According to property consultancy Knight Frank, investor interest in the North East commercial market extends beyond the core sectors. Investment partner Dickon Wood said that all sectors have seen an increase in investment activity over the last year due to reduced options for occupiers, rising rents and a slow development pipeline... Read More
Mayfair Capital’s Property Income Trust for Charities (PITCH) has increased its investment portfolio to £350 million on the back of £17.3 million of acquisitions. The first acquisition is the forward purchase of an office building on Cambridge Research Park costing £10.44 million. Former owner Keir Property will continue in its... Read More
Law firm Addleshaw Goddard (AG) has pre-let 51,000 sq ft at Leeds’ 3 Sovereign Square, a joint venture development between Bruntwood and Kier Property. AG has agreed terms on a seventeen-and-a-half year lease for three of the five office space floors, in what is the biggest office transaction in the city since professional services... Read More
Cheapside businesses have voted overwhelmingly to establish the City of London’s first Business Improvement District (BID) with 84 per cent of voters endorsing the proposal. As the private sector is asked to play a greater role in the public sphere, BIDs are performing an increasingly important function by providing a collective... Read More
A partnership developing an 18-acre Wolverhampton brownfield site is already in discussion with potential occupiers. The Wednesfield plot has planning permission for 400,000 sq ft of warehouse and logistics space. The Bridges Property Alternatives Fund (BPAF) and commercial property specialist Stoford have teamed up to acquire and... Read More
The Grafton Shopping Centre has been placed on the market by current owners M&G Investments, with an asking price of £92.5 million. Agents Cushman & Wakefield confirm that planning consent is in place for a redesign of the Cambridge site, allowing potential buyers to transform the “tired looking” centre into a more... Read More
The consumer appetite for budget hotel rooms continues to grow as more UK residents than ever seek to indulge in “staycations” during the holiday season. This has proven immensely profitable for Travelodge which, thanks to its ongoing expansion programme, has seen a 63.5 per cent leap in underlying profits in the year to the 31st of... Read More
Aston Martin has confirmed it has been talking to both Westminster and the Welsh Government over its plans to open a new plant to build its new eco-friendly sports car. Headquartered in Gaydon, Warwickshire, the company behind James Bond’s prefered car says it has shortlisted two sites, one in Birmingham the other in Bridgend, South... Read More
Retail property body The British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) has today announced that John Coyne has been appointed as its new Chief Executive. Mr Coyne, who takes-up his position in June, currently acts as interim managing director of Improving Health Limited, which consists of 20 GP practices in South Southwark. Previously,... Read More
Two years after it first bought into London’s Paddington Square development, British Land has extended its investment in the campus with the £210m acquisition of One Sheldon Square. The purchase, from Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund, brings the property development and investment company’s total commitment at Paddington... Read More
Manchester may be home to the best known fictional pub in Britain but, according to insolvency trade body R3, around one third of real-life Rovers Returns in the North West are struggling to overcome an ‘identity crisis’ that threatens their survival. In its latest study of the sector, R3 found that 37 per cent of the region’s... Read More
After three-way talks with a national retailer and shopping centre operator, an MP says he is “confident” Northern Ireland will soon get its first John Lewis store. If fulfilled, Jeffrey Donaldson’s claim will mean the end of an 11-year struggle by the mainland retail chain to open premises at the Intu-owned Sprucefield retail... Read More
As the economy continues to improve and inflation remains on a downward trend, consumers are increasingly finding more cash in their pockets to spend on luxuries such as eating out. This has proved immensely profitable for restaurant businesses such as London-based ‘proper’ hamburger brand Byron, which has this week announced an... Read More
Newcastle's historic Grainger Market — which houses the world’s smallest branch of Marks & Spencer — is about to undergo an £800,000 revamp. Opened in 1835 the market celebrates its 180th anniversary this year. At the heart of the city’s Grainger Town conservation area, the Grade I listed covered market houses more than... Read More
Ambitious proposals which promise a new lease of life for Hemel Hempstead town centre have moved a step closer. Endurance Estates and RG Carter have already signed a development agreement with the local authority, and now two key milestones have been passed. On 9th April, Dacorum Borough Council’s Development Control Committee... Read More
A scheme to redevelop one of Liverpool’s historic squares — originally laid out in the mid-18th century to provide homes for the city’s growing merchant classes — have been unveiled by developer Elliot Group. The £40m project, designed by Liverpool architects Falconer Chester Hall, will involve the construction of five blocks... Read More
Town centre regeneration projects are becoming extremely profitable avenues for developers in the current economic climate, with numerous projects seeking to create a fluid mixed use environment for consumers. This is the case in Warrington, where previous plans for an overhaul of the town centre have been spiked in order to place a heavier... Read More
Spurred by an increase in demand for logistics and industrial property West Yorkshire looks set for the return of speculative “big hut” schemes — and record breaking rent hikes. Birmingham-based commercial property developer Stoford and Kier Construction have both submitted planning applications for industrial units in the county... Read More
Commercial landlords who have allowed older buildings to fall into a state of disrepair will be targeted with new penalties and incentives which are part of South Australia Deputy Premier John Rau’s plans to improve the profile of Adelaide’s central business district. Adelaide had the oldest commercial property stock of all the... Read More
The Northern Irish commercial property market is picking-up, with numerous firms seeking space in Belfast city centre in particular. This week, technology giant Allstate submitted a planning application to Belfast City Council for a major new office development after being rumoured to have purchased the intended site from the local... Read More
A North-East business cooperative is pressing ahead with its plan to extend its “do-it-yourself” industrial and retail park after receiving planning permission from Durham county planners. The Createcity Group — whose members own and operate several regional flooring companies including Frank's Factory Flooring, Maguires Carpets... Read More
One of Scotland’s largest private equity companies has paid almost £14m for a Cardiff office building it intends to convert into a hotel. The deal is the seventh completed by Glasgow-based Maven Capital’s specialist property team in the last 24 months. Totalling more than £50m, the acquisitions have included two hotel... Read More
