Welcome to our latest update, where we share the latest insights into the commercial property market in west London.
MARKET UPDATE Q2/Q3 2025 – Commercial Property Market Update in West London
Welcome to our latest update, where we share insights into the commercial property market across West London. In this edition, you’ll find: Office Market Overview – current trends and performance highlights. Headlines, Market deals and New to market. Features: Vacant Buildings- Offsetting costs, and Currys’ 150,000 sq ft Lease Surrender. Feature Insight – Drop in Capital Values and what it means for investors and the buildings.
Stay informed with the latest developments shaping the West London commercial property landscape.
West London Market Update: Q2 & Q3 Snapshot
While Q2 broke records for heat, the West London office market remained relatively cool. Decision-making cycles lengthened, external uncertainties lingered, and economic confidence stayed flat — all of which continued to weigh on activity levels.
That said, there were signs of renewed momentum in the latter part of Q3, with transactional activity beginning to pick up.
Rents across the region have largely held steady, with a few headline deals still achieving £60+ per sq ft. However, the broader trend points to downward pressure. Notably, most Grade A office buildings are mid to late £40s per sq ft.
According to the RICS’ UK Property Monitor, occupier demand remained flat across most sectors, though Central London showed relatively stronger momentum. One standout insight from the Q2 survey: 35% of respondents believe we’re now in the “Early Upturn” phase of the property cycle — the most common response.
Early signs from Q3 suggest a potentially more active final quarter as sentiment cautiously improves and decision-making begins to accelerate.
Hammersmith and Fulham
The new Olympia development secured a further high profile occupier with a signing of Premier League Studios, the Premier League’s new international content production arm for 74,000 sq ft due to complete later this year. Their transfer from the Brunel Building in Paddington is set to take place early next year. Yoo Capital, the developer, had already secured IWG and Alpha Education. Olympia has just announced a multi-million pound agreement with Transport for London (TfL) to boost Overground services to Kensington (Olympia) as part of the £1.3bn transformation set to open early next year.
In central Hammersmith, the ARK continues to secure occupiers after our initial letting of 7,000 sq ft to Qantas Airlines in Q1. This was followed by a 6,500 sq ft deal to Riman KBeauty, 2,500 sq ft to Biotiful Dai, 1,500 sq ft to Starlight Children’s Charity and a 4,000 sq ft deal to Healf over the last quarter. These lettings were all on fully fitted space with the Healf and Biotiful Dai deals being on a managed basis. Healf moved from serviced offices in Kensington. Now, with a further two offices under offer, the ARK’s success is being attributed to the flexible sizes available on fully fitted space. Quoting rents for furnished offices are £52.50 per sq ft.
New For Sale in Fulham – Melbray House a traditional mews warehouse building of 5,100 sq ft at £3m (£588 psf) is being offered for sale – a unique converted industrial building in Fulham retaining many of the original character features including high ceilings and large warehouse crittal style windows.
Kensington and Chelsea
Mago Capital has purchased the Notting Hill Gate Estate as part of its ongoing expansion into prime central London for a reported £150m. Purchased by Frogmore in 2015 the estate was substantially refurbished and repositioned during their ownership which includes retail and office properties surrounding Notting Hill Gate station. The sale was marketed by JLL on behalf of Frogmore and co-investor Morgan Stanley. With an 8-year WAULT and tenants including FORA, McDonald’s, Tesco and M&S. Office rents are passing off at around of £63 per sq ft with very low stock in the area and strong retail demand in the location growth prospects look positive.
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In North Kensington, the new owners of the canal-side Gramophone Works in Kensal Road W10, have instructed Frost Meadowcroft to market the top floors of the building following the letting of 40,000 sq ft to Kindred Studios. This stunning available space is constructed in CLT (cross laminated timber) designed with sustainability at its core. The private investors backed by RedevCo secured Kindred Studios, an arts and creative occupier, earlier in the year who are now occupying 40,000 sq ft. The remaining 4th and 5th floors available have impressive terraces and will be offered from 4,000 – 17,000 sq ft. Quoting rents of £45 per sq ft.
Fulham
Peterborough Road a new 45,000 sq ft office development has commenced in Parsons Green. Development and asset managers W.RE have started the development and appointed agents on this brand-new office scheme over looking Parsons Green. The building is planned for completion in 2026.
Chiswick
Mulliner House sold to Little Houses Group – Mulliner House in Chiswick has been sold by Schroders Investment Management for an undisclosed sum to The Little Houses Group. The property is approximately 30,000 sq ft over ground and two upper floors, with an excellent parking ratio for the location, and is ideally situated for the expanding family members club in the Bedford Park area of Chiswick, off Turnham Green Terrace.
Japanese pharmaceutical company Chugai-Pharma who were based at Mulliner House, surrendered their lease as part of the negotiations. Frost Meadowcroft acted on behalf of Chugai and subsequently acquired 4,500 sq ft of new office space on their behalf at Building 4, Chiswick Park.
