London was still recovering from the devastation of the second world war in 1952, with many bombed buildings still lying derelict and many office occupiers were forced to work out of converted houses. The result was a shortage of office space that drove rents up. For example a 500-sf office suit in Victoria Street, SW1 was let at £1 4/- per sf ($1.70 at today's exchange rates although something closer to $5 at the time.) Today, King Sturge calculates that the same space would fetch £50 ($72.50) per sf, showing 7.7% annual growth over half a century.

The Government at the time restricted new office construction, so that precious building materials and labour could be diverted to more important projects like homes, schools and hospitals. But a few substantial office schemes were under construction in London. In the West End, Time & Life magazines were building a 43,000-sf headquarters on New Bond Street. It is now the global headquarters of Marconi.

One ambitious project mooted in 1952 was High Paddington, a plan to develop a new town of 8,000 people in tower blocks of up to 400 ft on the site of the Paddington Goods Yard in the West End. In 2002, the site is finally being developed with the first phase of Development Securities' 1.5 million-sf Paddington Central scheme due for practical completion in a matter of weeks.