A survey by Savills has revealed that there was a moderate expansion of overall commercial activity in December 2009, extending the current period of growth to five months.

There was a +23% rise in activity, according to some commercial developers, as expectations were linked to an increase in forthcoming work on new projects and anticipated improvements in economic conditions, however 19% stated a fall.

Private sector development underpinned the expansion reported in December as it increased by +12%, but public sector activity fell even further as it dropped -13.3%.

Mat Oakley, head of Savills commercial research department said: "As vacancy rates begin to show signs of peaking in some markets, it is clear from this months survey that developers optimism is remaining resilient. There are still risks to be faced in 2010 but we are definitely past the worst."

According to the survey, developers are most optimistic about retail and leisure development in the Q1 2010 at 14.3%, a +1.3% increase on November 2009, whilst only 4.2% believe that the office sector outlook is positive, a decrease of -3.2%.