The hedge markets in central London have fallen from the pinnacle they had reached in 2007, with the rentals falling from £120 per sq ft to just £55 per sq ft. This reduction has caused property owners in London’s and the world’s priciest office space area to scramble for alternatives to get their business back on track.

Mayfair and St. James in the central region of London have seen lower rents because of the vacancies caused by the constant closing down of businesses around them. The trend is in line with what most other office areas in London are witnessing.

It has been reported by the King Sturge property agents that the quarterly rent, which was £144,000 per 5,000 sq ft in the region, has been lowered to £69,000 due to the market forces. They also said that during the profitable year of 2007 they were able to sell off 870,000 sq ft of desk space in 77 deals but after the recession this has come down to 595,000 sq ft of letting in 48 transactions.

However, in the rest of London, landlords have found a way to reduce the vacancies. They have started taking lesser rent and offering short-term leases to companies instead of sticking to higher prices. The idea is to wait for a time when they can increase their rates, and until then make as much as they possibly can while keeping the vacancies at a minimum.