Total office occupancy costs increased in Birmingham City Centre during the second half of 2013, according to new research conducted by leading international property adviser BNP Paribas Real Estate. The study focuses on rents, business rates and service charges for prime Grade A offices in the city. It found that costs have risen in... Read More
Liverpool city centre office take-up jumped by 22 per cent last year to 316,964 sq ft according to three industry groups. Liverpool Vision, Professional Liverpool and the business improvement district (BID) have released figures showing that there were 108 transactions in total. This was the highest level of activity in a decade,... Read More
A Texas design firm has found a new and lucrative way of using its award winning talents — by giving ugly 1980s office towers a cosmetic make-over. Dallas landmark Chase Tower was one of Staffelbach's recent refurbishment projects Dallas-based Staffelbach, launched almost 50 years ago as an interior design studio, has found itself... Read More
Recently the prime minister hinted that business rates reform may be on the way as the momentum for change gathers momentum. Last week Lambert Smith Hampton responded to this by publishing a set of proposals that it would like to see included in any future legislation. Today the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which spent a large part of... Read More
ABP chairman Xu Weiping has expressed his confidence in the Chinese company’s Royal Docks development which, he believes, will become a global business park. Despite the fact that work is yet to begin in earnest, 57 companies have already registered an interest in taking up commercial space within the development and official... Read More
One of Cardiff’s biggest office developments has been sold to the international financial management company Fidelity Worldwide Investment for just over £11m. The 60,000sq ft Fusion Point 2 building on Dumballs Road was built as a joint venture between Robert Hitchins and Landmark Cardiff. Fidelity was one of four bidders and the... Read More
In its latest economic update, the Bank of England has stated that the economic recovery in the UK has "finally taken hold” and is growing at a robust rate as uncertainty lifts and credit becomes easier to obtain. The Bank points out that significant headwinds remain at home and abroad and there is a long way to go before the... Read More
Two Spanish property funds have launched a €900m fundraising drive — the biggest the country has ever seen — as more and more distressed real estate comes to the market. Six years into a property market slump, buyers are snapping up an increasing number of distressed assets as banks clean up their books and prices come closer... Read More
Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group’s 20 Fenchurch Street is now almost 90 per cent let or under offer, with the first tenants due to move into the property in April. The opening of the City tower – popularly known as the Walkie-Talkie - will be marked by a party in the building’s Sky Garden, which is itself nearing... Read More
Marketed as Scotland’s only “business hotel” the developers behind the Skypark campus have been given permission to add a second office block to the Glasgow complex. Although construction work will not start without a substantial pre-let, the 135,000sq ft Azure Building will be situated adjacent to the campus’s existing Skypark... Read More
Clyde Gateway — the company leading the regeneration of Glasgow — has launched what it claims is the first interactive 3D iPad app to help market one of its new office buildings. Developed in partnership with the commercial real estate company Colliers, the free application gives prospective tenants the opportunity to tour The... Read More
The majority of commercial property companies are failing to integrate environmental and social issues into their businesses and reach even the lowest sustainability benchmarks, according to a new survey. Although the report, commissioned by The Australian newspaper, concentrates on Australasian businesses it claims there are “useful... Read More
Manchester Science Park will get a jumpstart on its expansion plans with a 60,000 sq. ft. block. The building will be funded in part with a £2.5m loan from the Greater Manchester Investment Fund. The amount has been conditionally agreed. Expansion plans have been on the drawing board for three years. Former chief executive Jane Davies... Read More
Clearance work has started on a 400 acre former Essex oil refinery site prior to it being opened up to a variety of occupiers. Another immediately available 110 acres, situated adjacent to London Gateway, is already attracting interest. The Thames riverside site once housed the Petroplus Coryton Oil Refinery and was purchased jointly... Read More
Planners have approved a scheme to build an £18m technology park adjacent to the M5 in Worcester as part of the county’s “Game Changer” development blueprint. Despite suffering a major blow last September when Worcester Bosch pulled out as the main tenant, the county council decided to press ahead with the landmark 70-hectare... Read More
The Blackstone Group looks set to become the biggest foreign investor in Irish property after hinting that the majority of a newly-raised $5.5bn European fund could be targeted at Ireland. The war chest, officially called the Blackstone Real Estate Partners (BREP) Europe IV, already has commitments worth €4.1bn but is yet to close,... Read More
Since the upturn in consumer confidence retailers have been quick to examine growth options in a bid to capitalise on the increase in spending power. As a result, demand for retail property is on the rise, with homeware and furniture chains at the forefront of the push to expand into new areas. Dunelm Mill is one brand which has reaped... Read More
The Canadian real estate service provider FirstService has bought out Briant Champion Long (BCL), one of the United Kingdom's leading independent retail property specialists. The acquisition was made through one of the Toronto-based company’s subsidiaries, Colliers International which itself was taken over by FirstService in 2012.... Read More
While unemployment has dropped in recent months, a growing number of employers have voiced concerns about the future of the UK labour market. In part, this is due to the percentage of people who have reached, or are approaching, retirement age but would prefer to continue working. According to new research by the Economist Intelligence... Read More
Green REIT — Ireland’s first real estate investment trust — has posted pre-tax profits of €121,000 just days away from clinching a €310m deal to buy a commercial complex in south Dublin. Established in June last year with a €301m London Stock Exchange floatation, the company said it had invested €191m of capital to... Read More
Consumer confidence is steadily on the rise, with recent data from industry bodies such as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) indicating strong recovery within the retail sector. However, it’s clear that certain regions of the country are leading the way, with London and the South East performing best in both food and non-food... Read More
The police have been asked to investigate the “probity” of two regeneration schemes awarded millions of pounds in grants by Pembrokeshire County Council. Concerns, first raised by a councillor last year, are centred on two Town Heritage Initiative schemes in Pembroke and Pembroke Dock — costing almost £18m — and which have... Read More