Richmond
Richmond continues to attract top-tier occupiers with a trio of standout lettings:
- BPCE Equipment Solutions has secured the 1st and 2nd floors at 63 Kew Road, taking 18,000 sq ft at £52 per sq ft in a design-led building transformed by Urbana Partners.
- At Explore Richmond, software firm Inforcer has taken 9,200 sq ft on the 1st floor, adding to the building’s growing tech community.
- And at 26–30 Paradise Road, BodyViewUK, London Gynaecology and ROSEBANK have joined as new tenants across three floors, in a deal brokered by Bray Fox Smith on behalf of GWP. Rents achieved were from £55 per sq ft on ground to £62.50 per sq ft on the 3rd floor.
West London Offices: Bargain or Burden – what is the future for these buildings?
Several large office assets have hit the West London market recently, with guide prices between £190–£250 per sq ft. On the surface, they look like a steal — but the reality is more complex.
Vacancy rates in Hammersmith are now above 20%, and occupier demand has softened, putting downward pressure on rental values. Many of these buildings require significant refurbishment to meet modern standards — a costly and often unviable proposition. Add in multi-year void periods and generous rent-free incentives, and it’s clear why these assets are trading at a fraction of their pre-pandemic book values.
A logical pivot might be to repurpose these buildings for residential, hotel or alternative uses but planning policy in Hammersmith & Fulham throws up roadblocks: the Borough has become known for rejecting Permitted Development applications and has introduced Article 4 exemptions in key commercial zones to protect office stock.
For developers, this planning uncertainty adds another layer of risk — and puts further downward pressure on capital values. Recent planning decisions, however, suggest that the Borough’s view is changing in light of the oversupply.
With pricing under pressure and planning policy seemingly shifting in the developers favour, the future of all West London office assets could start to look brighter – reduced levels of stock with buildings effectively taken out of the market via positive planning decisions. Demand for space should steadily improve as more people are returning to the office for 3 days or more, and investors and developers will shine a light once again on Hammersmith if they feel that the local authority is more willing to consider a change of use.
Metro Building Hammersmith – Receivers are seeking offers in excess of £20,000,000. This reflects a capital value of £190 per sq ft and a net initial yield of 12.30%. The building totals 105,237 sq ft arranged over ground and ten upper floors and is currently multi-let to five tenants over eight floors (63,250 sq ft). with an income of £2,627,106 per annum, reflecting a low £25.07 psf
Griffin House, Hammersmith – The ex-Virgin Media HQ in Hammersmith was offered for sale in 2022 at a guide of £70m (£770 psf) as an investment. Now vacant, we understand that this 91,000 sq ft can be bought for around £20m (£219 psf)
26-28 Hammersmith Grove, Hammersmith – this 140,000 sq ft office building is priced at £150 per sq ft. Now being offered by L&G via JLL, it should garner significant interest at this level given the recent shifting planning. A key sale and one to monitor.
Vacant Buildings: Smarter Ways to Offset Holding Costs
Managing the costs of vacant property can be a real challenge — but it doesn’t have to be a drain. We’re working closely with clients to explore creative, practical ways to reduce liabilities and even generate income whilst buildings sit empty.
From mitigating empty business rates to activating spaces with pop-ups or filming licences, there are more options than you might think. Business rates relief isn’t always straightforward, which is why we’ve partnered with one of the leading consultants in the field to help navigate the process effectively.
For more distinctive or characterful buildings, short-term filming licences can offer a quick revenue boost. These typically range from a few days to a few months — our longest so far ran for six months with the Black Doves production team. Even shorter shoots, like adverts, are in demand — one of our sites recently hosted Ant & Dec for a commercial!
If you’re holding vacant space and wondering how to make it work harder, we’d be happy to talk through some of these initiatives.
Currys’ big surrender – 150,000 sq ft HQ lease goes back to Imperial.
After the Pandemic, Currys never returned to their 150,000 sq ft HQ at 1 Portal Way, Acton. Their flexi-work policy for 1,500 staff proved that WFH could work effectively. As a result their HQ in Acton was mothballed. Post pandemic they decided to take flex space in WeWork’s Waterloo centre, being a fraction of their original floor area. Amazingly, the savings of not having to run the old Acton building with all the services and management costs pretty much offset the new flexi office costs. During that time Frost Meadowcroft were instructed by Currys to seek occupiers for the building but fortunately a lease surrender was negotiated back to Imperial College, the landlord. Imperial had secured planning for a large-scale residential development for the site and are now working jointly with Sciopolis to convert around 50,000 sq ft as a meanwhile space on the site. Sciopolis work with universities, institutions and local government to deliver and operate thriving Innovation Hubs for early-stage science and technology businesses.
