Many British businesses continue to struggle, as although the recession is officially over, consumers are still wary of excessive spending in case the economy takes a turn for the worst once more. This has meant that parent companies often find themselves unable to continue funding subsidiaries, with many making the decision to sell off their... Read More
There are signs that the collapse in UK commercial property values is coming to an end, according to a leading banker. Ben Broadbent, who sits on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, believes that the UK market is better placed than most to bounce back as the financial crisis eases. This is because, unlike before the... Read More
The Metropolitan Police could sell its New Scotland Yard headquarters in a bid to save £500 million over the next two and a half years. The proposal comes as the force seeks to dispose of a third of its property estate to deliver the savings and improvements to frontline policing demanded by Mayor Boris Johnson. Five London police... Read More
Demand for riverside property is fueling a development boom on the banks of the Thames. Investors are buying up redundant industrial buildings from Vauxhall to Greenwich as both residential and commercial developments along the stretch of river have outperformed the wider prime London market by 9 per cent over the past five... Read More
In the past, men went out to work while women stayed home to run the house and look after the children. However, society has progressed somewhat since the days in which this was the norm, and now both sexes often choose to continue with their jobs after having children. Unfortunately, this can pose the often difficult question of who will... Read More
Foreign investors were involved in 67 per cent of all commercial property transactions in Australia in the third quarter of 2012. In the same quarter of 2011, buyers in this group accounted for approximately 30 per cent of transactions. Over half of the $1.88 billion in foreign sales in the quarter was the result of a single... Read More
We have previously reported on the battle between Totnes and Costa Coffee. Residents and businesses of the Devon town have been fighting for six months to prevent the coffee chain opening an outlet on Fore Street. They argue that the arrival of Costa would damage the character of the town, which is renowned for its predominance of... Read More
Representatives from the property, retail and banking sectors have joined forces to tackle the problem of the UK’s failing high streets. The industry-wide group met for the first time last week and has subsequently announced which organizations have signed up to the new body. The Distressed Retail Property Taskforce includes senior... Read More
Halloween has become one of the most profitable dates in the retail and leisure calendars, along with Christmas, Easter and New Year. Having traditionally been a time for children to dress up in scary costumes and trick or treat the households in their local areas, it seems that adults now wish to share the fun too. As a result, retail... Read More
Business groups in Scotland have united to oppose plans to reform rates relief on empty properties. Under the proposals, due to be discussed by parliament, business rates relief on unoccupied premises will be cut from 50 per cent to 10 per cent. Supporters of the scheme believe it will provide a boost to Scottish high streets but business... Read More
Long Beach city officials have upped the ante in their dispute with medical marijuana distributors and have taken on property owners who rent to these businesses. The City Council has voted to revoke the business licence of a landlord who has allowed medical marijuana providers to operate from a strip mall that he owns. The decision to... Read More
Calgary's downtown office market has been very dynamic over the last few years, with more than five million square feet of absorption over the past three years alone. It's not likely this level of activity will continue in the long term, however. Demand for office space has tapered off, for one thing. Another reason the commercial... Read More
Shard gallery offers highest viewpoint west of the Urals Visitors to the public gallery at the top of London’s Shard building will be rewarded with spectacular views stretching 40 miles. The platform, which will provide the highest open air viewing point in Western Europe, is due to open to the public early next year and is expected to... Read More
Online retailing has been one of the most successful markets during the recession, with many companies managing to offset ailing high street profits using their website counterparts. Even for retailers that base their businesses solely on the internet, business has been booming, with sites such as Amazon and eBay consistently reporting... Read More
Banking chain RBS has not had an easy run during the recession. Trust in the banking system, already damaged by the country’s descent into economic instability, plummeted after the Libor scandal, with the major high street chains suffering accordingly. Now, it appears that their troubles are set to continue, with frontrunner for the... Read More
Supermarkets are coming up with increasingly inventive ways to attract consumers into their branches. Money off vouchers, price comparison initiatives and price drops are now a common feature in many big name stores as bosses play on the general public’s need to save money on their weekly shop. However, one of the largest draws to... Read More
Banking has been a controversial topic in the UK for several years now, with many people blaming many of the big chains for the recession in the first place. While this may not necessarily be true, as there were a lot of factors that ushered Britain into a period of economic downturn, the public’s trust in the banking system has been... Read More
One of the most remarkable commercial construction projects announced for Dubai in recent weeks is a replica of India's famous Taj Mahal. The planned building will be a more ambitious project than the original, and will be about four times larger in scale. Other projects in the works which had been put on hold since... Read More
Returns in the commercial property market in Ireland have been positive over the last four quarters, with returns coming at the rate of 4.8 per cent over the past year. Research firm Investment Property Databank (IPD) has released calculations indicating the total returns in the third quarter of 0.7 per cent. The second quarter saw a small... Read More
Kimberly-Clark, the owners of Huggies nappies, is to shut a number of plants in Europe to focus on other areas of the business. The company, which owns other well-known brands including Kleenex, Andrex toilet paper and Kotex, plans to close two plants in the UK, located in Hull and Wales. The closures will put 438 jobs in... Read More
Nationwide Building Society is considering making an offer for the 316 branches that Royal Bank of Scotland was due to sell to Santander. According to the Sunday Times, the mutual is looking at an offer as speculation mounts over which companies will bid following the collapse of the deal with Spanish-owned Santander UK. The... Read More
The creation of online shopping has had a huge impact on traditional high street stores, with many consumers now choosing to purchase items from the comfort of their own homes rather than venturing out to battle queues, crowds and wet weather. As a result, many are being forced to adapt, focusing more energy on their websites than their... Read More
