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Limited supply and unrelenting demand pushed prime office rents in London’s West End up by 4.6% last year, making the UK capital the most expensive global market for the third year in a row, according to research from Cushman & Wakefield.

Hong Kong took second place and was followed by New York in C&W’s annual Office Space Across the World global ranking.

Despite the 4.6% rise for London, rents are still 13% behind the 2007 peak. However, C&W expects rents to increase further against a backdrop of limited supply and expected development completions in 2015.

‘With a true global appeal, London continues to attract major international businesses looking to be based there, often using it as a springboard into Europe,’ said George Roberts, head of London markets. ‘As economic conditions in the UK further outperform, there will be heightened demand for London office space in 2015 from across all sectors. With supply heading downwards, further rental growth is expected,’ he added.

After London, the next European city in the ranking is Moscow in 6th place, despite it seeing a 17% decline in prime rents linked to sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea and the ongoing civil unrest with Ukraine.

Paris rounds out the top three in EMEA, but also saw rents decline by -6.3% and occupancy costs by -3.9% over the year.

Dublin tops the charts for the highest percentage growth in 2014, rising six places to 19th position in the global ranking.