The property services provider TCL Holdings has negotiated a £10m investment from the Government-backed Business Growth Fund. As part of the finance package, the Northampton-headquartered TCL has agreed a minority shareholding for BGF and accepted two new board members. Stuart Black, currently executive chairman at the Lakehouse Group... Read More
Sports Direct has become one of the most prominent brands in British retailing during recent years, largely due to the business prowess of founder and chief executive Mike Ashley. The Newcastle United owner has already made waves with the City this year by acquiring stakes in both House of Fraser and Debenhams, and has now turned his... Read More
American-based UTC Aerospace Systems has signed a ten year lease on offices at Solihull’s prestigious FORE business park. The 25,652sq ft letting for the entire FORE One building is thought to be the largest transaction for office space in the West Midlands town and the M42 corridor for two years. Solihull’s previous landmark deal... Read More
Many High Street names are enjoying a return to fortune of late, with an improved consumer environment encouraging growth throughout the retail industry. Optician chain Vision Express is just one of the high street’s success stories of the past year, having raised operating profit by 11 per cent in 2013 and achieving its third consecutive... Read More
Deepening cracks in China's housing market mean the country's major investors are looking elsewhere for new opportunities. Property investment has slowed down as bank funding tightens up. It accounted for around 12 per cent of China's gross domestic product (GDP) in Q1, down from 15 per cent last year, according to Reuters. Although... Read More
After scrapping designs for its new £650m UK headquarters, Google has confirmed work on its Kings Cross offices are unlikely to start until at least 2017. News of the delay was first revealed by the boss of the contractor chosen to build the high-profile offices. “We were delighted to have been selected as preferred bidder for... Read More
Back in February, it was announced that merger talks were taking place between Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse. Now, these talks have concluded successfully, with each of the retail powerhouses agreeing to merge in a deal worth £3.8 billion. Chief executive of Dixons, Sebastian James, confirmed the successful conclusion of the... Read More
In the past year-and-a-half Apple has bought 24 companies with boss Tim Cook admitting his company is “on the prowl” for potential acquisitions. Now the world's second-largest information technology company has turned its attention grabbing chunks of prime real estate. As work on Apple Campus 2 — situated one mile east of its... Read More
A former Belfast prison, which has undergone extensive restoration, has been named RICS Northern Ireland Project of the Year. Crumlin Road Gaol closed its doors in 1996 and stood derelict until a scheme to bring it back into use began in 2012. Today it accommodates educational and business space along with providing guided tours and... Read More
Work is scheduled to begin this month to fix the ‘death-ray’ effect at the City’s Walkie-Talkie skyscraper, the developers have announced. Planning permission has been granted for the installation of sun-shades on the building which will prevent a repetition of the solar glare which melted parts of cars and neighbouring... Read More
Shopping centres have become key acquisitions for large investment portfolios, with a growing number of retailers seeking to expand reducing vacancy rates and raising returns throughout the country. This has seen demand for shopping centre assets in the UK reach a six year high, according to new data compiled by IPD and Colliers International... Read More
Since the end of the recession, a number of sectors within the British economy have shown marked improvements as a result of increased investment into growth. However, arguably the most positive impact the upturn in the economy has yielded is the national unemployment rate, which fell again in the first quarter of the year. At present,... Read More
The architectural watchdog, the Twentieth Century Society, has suffered another setback in its long running campaign to have London’s Euston Station protected as a listed building. In its latest ruling the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) agreed with English Heritage’s findings that the 1960s-built terminus was... Read More
A campaign spearheaded by the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Country Landowners’ Association has persuaded the Government to ease newly introduced planning regulations to allow agricultural buildings to be converted for residential use. Amended in May last year — under Class M of the General Permitted Development Order 1995... Read More
The retail industry is currently benefiting from a number of improvements in the UK economy, with a drop in inflation and a climb in real wage growth combining to encourage a lift in consumer spending. This saw sales rise strongly over Easter, with furniture and flooring sales particularly contributing towards April’s successful sales... Read More
The issue of airport capacity in the UK has proven to be one of the most hotly debated topics of the year, with numerous different parties backing a range of solutions. Two of the frontrunners to gain an additional runway at this point are Heathrow and Gatwick, both of which have submitted revised plans for their futures to the Airports... Read More
Tokyo's commercial property market topped an ongoing survey of the world's major cities in the first quarter of 2014, according to Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). A surge in international interest led to total commercial property transactions in the city increasing by 71 per cent in comparison with the same period last year. The Japanese... Read More
A former Royal protection officer has launched a new low-cost scheme to deter squatters from taking over shops, offices and other commercial premises. The Brighton-based retired police officer and Royal family bodyguard claims her Intuitive Guardians agency will find carefully vetted temporary residents for a variety of empty... Read More
A Midland’s development company has rounded off a three-month, multi-million pound investment spree by acquiring a redundant Birmingham city centre office block. Seven Capital has bought Britannia House — a 60,000sq ft office and retail property on Great Charles Street — from Constantine Land, the property arm of private... Read More
One of Burnley’s most spacious commercial office blocks is set to be transformed into student housing, the Burnley Express reports. Demand for student accommodation in the town centre has risen sharply in the past few years due to an increasing number of school leavers expressing an interest in acquiring a place at the University College... Read More
As consumer confidence continues to rise, boosted by the lower inflation rate aiding real wage growth, increasing numbers of shopping centres around the country are benefiting from facelifts and extension projects designed to tap into this resurging market. One such centre is the Tower Ramparts complex in Ipswich, where owner LaSalle has... Read More
MEPC — a division of Hermes Real Estate — is shedding three of its seven business parks to allow it to pump at least £400m into Britain’s fast-growing science and technology sectors. The three sites up for sale through commercial agents Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) are the mixed-use business parks of Chineham Park in Basingstoke,... Read More
