A global fashion chain has had one of its two national and European distribution centres in Staffordshire bought by a real estate investment trust. Tritax Big Box paid more than £30m for the logistics warehouse, one of two adjoining properties at Lymedale Business Park, Newcastle-under-Lyme, used by high street retailer New Look to... Read More
One of the UK's leading serviced office space providers — which already offers commercial facilities to more than 500 enterprises — has opened its tenth centre in an established Cheshire business campus. Solihull-headquartered United Business Centre (UBCuk) has partnered with property owners and developers to open its fully... Read More
Stoford, the privately owned development company, has amassed a project pipeline of 18 commercial and industrial warehouse schemes totalling more than 10-million sq ft. If laid side by side the sites would cover 700 acres. The Birmingham-headquartered firm is working on, or is planning projects for sites across England, from London,... Read More
The reining in of new store openings and closure of many established stores has had a hugely negative effect upon numerous regional shopping centres, with Runcorn Shopping Centre being particularly hit by the losses of Tesco, B&Q and Homebase in the past few months. However, the future is now looking a little brighter for the centre, as... Read More
Manchester’s London Road Fire Station is finally being put up for sale ending years of wrangling over its future – and it is already attracting enquiries. The listed building, which is on English Heritage's at-risk register, will now be marketed to potential buyers, but council bosses are determined to ensure that whoever buys the... Read More
Two key elements for the regeneration of Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge district have received approval. Work on the Freer Street site, west of the city centre, is expected to begin by the autumn. The first scheme to get underway — as part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s master plan for the area — will be for a Union Hanover... Read More
Although challenged by the recession the number of restaurants, takeaways and other catering outlets across Britain has continued to rise for almost two decades. According to a new survey by the real estate services advisor, CBRE, catering establishments that are part of a national chain are the only retail sector to have seen unbroken... Read More
A first time property developer has seen his £725,000 investment in a Grade II listed building pay its initial dividend with the letting of more than half of its newly created office space. Yorkshire businessman, Andrew Clark, paid £325,000 for the historic Drying House — which features 18th century wooden beams salvaged from... Read More
Crossrail Place, a striking seven-storey structure designed by Foster + Partners, has opened to the public today, promising to offer visitors a glimpse of the station of the future. Crossrail Place, on the North Dock of Canary Wharf, will eventually accommodate the concourses, platforms and ticket halls for the Estate's new Crossrail... Read More
Westminster Council is poised to order a property developer to rebuild a London pub brick-by-brick after it was torn down without notice last month. Bulldozers reduced the Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale to rubble on April 8 without submitting an application under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Order (1995). The... Read More
As retailers continue to embrace omni-channel methods, they are beginning to reap the benefits with a corresponding boost in sales. While competition from online retailers such as ASOS and Amazon continues to be high, initiatives such as click and collect have helped to narrow the gap and have correspondingly led to the resurgence of high... Read More
Liverpool’s Albert Dock has reported its highest ever visitor figures during the first quarter of 2015. During the three months to the end of March, visitor numbers rose by 21 per cent to 1,164,871, compared with 963,126 visitors entering the space in the first quarter of 2014. In part, this has been attributed to a significant lift... Read More
International maternity clothing and accessory label Séraphine is set to open its first UK store outside London at Hammerson’s Victoria Quarter in Leeds. Séraphine has agreed terms for a 755 sq ft unit, located next to lingerie retailer Bravissimo, on the County Arcade of the Frank Matcham designed Grade II listed building.... Read More
The last remnants of Sheffield City Airport would be swept away if the city’s university is granted permission to build a second advanced manufacturing campus on the site. Flying ended at the airport in 2008 and part of the site now houses Sheffield Business Park, one of the largest in Yorkshire. Another University of Sheffield... Read More
The Westgate Oxford Alliance, a joint venture between Land Securities and the Crown Estate, recently revealed plans for the expansion and extensive refurbishment of the Westgate Centre in Oxford. This week, writing in Land Securities’ corporate blog, Development Director Bert Martin says that the updating of the centre demonstrates... Read More
LandAid is rallying property professionals to support the industry’s most adrenaline-pumping event, in a bid to raise £50,000 for disadvantaged young people in the UK. The property industry charity, in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors, is the organising force behind the endurance-testing London... Read More
Development Securities has reported a record level of pre-tax profit in its preliminary results which were published today. The property development and investment company - which has more than 4 million sq ft of regeneration and development projects to its name to date – revealed that headline pre-tax profit climbed by a staggering... Read More
One Bickerstaffe Square — part of a £220m Muse Developments regeneration scheme for Blackpool — has picked up its fourth award in less than a year. The five-storey flagship office block, which now houses Blackpool Council headquarters, is part of the town’s Talbot Gateway regeneration project, a new commercial hub that Muse is... Read More
Transport for London (TfL) is seeking a partner with innovative ideas to transform Down Street Tube station into a commercially viable business. Down Street, located on a residential street off Piccadilly, is one of seven disused stations recently identified by TfL’s Commercial Development team has having potential for conversion to... Read More
A Nottingham business park is on target to become one of the first in Britain to supply the power needs of all its tenants from its own three-acre solar farm. The massive array of 2,000 solar panels has been installed at Ransom Wood Business Park in Mansfield and is capable of generating up to 450 kW of power, enough electricity for... Read More
A four-city tour of China promoting Manchester’s multi-million pound Airport City scheme has generated scores of enquiries from the country’s e-commerce and information technology companies. Reporting back on the roadshow Wang Weibo, the executive director of BCEGI Construction UK — a subsidiary of Beijing Construction... Read More
Since joining the Whitbread Group in 2010, chief executive Andy Harrison has managed to raise the group’s market value from £2.5 billion to £9.7 billion, largely due to the ongoing expansion strategy which has boosted the footprint of the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn chains. However, this week, Mr Harrison confirmed that he will be... Read More
