showed a clear improvement over 2023. There has been a consistent improvement in take-up since 2020. There was a significant “blip” in 2022 due to a couple of much larger transactions in Paddington & Battersea, reinforcing what has been a positive trend in the last four years.

Hammersmith and Fulham

Two office buildings in central Hammersmith, Farriers Yard and Forge totalling 59,000 sq ft, exchanged contracts for a sale to a residential developer Indigo Scott off an initial guide price of £17m (c. £290 psf) Frost Meadowcroft and CBRE acted for the sellers KFIM. The purchaser is looking to secure a residential conversion through the Prior Approval process.

In Hammersmith the recently refurbished Ark secured a letting to Qantas Airways on 7,000 sq ft fully fitted space at £50 per sq ft. The airline has been based in Hammersmith at nearby King Street since 1984 and this move marks a significant change for the organisation. It also follows the recent trend of companies reducing the amount of office space, Qantas were in around 12,000 sq ft, and opting for fitted space. The Ark is rolling out fully fitted offices from 1,500 to 7,500 sq ft.

The Ark Fitted Offices

There remains a supply surplus of offices in Hammersmith and Fulham, in particular Hammersmith town centre, where many older buildings are now redundant as offices. In many cases, the cost of bringing these offices to a lettable standard is not viable and our view is that a change of use is required to correct the supply vs demand balance. Hammersmith remains a popular and strategic location for many occupiers but the office stock needs to meet the demands of today’s occupier with unviable space being allowed to change to residential or other uses.

Kensington and Chelsea

Spacemade, the flex workspace operator have started fitting out the 19,000 sq ft floor at Notting Dale’s Yellow Building where they will be launching Studio Y, offering space to small and medium-sized fashion businesses, as well as businesses in related industries such as beauty, photography, PR and design. The campus is already home to Stella McCartney, Monsoon, Dune and Phoebe Philo. This is Spacemade’s second deal with a Frost Meadowcroft client – the other being Fulham Works at Fulham Broadway.

In North Kensington, the Gramophone Works in Kensal Road, the former home of Saga Records and epicentre of reggae music in London, sold at the end of the year. The property fund Resolution Property developed the landmark canal side commercial campus comprising a mix of refurbished and extended office spaces, The Dock and Studio Building. The new owners have secured Kindred Studios, an arts and creative occupier for the larger Dock Building and will be looking at alternative uses for the Studio Building. The building of 86,000 sq ft was being offered at £25m (£290 psf) and is believed to have transacted at significantly less than this figure.

White City and Notting Hill

The Jellycats expand

Frost Meadowcroft has successfully acquired an additional 3,652 sq ft at The Westworks Building in White City for Jellycat, the ever popular British soft toy company. This expansion builds on their existing office in White City, bringing their total footprint to 18,000 sq ft. Designed by Allies & Morrison, Westworks forms part of the White City Place development managed by Stanhope. We are proud to have represented Jellycat over the last 15 years, securing the ideal spaces to support their growth and mission of spreading joy through their beloved products.

Imperial College London, the world-class science, engineering, medicine and business university, signed a lease for 47,650 sq ft of space at White City Place. Imperial will take the first floor of the MediaWorks building at White City Place for a new Professional Services hub, joining tenants including major life sciences companies Autolus, Novartis, and Engitix, as well as other internationally renowned educational institutions, the Royal College of Art and the Tokyo College of Sushi and Washoku, in the growing White City Innovation District.

Westfield URW have begun works on the new 80,000 sq ft office – Platform at Westfield London, due to complete in Q4 2025. Platform will create best in class space and amenity designed by the award-winning architects Squire & Partners. Frost Meadowcroft and Savills are advising Westfield.

Richmond

The recently completed 80 George Street, a 90,000 sq ft Sheen Lane Development, has completed a letting of around 30,000 sq ft to Lindt at a rent of c. £62 on a 10 yr lease.  The chocolatier has moved from Bedfont Lakes, near Heathrow, to move closer into London. Richmond beat local competition including Chiswick Park and Hammersmith.

