West End commercial property market 'less exposed'

The commercial property market in the West End of London may fare better from the effects of the credit squeeze than the rest of the city, one expert has said.

According to senior economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) Oliver Gilmartin: "The supply situation may be more favourable and boutique operations may be less exposed to the sub prime fiasco than the larger investment banks."

But the fate of the West End property market is reliant on the prospects of its residents, Mr Gilmartin warned.

"It would really depend on the prospects for the hedge fund industry and the high end occupiers which are typically tenants in this market", he said.

Research from property consultants CB Richard Ellis published in January found a total of 12.8 million square feet of construction activity is currently underway across central London - the highest level since 2003.

Meanwhile, figures from the Investment Property Databank (IPD) show that the monthly downward trend of total returns from commercial property continued to slow last month.

Commercial property produced a total return of -0.8 per cent in March, compared to -1 per cent in February and -2 per cent in January.

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