Just 15 years ago, towers were predominantly built for the commercial office market, however, according to AMA Research they now make up just 3% of projects in the current development pipeline.

In both the UK and across the world, there has been a significant rise in the number of residential towers as well as a significant increase in mixed-use towers.

More than three-quarters (78%) of high-rise buildings in the UK pipeline are residential-led.

The pipeline of high-rise buildings across the UK remains strong, with around 549 in development. 58% of these in London.

Further key locations include Birmingham and Manchester.

Key growth areas within the residential market are the private rental sector (including build-to-rent) and student accommodation, with demand driven by shortage of capacity in affordable privately rented homes and in student housing in London.

High-rise building designed for offices fell by 11%.

It was previously estimated that 23% of existing high- rise buildings have been designed for office use, but across the UK only 15% of high- rise completions over the years 2016-2020 were offices.

The fall in demand for high-rise offices appears to coincide with the after effects of the pandemic.

Covid-19 introduced the capabilities of working from home (WFH) to many industries and WFH has since become an increasingly popular choice of many employees who see it as a way of improving their work-life balance.

As less employees are commuting to the office than pre-pandemic, there is less demand for commercial space.

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