London Office Movement Briefing · Week 39, 2026 · 2026-09-21
London Office Movement Briefing: week 39, 2026
In-market activity fell sharply in September even as hot signals climbed, the City held its usual dominant share of submarket demand, and a 72,000 sq ft City letting at Bow Bells was the week's standout transaction.
The numbers
The in-market total for September 2026 stands at 581 organisations tracked as likely to move, fit out or refurbish, down from 678 in August. That is a fall of 97, or roughly 14 per cent month on month, even as the count of hot signals rose from 31 to 35. Lease events for the period number 405.
The drop in the overall in-market figure alongside a rise in hot signals points to a market that is consolidating rather than cooling. Fewer organisations are sitting in early-stage research, but those still active are showing sharper, more immediate intent. For anyone tracking demand, September looks like a month where volume thinned out but urgency concentrated.
Where the movement is
The City and fringe (EC postcodes) remains the dominant submarket by a wide margin, with 214 organisations tracked there, more than double the next-placed West End (W) on 106. Midtown (WC) follows with 70, Southbank and the wider SE with 63, and the Southwest (SW) with 48. Together these five submarkets account for the great majority of tracked activity, with the City retaining its position as the structural centre of gravity for London office movement.
By sector, finance and insurance leads with 116 organisations, ahead of tech and software on 89. Professional and creative services account for 70, legal and consulting 61, and media and publishing 44. The ordering is broadly consistent with recent months: finance continues to generate the largest share of move activity, with tech close behind and the professional services cluster making up a steady middle tier of demand.
In the press this week
The clearest theme this week is the City of London's Bow Bells reaching full occupancy after a 72,000 sq ft letting, reported separately by BE News, CoStar and Green Street News. The three accounts confirm the same 72,000 sq ft City letting, with the landlord side named as Fubon in the CoStar piece, underlining how a single large transaction can absorb a meaningful block of the City's fringe supply covered above.
Elsewhere, WonderfulAI has opened a London office, adding to the tech and software count tracked above, while AspinallVerdi has relocated its London office, an example of the professional and creative services activity noted in the submarket figures. Separately, plans to convert an office at Vauxhall into a Premier Inn are moving ahead, a reminder that some of the stock leaving the market this month is exiting office use altogether rather than being re-let.
Put this data to work
Every figure above comes from the live Signal dataset — the same one that powers the London Office Movement Index. If your business wins work when companies move, see the leads behind the numbers: office fit-out, relocation services, facilities management and more.