Scottish rail bosses have failed to spot a prime money making opportunity by not transforming Waverley station into a shopping venue, a retail expert has claimed. The suggestion comes from Leigh Sparks, a professor of retail studies at Stirling University, who says that by mimicking the success of London’s King’s Cross and St... Read More
South Yorkshire’s six-million square foot iPort scheme has been named as Britain’s largest commercial development — overtaking Merseyside’s massive Wirral Waters regeneration scheme and the Stratford City project to extend the 2012 Olympic Games’ site. The top slot comes after the latest round of planning permissions were... Read More
Profits from the Crown Estate have increased for the 25th year in succession. The organisation’s property portfolio has also reached a record value of £9.9bn. This year’s annual report and accounts, for the year ending in March, show that real estate profits grew by 5.7 per cent to over £267m, with property values rising by more... Read More
For many retailers, hopes were raised that the launch of the 2014 World Cup, in combination with the warm weather experienced across the majority of the UK in recent weeks, would equate to a huge increase in consumer spending in June. However, if recent data released by the CBI is anything to go by, June in fact brought the greatest... Read More
As London property prices continue to rise, developers and investors are increasingly seeking opportunities to acquire commercial space in fashionable and upcoming areas. One of the key hotspots of interest has now become Marylebone, largely due to the impact of the Chiltern Firehouse, a New York-style brasserie which has attracted... Read More
Deal increases exposure to the South East Britain’s biggest commercial property owner has confirmed the acquisition of a stake in Kent’s Bluewater Shopping Centre following the recent sale of Sunderland’s prime retail centre, The Bridges, and the disposal of the Overgate Centre in Dundee in March. Land Securities — which owns... Read More
Campaigners fighting an Oxfordshire retail development have hired lawyers to investigate alleged links between a local council and the site’s developers. Residents of Botley fear that members of the Vale of White Horse District Council have become too close to London-based developers Doric which recently submitted plans to revamp the... Read More
Newcastle planners have been accused of condemning businesses in the city’s biggest retail centre to “a downward spiral of decline”. The warning comes from Intu –which owns the city’s Eldon Square shopping centre (pictured) – in the face of plans to transform Newcastle’s East Pilgrim Street area into an £800m retail... Read More
Commerzbank has disposed of more than €5bn in property loans in Portugal, Spain, and Japan, as the global banking and financial services company continues to run down the assets in its "bad bank." The Frankfurt-based lender has announced that it sold €4.4bn in loans from its Spanish book, as well as a smaller group of... Read More
Britain’s film industry received a major boost when the Government stepped into a green belt row between Pinewood Studios and local planners. After two rejections the world famous studios can now go ahead with a £200m expansion plan, codenamed “Project Pinewood”. South Buckinghamshire Council has repeatedly thrown out plans for... Read More
Plans have been unveiled for a multi-million pound designer outlet village at Cannock. If approved the Staffordshire scheme would house up to 130 shops and create hundreds of jobs. The project — earmarked for a site next to Mill Green Nature Reserve in Cannock — has been proposed by joint venture partners Rioja Developments and... Read More
Window cleaners with a head for heights are wanted to clean the exterior of Western Europe’s tallest building – but only if they are currently unemployed and live in the London Borough of Southwark. The two positions are advertised on the website of social enterprise GoodPeople Connect which promises a salary of between £320 and... Read More
The former Mayfair offices of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) have been sold to one of India’s biggest real estate companies for a reported £155m. Indiabulls Real Estate acquired the 87,444sq ft building at 22 Hanover Square from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, now part of Aberdeen Asset Management. It put the block on the market... Read More
Government plans to reshape and revitalise Britain’s high streets could prove a costly gamble for betting shop owners, according one commercial property agent. Under a planning regulation shake-up — expected to take affect this October — bookmakers intending to open premises would be required to submit a planning application,... Read More
In what is being heralded as the first deal of its kind, the global workplace provider Regus has signed a deal to open “third place” business hubs at three of British Land’s retail properties. The first Regus Express centres will be piloted at Meadowhall in Sheffield, Broughton Shopping Park in Chester and Fort Kinnaird Shopping... Read More
Danish retailer Netto — which pulled out of the UK in 2010 — is plotting its return in a joint supermarket venture with Sainsbury’s and a head-to-head discount clash with rivals Lidl and Aldi. The first new stores, branded as Netto, will begin opening this autumn in what are traditionally seen as the less affluent areas of the... Read More
The Prince’s Regeneration Trust has come to the rescue of the Wedgwood Institute, once listed among the top ten most endangered Victorian and Edwardian buildings in the country. The Grade II listed building in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent has been allowed to deteriorate since its closure in 2009, due to structural problems. At one point... Read More
Fears that a £250m development in the heart of Belfast’s historic docks would damage nearby landmark buildings have been dismissed by Northern Ireland’s environment minister. Granting outline planning permission for the City Quays 1 development plan, Mark Durkan said he had considered worries over the proximity of two listed... Read More
With more than £1bn of prestige retail property across Britain currently up for sale it’s emerged that The Crown Estate is a leading bidder for one of the country’s biggest out-of-town shopping parks. Bids for Leicester’s Fosse Shopping Park — recently valued at £350m — are due today and a spokesman for the Royal property agency... Read More
Following last week’s reports that the London headquarters of law firm Clifford Chance was attracting interest from Chinese investors, Canary Wharf Group (CWG) has confirmed the sale of the 32-storey skyscraper. In a statement the group says that the sale of 10 Upper Bank Street has been completed for a consideration of £795m. As... Read More
The global real estate investment trust Prologis has signed two deals to deliver almost a million sq ft of build-to-suit logistics space in China and Mexico. The biggest contract is for a 500,000sq ft distribution centre in Mexico’s third largest city, Monterrey (pictured), and close to the city’s international airport. The company... Read More
As the economy continues to recover, developers are increasingly seeking commercial property opportunities in regional areas, both in the form of new and redevelopment projects. This is giving towns such as Northallerton in North Yorkshire access to multi-million retail and leisure schemes which will both boost tourism levels and grant local... Read More
