Canary Wharf is proving a magnet for the TMT sector, offering the kind of rental terms flexibility that meets the needs of young companies in the midst of growth. This is the view of Anthony Murphy, associate director and chartered surveyor at DeVono Cresa, the UK office of Cresa, the world’s largest tenant-only commercial real estate firm.
Canary Wharf Group Investment Holdings, which is co-owned by Qatar Holdings, part of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and American investment group Brookfield, is the capital’s largest property owner.
In an interview with Gulf Times, Murphy said: “Canary Wharf has become an area of value across all sectors. There has definitely been a migration of the Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) sector. We have seen a lot of fintech organisations moving down to Canary Wharf to tag on to the big financial institutions with a view to working and collaborating with them.”
He pointed out that Canary Wharf offers excellent value for money amidst sky high London prices:
“The average rent per square foot in Canary Wharf is about £45 and the top quality buildings are in the early-mid 50’s. This is excellent value for money when you consider that in key tech belt locations like Old Street, Shoreditch and SE1, rent levels average £65 per square foot and recent lettings at White Collar Factory, Olds Street, will see rents hit in excess of £70’s psf. With Crossrail arriving mid-2018 and the much improved retail and restaurant offering, Canary Wharf is becoming a sought-after area, especially when the all-in occupational costs can be as much as 20-30% less than other Central London locations.” 
Canary Wharf, well-known for its international banks, also has a lot of purpose built, high quality office buildings which have excellent data and communications infrastructure, he explained.
“Occupiers across many sectors are now actively considering Canary Wharf; for example, we recently located media intelligence company Gorkana,” he said. 
Canary Wharf Group’s Level 39 is proving a catalyst for tech enterprise. 
It supports fast-growth tech companies giving access to world-class customers, talent and infrastructure and helps businesses achieve scale.
Crossrail, the new high frequency, high capacity railway for London and the South East coming to Canary Wharf next year, will make the location even more accessible. The Crossrail service will offer 12 trains per hour in each direction during peak hours and deliver up to 32,000 passengers to Canary Wharf in the three-hour morning peak, The Crossrail network will bring an additional 1.5mn people within a one-and-a-half hour commute of the central business districts of London.
Murphy said that while rents might rise on the back of improved connectivity, strong supply and some uncertainties over Brexit would act as a brake on rental increases.
“With Brexit, we think there could be an adjustment in the market but it is uncertain. However, twelve months ago I would have described the office market in London as a landlords’ market. We only ever-act on behalf of tenants and in terms of the lease lengths and deal terms being offered at that time there was a limited amount of negotiation because it was a strong landlords’ market.  “Since Brexit we feel there are better deals out there with more lease flexibility. You can get shorter term leases more readily in the market. If you are a fast growing tech firm employing 50 people today that could rise to over 150 within a relatively short window, you don’t want to take out a five years lease on a space which you are quickly going to outgrow. 
“There is now a higher volume of shorter term options for those fast-growing tech and finance firms. We see that landlords are now offering break clauses at two or three years whereas historically it would have been a minimum of a five-year lease. Flexibility has definitely come back into the market.” he concluded.