London Firms Are Dumping Office Space as Workers Stay Home

  • Tenants shed desks to cut costs, allow more home working
  • Amount of space for sublease has jumped 21% since June

A pedestrian walks through the Canary Wharf business, financial and shopping district of London, on Sept. 14.

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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London firms are ditching their unwanted office space at an even faster rate than in the financial crisis.

More than 1 million square feet (92,900 square meters) has become available for sublet since June, the equivalent of two Gherkin skyscrapers, according to research by real-estate data company CoStar Group Inc. Businesses are offering up the excess space as the pandemic keeps large swathes of employees working from home.