A new report from Cushman and Wakefield has shown that London’s West End is the world’s most expensive office location. Rising demand saw London overtake Hong Kong last year to become the priciest city to conduct business in, once again – and the West End tops them all.

Occupiers now pay as much as £169 per square foot to occupy the best West End office space including rent, service charges and taxes. Rents went up around the world by an average of 3%, but average London rents are now more than double those on New York’s 5th Avenue and the business districts of Paris and Sydney.

This is 43% more expensive than Hong Kong,  where office space costs an average of £119 per square foot. Rio de Janeiro comes third with an average price of £107 in one area, while New York is eighth, charging £84 in Midtown Manhattan.

There’s a very large jump between London and the second most expensive place in Britain, being the Square Mile, at £55, while Manchester was third in the UK at £28.50 a square foot.

It is the first time since the financial crash in 2008 that London has regained the global crown.

“London has consistently been a sought after location for multinational occupiers deriving from a wide range of business sectors.

The West End submarket of London is the most expensive part of the city and is home to many technology, media, advertising and hedge fund companies.”

It’s these kinds of expenses which mean that entrepreneurs, start-ups and other businesses are turning to more flexible ways of working – maintaining a presence in London without the huge costs.

Perhaps it’s time to find out what flexible working could do for you.

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