London’s Calling

At the time of writing, Foundation Recruitment’s activity within the London General Practice market is at its busiest since our inception in January 2009. Whilst the biggest project of its kind in Europe is currently taking place under the busy streets of London, new over ground development projects are appearing almost on a weekly basis across the Capital City’s skyline. Furthermore, Crossrail’s £15billion London Underground project is set to provide a further boost to the London property market as it makes areas outside of the City more attractive to corporate businesses.

It was announced in May that Crossrail is looking to fast-track nearly £2bn of central London over ground projects and take the larger share of the development profits. The delivery body for the project wants to capitalise on what is being referred to as the “Crossrail effect” and is in talks with its development partners to bring forward 12 schemes up to three years earlier than planned. Crossrail estimates that commercial property prices along the line will climb by 10% in the next decade, with JLL also forecasting central London house prices will rise by 40% by 2018. All very promising for London’s long term development pipeline.

The short to medium term outlook for the London property market is also starting to look extremely healthy. What has been notable over the last couple of months is the variety of roles coming to the London market in terms of both level and discipline. The variety of clients is also extremely encouraging; overseas investors are now coming back to the UK in their droves and the private equity houses are back in the market for analysts, asset managers and investment specialists. Until recently, the majority of London roles seemed to favour the less experienced surveyors as businesses remained fairly risk averse with recruitment. However, the last couple of months has seen a seed change and the 6 figure roles are making a return to the market as confidence spreads. In the last 2 weeks alone, Foundation Recruitment has been instructed on 7 senior level roles at the £80,000 plus level within the investment and asset management arenas. For the first time in years, candidates have a choice when it comes to their next career move.

Commercial agents in London’s City and West End are now at their busiest for over 7 years and agency teams are gearing up for the ever increasing demand. In a recent Estates Gazette article, it was reposted by Deloitte Real Estate that demand for office space in London’s West End will outstrip supply by almost 50% over the next three years. Just 1.6m sq ft of new space is currently under construction for 2014-2016, against a backdrop of 3m sq ft of demand. Occupiers will find it increasingly difficult to secure space, leading to leasing wars and skyrocketing rents.

At Foundation Recruitment we are extremely close to the London General Practice market. We are currently recruiting for a wide range of roles including Development Managers, Analysts, Investment Managers, Asset Managers and Property Managers. If you are considering your career options and would like to find out more about how we work, please call our London office on 020 7484 5468 for a confidential discussion.