In a recent piece for CoStar, Real Estate Partner Henrietta Garner explores why improving office market sentiment is arriving at the same as a major regulatory squeeze.
Reform of the UK’s energy performance framework is central to that squeeze. With a new EPC methodology expected in the second half of 2026 and minimum energy efficiency standards tightening towards an EPC B requirement later in the decade, lenders, valuers and occupiers are already pricing future compliance into decisions today.
Henrietta highlights the scale of the challenge: around half of London office stock is estimated to fall short of EPC B. Moving buildings from C or D to B is rarely “light touch” - it can mean disruptive, capital-heavy works (from building fabric and HVAC replacement to digital integration, and sometimes planning-led changes to layouts).
She explains that value will increasingly track occupier demand for efficient, well-designed buildings that offer operational certainty - and regulation is accelerating that shift. Owners and investors who plan now are more likely to hold the assets the market still wants in 2030.
Read the full article on CoStar (subscription required).