eBusiness and the City of London office market

This paper is based on major survey of City of London occupiers conducted in the spring and summer of 2002 by The College of Estate Management, Reading. The aim of the research was to examine how eBusiness was driving process change amongst City office occupiers, and how this might change locational and space requirements in the future. This research shows how important information and communications technology (ICT) is becoming in driving process change for City office occupiers. However, ICT must be considered alongside forces for dispersal (for example, transport problems) and agglomeration (for example, face‐to‐face contact), which are creating a potent mix of factors driving businesses in the City. Changes in office densities, created by ICT and other drivers, have important implications for future office space projections in the City. The research shows that caution should be attached to the current office projections in the City provided in the Lord Mayor’s London Plan, and the results also have implications for continued investment in City offices. It is dangerous to over‐simplify density changes caused by ICT and other factors.