Southbank East office market faces high vacancies amid weakened occupier demand

Southbank East, long regarded as one of London’s most vibrant office submarkets, is experiencing challenging times as fundamentals weaken and demand for large, new space slows. Net absorption – the change in occupied office space – has remained largely negative over the past two years, pushing vacancy rates to 10.6%. This figure, while broadly in line with the London average, is among the highest ever recorded for the area.