Lagos to see 41,000 square metres delivered in 2015

Nigeria capital Lagos is expected to see 41,000 square metres of office space added to the market this year, according to Cluttons.

The firm has released its first Lagos Office Market Outlook report since launching in Nigeria earlier this year. The slide in global crude prices has put hydrocarbon dominated economies under pressure. Compounding matters has been the recent BP forecast of the United States achieving energy-independent status by 2035, which will further dampen the prospects of any rapid turn-around in oil prices.

"This, coupled with an ongoing weakness in global requirements, means that there are clearly challenges ahead, with OPEC member states likely to be corralled into a fundamental reassessment of long-term global oil needs and the way their economies are structured," admits the firm.

Nonetheless, international research and business development manager Faisal Durrani says that the city is enjoying a "boom of sorts" in terms of office supply.

"During 2015 alone, we expect to see almost 41,000 sqm of top tier office space brought to a market that has seen very little movement in rents over the past 12 months," he comments. "For a market where rents on Victoria Island and in Ikoyi (£655 psm) are comparable to the City in London (£695 psm), or the Dubai International Financial Centre (£595 psm), the surging supply levels are likely to deliver a wave of sweeping change across a stagnant landscape."