Nearly one in five shops in Wales now stands vacant following a disappointing spring for retailers as many shoppers escaped the cold weather by staying at home. The latest data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/Springboard Retail Footfall Monitor indicates that the shop vacancy rate in Wales increased to 17.9 per cent... Read More
Marks and Spencer (M&S) has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently, with high profile resignations and consumer dissatisfaction plaguing the once-spotless profile of one of the UK’s most iconic brands. Now it has emerged that the retailer has had to post its poorest results since the height of the recession... Read More
After several tough years, the retail industry is beginning to get back on its feet with several high profile chains managing to post greater profits than have been seen since pre-recession 2008. In turn, this has had a positive effect upon developers, with firms across the country now considering continuing work on sites which were left in... Read More
The wait is over. Today Hampshire’s Whiteley Shopping Centre finally opens its doors following an on-off planning saga lasting six years. The event will be marked by five days of celebrations, beginning with an outside broadcast by Wave FM, prior to the grand opening at 11am. The fun includes spectacular street entertainment, fashion... Read More
We are a city of culture insists mayor Barcelona is accustomed to outlandish buildings dividing opinion. After all, this is the city where construction of Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia Cathedral has been underway for over 130 years. Construction of the Sagrada Familia has been underway since 1882 While many regard it as an Art... Read More
Just under a month ago, the Jockey Club released the first sporting retail bond of its kind in the United Kingdom with the aim of funding a refurbishment of the iconic Cheltenham Racecourse. This week, the club announced that the £15 million target has been reached, enabling work to begin on the site. While planning permission has not... Read More
Location, location, location, has long been the mantra for real estate buyers and tenants alike. Companies wishing to set up shop in prestigious high-rises on Fifth, Madison or Park Avenues have been prepared to dig deeply into their pockets for the privilege. It's not uncommon for rents at these locations to approach $150 (£99) per square... Read More
Sheffield is a city which is used to change. When the steel industry collapsed in the 1980s, the city could have stood still and waited for something to happen, but instead it grabbed the bull by the horns and over years has been transforming itself into a city of sport. So why would a recession hold it back? Sheffield is not about to... Read More
A skills shortage and a lack of access to capital are the two biggest challenges facing start-ups in Tech City a new survey has found. Rising commercial property rents in Shoreditch are also a factor hindering growth according to industry insiders. The report, by research firm GfK, found that over 50 per cent of the 141 technology... Read More
For some time now the internet has been playing a prominent role in the British retail environment, with consumers increasingly turning to online stores such as Amazon and play.com in order to make their everyday purchases. Even the grocery sector has been affected by this technological progress, with many supermarkets now allowing their... Read More
When it comes to the current Australian commercial property market, tenants have the upper hand. Landlords have their eyes firmly on the bottom line and want to keep units occupied, and tenants are seizing the opportunity to negotiate lower rental prices. Sydney Central Business District Tenants are also looking for ways to keep costs... Read More
The retail industry seems set on a path of recovery, with nationwide results indicating an improvement in consumer confidence and a leap in footfall in high street shops up and down the country. However, with Easter falling in March rather than April this year, there has been much confusion regarding distortion in the... Read More
Universities in England are to receive a £50m cash boost intended to drive economic growth through “cutting-edge innovation and research projects”. The funding, shared between 16 projects, aims to create 500 new businesses and 3,000 jobs, says Universities Minister David Willetts. Research projects include energy, digital... Read More
London’s Midtown district has been named as one of the leading office investment markets in Europe. Returns in Midtown hit 8.7 per cent in 2012, edging closer to the West End’s 10.6 per cent and, for the first time in three years, topping those recorded in the City (7.5 per cent). The figures come from the latest IPD/Farebrother... Read More
Marks and Spencer has revealed a new clothing collection and a strategy that it hopes will reverse declining sales. The High Street chain said that its new autumn/winter collection will put “quality and style back” into M&S clothing. With clothing sales down, analysts and shareholders were awaiting news of M&S's plans... Read More
Thanks to the technology boom of the early 2000s, a number of specialist electronics companies saturated the market, making the sector one of the most challenging in retail. However, due to a number of high profile administrations including Comet, HMV and Jessops, the fight for consumers interested in purchasing electrical goods has become... Read More
An historic Yorkshire town could soon be gaining a unique addition to its high street attractions – a refurbished subterranean Victorian shopping street hidden underneath a present-day development. Manager of the ground-level property, Nick Holroyd, is presently in discussions with developers regarding the site’s potential as a new retail... Read More
As New Jersey emerges from the recession the retail property market is shifting, with the emphasis now on variety rather than large holdings. Furthermore it is now a tenant’s market. In 2002, vacant stores accounted for only about 2 per cent of shopping space in the central and northern parts of the state. Any available storefronts... Read More
Unemployment is once more a hot topic due to a number of high profile companies shedding staff. These redundancies have been especially prevalent in the banking sector and this is perhaps one of the reasons that the unemployment rate in the UK is once more rising. 15,000 new workers joined the queues at the nation’s Job Centres... Read More
Research shows that smaller businesses are still overlooking the growing need to be accessible to mobile users. At the same time, large enterprises are snapping up neglected mobile customers . The research shows that 37% of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) do not have a website and 80 per cent of the businesses that do have... Read More
Jim Flaherty, the Canadian Finance Minister, says he is not concerned about the recent increase in businesses spinning off real estate holdings into tax-preferred trusts. He stated recently, "We have seen an uptick in commercial real estate certainly in recent times, so in that sense, it doesn’t surprise me." Flaherty made the... Read More
For five years, developer Skelwith Leisure has been negotiating the construction of a 300 bedroom hotel and leisure complex in the quiet North Yorkshire village of Flaxby, near Knaresborough. This week, it has emerged that the time spent planning the project has finally paid off and the initial groundwork required for the property will begin... Read More
