Office Space in Berkeley Square

Berkeley Square office space is some of London’s most prestigious and sought-after commercial real estate.

Positioned in the centre of Mayfair, occupiers find the amenities of the celebrated district and five underground tube stations within easy walking distance.

However, it isn’t just the practical efficiencies of Berkeley Square’s location that make renting an office here so attractive – it is the legacy.

The square was originally the lower end of the garden of Berkeley House, which was built in the 1660s and owned by John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton. In 1696, he sold the house, stipulating that its grounds be preserved, thus setting aside the space that later became the square.

The Grade-II listed gardens of Berkeley Square were laid out in the mid-18th Century. They included large London Plane trees, which survive today and are among the oldest in central London.

As with many London garden squares, it was lined with terraced houses, and, in the case of Berkeley Square, these were grand Georgian townhouses in which wealthy families resided whilst not at their country homes.

Notable residents of Berkeley Square included Winston Churchill, co-founder of Rolls-Royce, Charles Rolls, and founder of Selfridges, Harry Gordon Selfridge.

Berkeley Square’s real estate usage evolved in the 20th Century, moving from residential to commercial, and the last private house was marketed in 1953 at an asking price of £27,000.

Recognising it as super prime commercial real estate, the BP pension fund purchased over 100 properties in Berkeley Square and the surrounding streets, such as Berkeley Street, Curzon Street, and Hill Street, for £12 million in 1967. Subsequently, it sold the portfolio to a private Middle Eastern investor for approximately £300 million in 2001.

Continuing to make headlines, Berkeley Square is today home to the most expensive office space in London and, indeed, the world.

In 2019, hedge fund Steadview Capital rented office space at 30 Berkeley Square after agreeing to pay £250 per square foot for its new 3,000-square-foot office, breaking the record for the UK’s highest office rent at the time.

In 2020, this record was broken when a private family office signed a lease on a 2,700-square-foot office suite in the same property at £277.50 per square foot, which was the world’s highest-ever office rent beating records in other high-profile international office space districts such as Central in Hong Kong and Midtown in Manhattan.

With its heritage and continued allure, the cache of a Berkeley Square office address endures.

Today, in addition to best-in-class office space that can be rented on traditional leasehold terms, properties such as Berkeley Square House, those on Berkeley Street, and other locations in and around Berkeley Square offer a range of luxury flexible office space and workspace solutions.

These include managed offices, private serviced offices, coworking, and other forms of flexible office spaces to rent that are available on short-term occupational contracts with all-inclusive pricing. Thus, they provide the prestige of a Berkeley Square office address with world-class modern facilities, amenities, and efficiencies.