Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, yesterday sought to tempt foreign businesses to the capital by offering companies up to a year without rent.

Speaking at Mipim, the European property industry’s annual conference in Cannes, Mr Johnson tried to lure businesses to London with a range of incentives, including up to 12 months’ free office space and the use of a dedicated adviser to help them to establish an operation in the capital.

Think London, an agency set up to attract foreign investment to the capital, will introduce potential clients to Avanta, a serviced office agency. The free rent, to the value of £150,000, is funded by Avanta, in the hope that clients will stay on after the offer period expires.

Mr Johnson insisted that the 2012 London Olympic Games budget would not rise beyond projections of £9.3 billion, even if the economic downturn deepens. He admitted that the financial markets’ problems had made planning for the Games “more difficult”. Talks were in progress with private investors about Olympic developments, particularly construction of the Olympic village, Mr Johnson said.

Think London is funded by the London Development Agency and the City of London.

The plans for incentives on offices, known as London Now, have been announced as London’s office market faces hard times. An estimated 13 per cent of offices in the City are vacant, pushing down rents. New jobs in the financial services industry, which has driven London’s economic growth this decade, fell 64 per cent in January.

However, the cost of living in London has fallen as the value of sterling has declined. It is now cheaper to live in London than in New York for the first time since 2002, according to a report issued last week by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Mr Johnson said: “My message to overseas businesses is loud and clear. You will not only receive the warmest of welcomes, but we will do all we can to ensure you get off to a flying start.”

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