Rising rents in London are a positive trend for developers and landlords who, after numerous years of recession, welcome the boost to income and the opportunity to engage in speculative builds. However, for small independent businesses, the increases are less welcome, and have already led to the closure of a long standing West End... Read More
Construction work is to begin in May on a £7 million state-of-the-art innovation centre on the Keele University campus. The 30,000 sq ft scheme is a joint partnership between Staffordshire County Council and Keele University, and is expected to create 130 jobs. It has been ten years since a facility of this scale was built in the... Read More
Finnish development and construction company SRV has announced the launch of its ambitious €225 million REDI scheme in downtown Helsinki. REDI is a hybrid, high-rise development at the heart of the Kalasatama metro quarter incorporating a modern shopping centre with offices, restaurants, hotels and residential accommodation due to be... Read More
A West Midlands council is considering plans for a designer outlet village which conservationists claim would endanger a nearby wildlife reserve — which Cannock Chase Council has already defended as “particularly important”. The £115m Mill Green Designer Outlet Village in Staffordshire is being proposed by commercial and retail... Read More
A multi-million pound scheme to transform an historic Aberdeen church into a business hub has been abandoned because of a lack of office demand. The city’s Triple Kirks church will now be converted to student accommodation. The decision by developer, Dandara, to abandon its £20m plan to transform the city centre ruin comes as... Read More
As the British economy continues to take greater steps towards recovery, many growing firms are examining their options for revenue growth by channelling investment into expansion. This has been a particularly popular trend in sectors relating to the tourism industry, as the UK is now one of Europe’s top destinations for international... Read More
On the same day it paid £47.5m for a Suffolk retail park, the independent real estate fund Rockspring has sold a City of London office block for £70m. The UK and European focused asset manager acquired the Euro Retail Park at Ipswich from Helix Property Advisors. The majority of tenants on the 210,534 sq ft retail warehouse park will... Read More
Healthcare property continues to outperform all other commercial sectors, a new survey has shown. Last year returns from healthcare investment reached nine per cent for the first time in more than a decade. Sponsored by chartered surveyors Aitchison Raffety, the IPD UK Annual Healthcare Index measures samples from just over 1,000... Read More
West Lancashire Borough Council has granted full planning consent for St Modwen’s £10 million mixed use development in Skelmersdale. The scheme, located between the existing town centre and the new college campus, will deliver 100,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space as a means of regenerating the wider area and keeping a greater... Read More
A leading infrastructure, transport and property investment group has confirmed the first tenant of its multi-million pound Manchester development, after council planners cleared the way for it to push on with the logistics scheme. In 2009, the Peel Group was granted permission for road and rail infrastructure for its proposed National... Read More
Two of Birmingham’s biggest property packages are being offered for sale. The largest contains more than a million square feet of industrial space, with the second offering around 100,000 sq ft of educational and office space. Consultants Colliers has been retained by Standard Life Investments to sell the 80-acre Gravelly Industrial... Read More
Investment into the UK automotive industry has been gradually climbing since the end of the financial crisis, with firms including Bentley and Vauxhall having channelled increasing amounts of money into improving their nationwide facilities. This week, Jaguar Land Rover has announced a mammoth £600 million investment into its Castle Bromwich... Read More
According to research undertaken by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), 45 per cent of women and 37 per cent of men in UK offices spend less than 30 minutes a day walking – potentially placing their health at risk. The BHF is partnering with Get Britain Standing to launch the first ever On Your Feet Britain campaign, which takes... Read More
The only Beatles inspired hotel in the world — the Hard Days Night Hotel in Liverpool — is being offered for sale with an £11m guide price. Opened in 2008 during the city’s Capital of Culture year, the luxury hotel continues to attract Beatles’ fans from around the world making the pop pilgrimage to Merseyside. It is located... Read More
The number of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) issued to push forward large scale developments increased by two-thirds last year, according to national law firm Bond Dickinson. Fifty-eight applications for CPOs — allowing certain bodies to obtain land or property without the consent of the owner — were made during 2014, compared... Read More
intu Properties is to provide free phone chargers in all its branded shopping centres following a successful trial late last year. The chargers are being installed by ChargeBox, the world’s leading secure mobile charging company, in the biggest roll-out of its kind in the UK. The move is in response to the positive feedback from... Read More
The Royal Exchange, which incorporates a theatre along with 220,000 sq ft of office and retail space, has long been recognised as one of Manchester’s most iconic buildings. This week new owner Starwood, along with joint venture partner Trinity Investment Management, has confirmed it has submitted a planning application which will see the... Read More
Industry experts have warned that central London office values could fall if Prime Minister David Cameron holds a referendum regarding the UK's European Union membership. If he is still in power after the election on 7 May, Mr Cameron has promised a vote on the UK's EU membership by the end of 2017. Joe Valente, head of research and... Read More
No-one, least of all landlords, likes to see empty shops blighting the high street. However, many of the occupiers taking up space around the country are not contributing to the overall health of local communities, a new study into the country’s “unhealthiest” high streets claims. The Royal Society for Public Health examined the... Read More
More than 50 companies have expressed an interest in partnering Transport for London (TfL) in developing the thousands of acres it owns across the capital, Deloitte reports. The search for development partners was launched last year by the Mayor of London and the transport system operator as part of its plan to generate almost £3.5bn... Read More
Muse Developments has been given the go ahead to begin the renovation of Manchester's Mackie Mayor building. Redevelopment of the Grade II listed building, located in Manchester's Northern Quarter, will begin at the end of this month and will be the “final piece of the jigsaw” of the Smithfield regeneration project. Planning and... Read More
The urban regeneration specialist, Neptune Group, has paid £5.5m for one of Northern Ireland’s “premier boutique retail outlet centres”. The Linen Green designer village near Dungannon, County Tyrone, was originally developed between the early 1990s and mid-2000s as a designer village by local entrepreneur Peter Dolan whose... Read More