Chiswick

The largest leasing deal in Chiswick, off Chiswick Business Park, transacted at Feldberg Capital’s Power Road Studios to Buzz 16 , the award-winning production company behind the podcast The Overlap. They leased 8,200 sq ft of fitted space, in a deal that was completed in just 6 weeks from viewing the space. Frost Meadowcroft represented the landlord and Albany represented the tenant.

Chiswick Park enjoyed its most successful quarter of the year with an impressive 210,000 sq ft let in 2024. Notable deals were welcoming Sega, Dell and McDermott to the Park alongside Frost Meadowcroft’s client Pokemon, who expanded to a total of 60,000 sq ft in Building 10.

Relocating from Chiswick Park, Halliburton have moved to a 5,000 sq ft fitted floor in Schroders Capital’s The Chiswick Building. The move is typical of many tenants looking to downsize their current size and upgrade the quality. Frost Meadowcroft acted for the Landlord Schroders IM.

Headlines Q4 – West London Office News

Fitted Space

Leasing a fitted & furnished office – option or expectation?

We analysed all our leasing deals in 2024 with the figures confirmed what we already knew – nearly 75% of office deals completed by Frost Meadowcroft to occupiers were fitted out space. Only a quarter were in the standard blank canvas Cat A condition. The remaining three quarters benefitted from some level of fitout, ranging from bespoke landlord fitouts to, to Cat A+ spaces, through to previous tenant’s fitouts.

This trend highlights a growing preference for ready-to-occupy workspaces. With fitouts becoming increasingly expensive and time-consuming, many businesses do not have the capital or flexibility to take on the process themselves. As a result, landlords who offer fitted spaces gain a significant advantage in attracting tenants, reducing voids and securing better terms.

Providing a turnkey office solution can be the key differentiator in securing occupiers, making the office move as seamless as possible and reducing downtime for businesses. In today’s market, a well-fitted space isn’t just an option, it’s becoming an expectation.

Hammersmith Council refuses residential conversion of former L’Oreal HQ

Hammersmith & Fulham Council is continuing with a policy of protecting employment use in the town centre following the launch of the Article 4 consultation. L’Oreal’s former HQ on the corner of Butterwick and Hammersmith Road remains empty following their move to White City. An application by Quod Planning, on behalf of the Fore Partnership, for 137 new homes has been refused. This follows numerous refusals of prior approval applications at a time when supply of office space in the town is at its highest for 20 years, with many buildings sitting empty. A second application via prior approval at Hythe House on Shepherd’s Bush Road has also been refused; this follows the first refusal for a residential scheme.

Premier League nets 100,000 sq ft London office move

The Premier League has agreed a deal to take 100,000 sq ft at One Olympia in West Kensington. The £1.3 billion regeneration of Olympia is set to be London’s newest cultural landmark. Yoo Capital, the developer, secured IWG earlier in the year who will be offering serviced flexible work space, coworking on 75,000 sq ft.  Approximately 400,000 sq ft of office space is still available.

Great West House Brentford sale

Developer McGrath Group acquired GWH, the west London landmark for a residential-led scheme with a value in excess of £200m. Firma Partners is providing a facility for the £40m acquisition and development of Great West House, which comprises 140,000 sq ft of office space across two buildings in Brentford as well as a car park. McGrath Group plans to convert the two office buildings on the 3.16-acre site into residential under permitted development rights, providing around 263 homes. The site, received planning approval for the scheme from Hounslow Council in August 2024. 

West London Office News
Hammersmith approves ambitious Kings Road development

Hammersmith & Fulham Council has granted detailed planning permission for phase four of the King’s Road Park masterplan, a significant milestone in the transformation of a former gasworks site into a vibrant urban neighbourhood.

£250 million – a Bridge too far?

2035. A date for our diaries. Why? Well, according to a report by the Daily Telegraph, this is the possible date for the reopening of Hammersmith Bridge which has been closed to vehicle traffic for 6 years.  Arguments have waged between central Government, Hammersmith & Fulham council and London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames as to who is responsible for paying and repairing the iconic 138-year-old structure since cracks were found and restrictions first imposed in 2015. Initial estimates of around £141 million, provided 4 years ago, have now almost doubled to around £250 million.