The UK regions are becoming an increasingly attractive target for foreign investors. Driven by a surge in North American, Chinese and European money, regional investment last year reached an all-time high, claims DTZ’s latest property outlook. According to the global service provider’s European Transaction Based Price Index,... Read More
An MP has pledged to keep a Lake District shopping centre open after its owner went into administration. A buyer is now being sought for the Westmorland Shopping Centre in Kendal. Ethel Austin Properties (Kendal) — which also owns the town’s indoor market — collapsed in late March throwing the future of the centre’s 33 shops... Read More
While the Big Four may be starting to regain some ground in the battle of the supermarkets, it appears that the discounters remain very much in the picture. This has been evidenced this week by Aldi, which has become the sixth largest supermarket in the UK based on market share after leapfrogging upmarket brand Waitrose. The German... Read More
Just weeks after it announced it had amassed a £100m war chest to spend on prestige UK property The Pervaiz Naviede Family Trust has made its first two purchases. The acquisitions — in Chester and Lytham St Annes — come after the trust’s February sale of a residential portfolio to Tyneside-based Grainger in a £58.3m disposal of... Read More
Shop vacancy rates fell to their lowest level in five years last month as increased consumer confidence translated into greater stability in the retail and leisure sectors. According to figures compiled by the Local Data Company (LDC), the number of empty shops on high streets and in shopping centres throughout the UK fell from... Read More
The regeneration of New Covent Garden cleared another hurdle today as the agreement between the Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) and VINCI St. Modwen (VSM) became unconditional. The milestone paves the way for work to begin on the 57 acre South Bank site this summer, delivering 235,000 sq ft office, retail and leisure space... Read More
Amidst the craze for vintage fashion and interior design inspired, in large part, by television shows such as Mad Men, the hotel sector is choosing to play catch-up by introducing boutique trends into major international cities. In Manchester, this has come in the form of Hotel Gotham, which this week opened its doors to the public following... Read More
Brockton Capital and Dunedin Property have completed the joint sale of six regional industrial estates to Cording Real Estate. The asset manager paid £51m for the portfolio. Spread mainly across the Midlands and the north and south of England, the sites contain a total of more than one-and-a-half million square feet of multi-let... Read More
Three-quarters of a century after becoming Britain’s steel production capital, Corby is forging a new future for itself — as the country’s fastest growing town. Supporting a flood of new homes — according to the Land Registry the Northamptonshire town has delivered more new dwellings since the turn of the century than anywhere... Read More
IM Properties has completed and fully let its Solihull Business Park scheme only 18 months after initially acquiring the site, the award winning developer has confirmed. Marketing group Innerworkings is the latest company to take up space at the park, with the final 54,000 sq ft space let this week on a 10 year lease. Innerworkings... Read More
A rising number of Chinese are applying for EB-5 visas, which give US citizenship in return for a minimum $500,000 investment into a business in the country, according to real estate services firm Savills Studley (Savills). Chinese nationals are looking to park their wealth offshore, and Savills points out that the trend is increasing... Read More
Construction company Morgan Sindall has begun work on Muse Developments' mixed use Marischal Square development in Aberdeen city centre. The new £107 million development will deliver 173,500 sq ft of Grade A office space, a 126 bedroom four star Marriott hotel and 26,600 sq ft of ground floor restaurant/bar and café space, incorporating... Read More
Less than a year after it was created, a south Yorkshire enterprise zone has launched a campaign to make it one of Britain’s aerospace and engineering hotspots. It’s hoped as many as 2,500 high-skill jobs could be attracted to the Doncaster site. Work to transform the vacant acreage next to Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport began... Read More
Investment in the hotel sector has been increasing steadily for some time with many brands channelling high levels of capital into expansion. However, in order to stand out from the crowd, it is becoming increasingly necessary to offer customers something unique. In the UK this trend has led to attractions like artist Antony... Read More
The Crown Estate has pledged to fund the development of the £140 million Rushden Lakes shopping and leisure scheme after purchasing the Northamptonshire site from existing owner LXB Retail Properties. Work on the first phase of the development is set to begin towards the end of this year, creating around 400,000 sq ft of retail and... Read More
With Easter eggs flying off the shelves and consumers enjoying distinctly fuller wallets than this time last year, many retailers hoped that the Bank Holiday weekend would see a return to prosperity not experienced since before the recession struck. However, the showery weather in some areas and anxiety surrounding the upcoming general... Read More
Scottish property and investment experts admit they still have fears that new higher tax rates on £2m-plus commercial deals could stifle home-grown business expansion and deter foreign investment. The introduction of the new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) — the first new tax raised by a Scottish parliament in more than... Read More
intu’s commitment to bringing customers the most compelling shopping experience is underlined by the £1.3 billion development pipeline which is set to transform much of its estate over the next decade. This week, the group has submitted a planning application which will see progress at its Nottingham centre speed up greatly,... Read More
One of the oldest racecourses in the country has joined a growing band of tracks to pin its financial future on commercial development. Doncaster Racecourse — which staged regular race meetings as far back as the 16th century — is reviving plans for a £15m hotel scheme, put on hold seven years ago because the financial crisis.... Read More
Lidl is continuing its European expansion with the confirmation it is opening 60 more Irish stores. The new sites — both north and south of the border — will take the German discounter’s network across the island to 240 outlets. The news puts Lidl, which reported a €1,151m (£843m) turnover in Ireland last year, in direct... Read More
Following the failure of Hammerson’s Sevenstone scheme in Sheffield, many high end retailers have struggled to acquire premises in the northern city and are instead setting their sights on nearby destinations such as York, Leeds and Manchester. However, should an exciting new development in the city centre get the green light, this is a... Read More
European property investment firm Rockspring Property Investment Managers continues to be one of the UK’s most successful investors in the shopping centre sector, with numerous acquisitions giving the firm a strong foothold in the increasingly profitable field. This has seen the firm purchase the Green Lanes Shopping Centre in... Read More
