"After a high level of take-up in Q4, 2006, it is not surprising that demand moderated slightly in the early part of this year" commented Nick Axford, CBRE's head of EMEA research and consultancy.

"Activity levels are still healthy and in many cases in line with, if not higher than, the equivalent period of 2006, so this should not really be regarded as any kind of slowdown, " Axford added.

The company's EU-15 Office Rent Index registered an increase for the ninth successive quarter. This represented growth of 1.8% quarter-onquarter and 7.2% year-on-year, the highest annual growth achieved since late 2001. The sustained uplift has been underpinned by the fact that 12 of the 38 European markets included in the index recorded rental increases this quarter and that none of the markets saw a decline.

The highest rental growth levels were recorded outside the EU in Moscow and Oslo, but double-digit rental growth also occurred in Warsaw and Istanbul.