Occupiers across Europe took up less office space in 2001

September 11 was not a major factor

Take-up of space by occupiers in EuropeÂ's major office markets in 2001 was 8 million sq. metres, down 25% on the outstanding record level of 2000 and returning to the levels of the late 1990s. The final quarter of 2001, the quarter following the events of 11th September, showed only a slight decline of 3% compared with take-up in the previous quarter.

These are among the findings of Jones Lang LaSalleÂ's latest report on Occupier Activity in EuropeÂ's Main Office Markets, which tracks and analyses occupier activity, notably take-up, in 16 major markets across Europe. The paper illustrates wide variations between individual cities, reflecting their economic performance and the relative importance of volatile occupier sectors, notably the telecommunications sector. Madrid saw the sharpest falls in take-up during 2001, whilst the major German cities showed substantial resilience.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Robert Bonwell, European Director of Jones Lang LaSalleÂ's Corporate Solutions division, says: 'A fall in the amount of space taken up by occupiers in EuropeÂ's leading office markets in 2001 compared with the unsustainably high level of 2000 was predictable. In the event, the decline was less severe than seemed likely at the end of the third quarter. We monitored occupier activity in the final quarter with special interest to see whether September 11 would have a big immediate impact on the volume of occupiersÂ' take-up in Europe. It clearly did not. In fact, whilst every quarter of 2001 saw a fall on the previous quarter, the big falls were early in the year and quarter four was down just 3% on quarter three.

'This report also illustrates the correlation between GDP growth and office take-up, with take-up normally lagging GDP by about two quarters. Whilst current GDP forecasts suggest a recovery in take-up towards the end of 2002 or early 2003, this is by no means certain as corporate occupiers are presenting a very mixed picture on their future space needs.'

Jones Lang LaSalle is the world’s leading real estate services and investment management firm, operating across more than 100 markets on five continents. The company provides comprehensive integrated expertise, including management services, transaction services and investment management services on a local, regional and global level to owners, occupiers and investors. LaSalle Investment Management, the company’s investment management business, is one of the world’s largest and most diverse real estate investment management firms, with more than $22 billion of assets under management. Jones Lang LaSalle is also the industry leader in property and corporate facility management services, with a portfolio of approximately 700 million square feet (65 million square meters) under management worldwide.

For more information, visit www.joneslanglasalle.com .

(source: Jones Lang LaSalle)

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