London developers raise bets on future office demand

London

CENTRAL London developers are increasingly willing to start office construction without tenants in place, betting that today's surging demand won't fade.

Companies started 31 projects in the six months through March, the second-highest amount in 20 years, according to a survey by Deloitte LLP. Of those, 22 had no tenants at the outset. New construction jumped by 24 per cent.