The picture is bleakest in the City, where nearly half of the schemes finished during the past six months are still unlet, and 68% of space under construction still has no occupier lined up. But in the West End strong demand from the public sector is underpinning the market, and only 34% of space under construction is unlet. The government is currently taking 2 million sf of new office space.

Nick Shepherd, Managing Partner at Drivers Jonas, said: "The state of the property market is probably in London's best interests. We now have plenty of high quality office accommodation at prices little different in real terms from 20 years ago, and in a world class city, with an abundance of available, highly trained, international and financially literate labour. What could be a better platform to attract inward investment?"

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