Take-up of office space in the City of London in the first half of 2013 is at its highest since 2007, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

Take-up of office space totalled just under 2m sq ft in Q2, compared with 1.1m in Q1, an increase of 82%.

This made Q2 the strongest quarter since Q1 2010. In the year to date, occupiers have taken 3m sq ft of office space in the City, the highest level of activity since 2007.

JLL director of office agency Dan Burn said: “In addition to the continuing erosion of current supply, which will drive competition among occupiers to secure the best space, the top four deals of the quarter were all prelets or pre-completion lettings, which is hugely encouraging.

“Despite the strength of activity in Q2, the amount of office space currently under offer grew by 23% to 1.6m sq ft, which is testament to the strength of the recovery in demand.

“The biggest issue moving forward will be the lack of ‘oven ready’ and deliverable schemes, which will put pressure on those occupiers now looking to secure premises for occupation from 2015 through 2018.”

JLL head of UK office research Ben Burston added: “Businesses in the City exercised caution during 2011 and 2012 and delayed committing to new office space, but the swing in sentiment has seen them move rapidly to seize the opportunity to expand or upgrade their office accommodation.

“Underlying demand remains strong despite the burst of activity seen in Q2, and we expect leasing activity to remain strong as we move into the second half of the year. This will bolster our anticipated growth in rents.”