Monthly Archives: October 2014



West Midlands Surveyors report Sharp Rise in Commercial Construction

Posted on 24 October, 2014 by Kirsten Kennedy under Commercial Developments

Although the pace of manufacturing output has slowed slightly in the West Midlands, the region is benefitting from the sharp rise in UK construction activity, with the local workload reaching levels not seen since 1994. According to the RICS UK Q3... Read More

Show goes on as Granada HQ becomes Entertainment Hotel

Posted on by Cliff Goodwin under Commercial Developments

The new owner of Granada Television’s Manchester headquarters has hinted entertainment will remain a part of its regeneration plans for the historic studio. Allied London — the developer behind the city’s Spinningfields business and retail... Read More

Community Shopping Centre Specialist Ellandi acquires Bootle Strand

Posted on by Kirsten Kennedy under Commercial Sales and Lets

London based investment and asset manager, Ellandi, has acquired The Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle for an undisclosed sum. The community shopping centre specialist has assumed ownership of 356,700 sq ft of retail space with tenants including Marks... Read More

Scottish Property Tax shake-up could slow Construction and deter Investment experts warn

Posted on by Cliff Goodwin under Industry News

Scotland’s big property tax shake-up could slow construction and deter commercial investment, experts have warned. From next April the Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) is replacing the current UK system of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) levied on... Read More

Canary Wharf Group and Societe Generale agree 1 Bank Street Deal

Posted on by Neil Bird under Industry News

Multinational banking and financial services company Societe Generale is to lease 280,000 sq ft in a new 700,000 sq ft Canary Wharf office building. Canary Wharf Group and Societe Generale have agreed a pre let for the ground to seventh floors of... Read More

Waitrose Boss claims Supermarket Estates are “20 Years out of Date”

Posted on by Kirsten Kennedy under Business News

With the majority of retail reports in the past year showing the Big Four supermarkets losing further ground to discounters some have begun to question the future of the big box format. Supermarkets have responded to this with high-profile marketing... Read More

The Ghosts of Children

Posted on by Kirsten Kennedy under Misc

Many will know Knypersley Reservoir, near the town of Biddulph in Staffordshire, as a popular place to walk the dog and get some exercise, but many won’t know of its paranormal past and haunting present. Firstly, there are several hotspots for... Read More

Debenhams plans Estate Expansion despite Profit Plunge

Posted on 23 October, 2014 by Kirsten Kennedy under Business News

Debenhams chief executive Michael Sharp remains optimistic despite the retailer’s disappointing annual sales results. In the year to the 30th of August, Britain’s second largest department store recorded a profits plunge of 24.8 per cent, with... Read More

HS2 bosses cite Sheffield Gateway’s impact on Rateable Values

Posted on by Cliff Goodwin under Business News, Commercial Developments

Seven years after the completion of a £25m upgrade to Sheffield railway station the value of commercial property in the area has increased by two-thirds and almost 3,000 new jobs have been created. The figures were revealed during a parliamentary... Read More

Uncertain Future for Hotel with First World War History

Posted on by Cliff Goodwin under Commercial Sales and Lets

A neglected Suffolk hotel — once the home of a pioneering Royal Navy seaplane unit — has been sold for more than £400,000. Abandoned and vandalised for more than two decades the North Sea Hotel on Felixstowe’s Sea Road was recently branded “a... Read More