November year-to-date City turnover surpasses £3 billion
November saw a flurry of smaller deals amounting to £136.2 million across eleven transactions, bringing the year-to-date (YTD) volume above £3 billion. As at the end of November, turnover now stands at £3.01 billion across 77 deals, which remains 35% down when compared to the five-year average; it is 4% up by number of transactions. Furthermore, when compared to last year, current volumes are up by 43%, highlighting a significant improvement from the nadir of 2024, which recorded the lowest transaction volume seen in the City market since 1996. The notable recovery has largely been a result of increased activity in the £100 million+ lot size range, with nine deals of this scale trading so far this year compared to only four throughout the whole of 2024. With a further £2.82 billion currently under offer across 49 deals, including six deals in excess of £100m, the closing of major deals in December will be a key factor on the 2025 year-end statistics. Savills is currently tracking £3.30 billion of available stock across 67 deals.
Acting on behalf of The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, Savills sold the freehold interest in 33 Chancery Lane to Argyll for £10.9 million. Prominently positioned in a core Midtown location approximately five minutes’ walk to the south of Chancery Lane station, 33 Chancery Lane is an imposing corner building with distinctive French Gothic architecture comprising 23,248 sq ft arranged over lower ground, ground, and four upper floors. The property was sold with full vacant possession for £10.9 million, reflecting £469 per sq ft. It was acquired by Argyll, which will use the property as an owner-occupier for its serviced office platform.
In the largest deal of the month, the State Bank of India acquired the freehold interest in 30 Moorgate, EC2, purchasing the property for its own occupation for £36 million, reflecting £1,140 per sq ft. Held freehold and located on the eastern side of Moorgate in a prime City core location, approximately two minutes’ walk from Moorgate station, the property comprises 31,577 sq ft of office accommodation arranged over lower ground, ground, and six upper floors, with c.4,000 sq ft floor plates. The property was originally let on a 15-year lease term to Regus PLC and subsequently occupied by IWG/Spaces, and was sold with the benefit of a three-monthly rolling landlord break. The transaction follows Fortinet’s acquisition of its own building at 12 Moorgate in August this year, and is the latest in the trend of some occupiers preferring to acquire rather than lease their own property, with owner-occupier deals now accounting for 19% of all transactions in 2025. The property was sold by German institutional fund KanAm Grund, which is also currently in the process of selling two of its other City assets at 1 Wood Street, EC2, and 3 Copthall Avenue, EC2.
In another deal in November, Greycoat purchased 2–4 and 6–8 Eastcheap, EC3, acquiring the long leasehold interest (155 years unexpired term at 5% gearing) from the City of London for £25.4 million. Located on the south side of Eastcheap in a City core location within one minute of Monument station and within five minutes of Bank and Cannon Street, the property consists of two adjoining buildings comprising 63,869 sq ft of office, retail, and ancillary accommodation. Multi-let to six office and two retail tenants at a rent of £2,084,629 per annum, reflecting a highly reversionary rent of £35.13 per sq ft, the property benefits from a 2028 block date, at which time the incoming purchaser will seek to reposition the asset and set a new rental tone within the property. Greycoat acquired the property for £25.4 million, reflecting a 7.30% net initial yield and a low capital value of £398 per sq ft. Having acquired four properties in the City market during 2024, the transaction marks Greycoat’s first acquisition of the year.
With YTD turnover having now surpassed the £3 billion mark, this year’s investment figures already show a significant improvement compared to 2024, but the final volume depends on how much of the £2.82 billion currently under offer will transact during December. Furthermore, although the month’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) saw the Bank of England maintain the base rate at 4.00%, experts widely anticipate that December’s MPC will see a fourth and final rate cut for the year, bringing the base rate down to 3.75%. With interest rates moving lower and investment volumes rising, the headline metrics appear to be broadly positive as we look forward to 2026.
The City prime yield remains at 5.25%, while the West End prime yield is 3.75%.