Regional universities are rushing to find space in London for new student courses and collaborations with firms, according to a new study.
Figures from property news and data company CoStar show non-London universities have taken 350,000sq ft of office space in the capital over the past three years. That is more than double the 152,000sq ft of the previous three years.
Recent deals include Teesside University leasing 26,000sq ft at Here East in Stratford and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David taking 46,000sq ft at 1 Westferry Circus in Docklands.
But the biggest was Sheffield Hallam’s pre-leasing of 110,000sq ft at Related Argent and Barnet Council’s Brent Cross Town development in north London.
Other recent examples include York St John University and the University of West of Scotland taking a combined 38,000sq ft at the Republic London development at Clove Crescent in Docklands and Coventry University taking a combined 55,000sq ft across three buildings in Vauxhall and Greenwich.
Mark Stansfield, senior director of marketing nnalytics at CoStar said: “The motivation behind these London expansions is varied but mainly involve promoting courses and enrolments to a wider pool of students, particularly international, as well as access to London’s wealth of start-ups and major corporates for collaboration purposes.”
London universities have also expanded their presence in recent years. One of the biggest office lettings in the early months of the pandemic was by London South Bank University, which leased a 50,000 sq ft building in Croydon. Queen Mary University subsequently took 55,000 sq ft in Mile End in 2021.
