West End tops most expensive office list; Leeds trumps Ho Chi Minh City, Frankfurt and Mexico City

THE WEST End of London remains the world’s highest-priced office market but Asia continues to dominate the world’s most expensive office locations, accounting for three of the top five markets, according to new research from CBRE.

By The Newsroom

Published 18th Dec 2014, 17:12 BST

Oxford Circus, in the West End of London

The study also found that prime rents are rising fastest in the Americas, where real estate fundamentals continue to improve.

Overall, the US accounted for five of the 10 markets with the fastest-growing prime occupancy costs. These markets were Seattle, San Francisco and Boston.

The West End of London’s overall prime occupancy costs of $274 per sq ft per year topped the most expensive list.

Leeds jumped two places to 47 in the same list, ahead of Ho Chi Minh City, Frankfurt and Mexico City, but behind English rivals Manchester at 35, Birmingham at 39 and Bristol at 41. The biggest fallers were Santiago, Lyon and West Kowloon in Hong Kong.