_London's newest commercial hotspot: Why London's South Bank is attracting top occupiers

The South Bank has emerged as London’s newest business district – a leading commercial location comparable to the neighbouring City of London and City of Westminster.

August 24, 2017

Prime office rents are up 9% year-on-year to £62.50 per sq ft, which still looks attractive versus the City Core (£70.00 per sq ft) and Shoreditch (£67.50 per sq ft).

There are significant amounts of public open space along the riverside. Between the London Studios and the Oxo Tower lies Bernie Spain Gardens, named after Bernadette Spain, a local community activist who was part of the Coin Street Action Group.

Office space in South Bank

South Bank has followed this trend in brownfield regeneration. Former industrial buildings have been put to new uses, from the Tate Modern art gallery in the Bankside Power Station, to the Harvey Nichols restaurant in the Oxo Tower, to Borough Market adding a delicatessen market at the weekends.

High quality office buildings have been developed in recent years, and new transport infrastructure built, which has opened up the market to tenants seeking new headquarters buildings.

South Bank has future waves of office development in the pipeline around London Bridge, Waterloo, and Battersea, and new infrastructure projects – such as the ongoing London Bridge station upgrade and Northern Line extension.

There is a combination of office, retail/leisure and residential use in South Bank and new developments have begun to reflect this here. Similarly the development at the Potters Fields site, next to City Hall, will allow the commercial-oriented More London estate to join hands with residential-led Butler’s Wharf.

This will create a stretch of Thames waterfront that blends offices, retail, bars and restaurants, and residential buildings. The proposed redevelopment of the Shell Centre will similarly mix work, leisure, and homes; as will the upcoming Battersea Power Station scheme. Both projects benefit from incorporating historic landmark buildings.

What type of businesses does the area attract?

While South Bank has always been popular with technology and media companies – IBM, ITV, and the Financial Times are local occupiers – it is worth noting some of the tenants who recently have decided to relocate there.

Al Jazeera will move from Knightsbridge to The Shard. Ogilvy & Mather signed a deal to move from Canary Wharf to Sea Containers House. News Corporation has moved staff from Wapping to The News Building (the neighbouring building to The Shard).

The occupier profile of the South Bank has changed significantly. Once an area dominated by the public sector, it has become a truly diverse London market.

In the last five years there have been four occupiers who have transacted on over 100,000 sq ft in South Bank, three of which have been media companies. News International, Omnicom, Ogilvy & Mather and Bouygues UK Ltd.

In the last 12 months (Q4 15-Q3 16) demand has come from corporate companies (43%) and the TMT sector (33%) in terms of total take-up in South Bank.

What's it like to work in London's South Bank?

Work/life balance

Where to eat:

Sea Containers at The Mondrian London
Restaurant Story and Magdalen on Tooley Street
Oxo Tower
Skylon
Gillrays Steakhouse
Oblix at The Shard
Roast at Borough Market
Tapas Brindisa
Baltic

Where to drink:

Bermondsey Street has seen a huge transformation, with many bars and restaurants including:

The Woolpack
Dandelyan and Rumpus Room at The Mondrian London
Aqua Shard
Blackfriars Wine Bar
The Thirsty Bear is popular with a tech-loving after work crowd thanks to its self-service touch screens and pour-your-own beer pumps.
The Union Jack on Union Street
Boot & Flogger and Royal Oak

Culture:

Royal Festival Hall
Southbank Centre
London Eye
Sea Life London
National Theatre
Old Vic
BFI Southbank
The Globe Theatre.

Sports & Leisure:

Colombo Street community and sports centre offers a whole range of fitness classes, including indoor cycling, yoga, spin, core conditioning, pilates, step, and circuits.

Third Space, More London – a luxury fitness club from a sprint track that brings outdoors in, to a pool suite with juniper log hot zones, a dedicated Hot Yoga studio, inspiring group exercise classes to bespoke interactive lighting design.

At London Bridge you can find Cottons Fitness First and there are a number of walking, running and netball clubs in the surrounding areas.

Shopping:

Borough Market is London’s oldest food market. Many of the market’s stallholders are themselves a producers, other traders have built their reputations on seeking out small-scale artisan producers and bringing their wares to Borough.
Gabriels Wharf and Waterloo Station - plans have been approved for a major development project at Waterloo Station to create 135,000 sq ft of retail space at the former Eurostar terminal. The development will create a mix of independent, high street and food stores, spread across three floors.

Parks & Green Spaces:

Jubilee Gardens
Bernie Spain Gardens

Transport Links:

Part of the success of the area as a vistor attraction and business hub is attributed to the high levels of public transport access.

The London Underground has stations on or near the South Bank, from west to east, at Westminster, Waterloo Station, Embankment, Blackfriars Station, Southwark, London Bridge and Canada Water.

The river is utilised as a means of transport with piers along the South Bank at the London Eye, Royal Festival Hall and Bankside.

Several major railway terminals are within walking distance of the South Bank, on both sides of the river, including Waterloo, Waterloo East, London Bridge, Charing Cross and Blackfriars.

Presently, 2.1 million people live within a thirty minute commute of London Bridge station according to CACI, which is undergoing a major redevelopment scheduled to complete in 2018.

This will allow the station to take twelve car Thameslink trains, and will result in London Bridge having the biggest station concourse in the UK – larger than the pitch at Wembley Stadium.

Knight Frank works with leading occupiers to find flexible and leased office space in South Bank, to discuss any aspect of finding premises in the vibrant area of London, contact Knight Frank's occupier team.