Having announced in November that its Victoria Gate retail development was one-third pre-let, Hammerson now says the figure has risen to 40 per cent, eighteen months ahead of its scheduled opening. The Leeds shopping centre is being built in two phases, with phase one delivering 34,000 sq m and phase two adding a further 8,000 sq m to the... Read More
Westminster City Council has approved the revamped plans for the £500m-plus redevelopment of Marble Arch Tower. The original design - by Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Viñoly - was rejected because it did not contain enough office space. Permission was given for the Almacantar development despite objections from the Royal Parks... Read More
Identifying a specialist need in the recovering commercial property market has prompted two Yorkshire lawyers to launch their own practice. LB & Co — named after its founding partners, Carolyn Lord and Kate Butterfield — will offer specialist advise on complex planning and development policy issues. It will operate from offices at... Read More
Investment into commercial schemes in regional areas continues to climb as the economy improves further, with many areas in which development stalled now noting an uptick in demand for space. Commercial investor and developer Praxis is currently hoping that this will smooth the process of obtaining planning permission for a mixed use... Read More
As consumer-facing commercial industries face increasing pressure from customers to diversify their leisure offering and tenant mix, site owners continue to engage in redevelopment projects meet demand. This is the tactic Tesco Pension Fund intends to utilise at its Jarman Park leisure destination in Hemel Hempstead, which is currently... Read More
With construction of its £8.5m town centre business incubator well underway, Warrington Borough Council has launched a hunt for a company to manage the hub. The authority has hired real estate service provider CBRE to manage the search through The Chest, the North West's local authority procurement portal. It is expected the... Read More
Coventry based automotive industry manufacturer, HPL Prototypes, is set to open up a new site near Crewe. The scheme will see a design and engineering centre being developed, which is expected to create around 70 skilled jobs. Terms have been agreed with Cheshire East Council for the 5.5 acre site at Redsands, subject to planning... Read More
The owner of cocktail bar chain Revolution has confirmed it will return to the stock market next month and will shortly begin the search for suitable properties to fulfil a roll-out programme. Formerly known as Inventive Leisure, the Ashton-under-Lyme based company will be led by Numis Securities in its IPO and will utilise the... Read More
Travelodge — Britain's second biggest budget hotel operator — is capitalising on its strong 2014 performance by confirming plans to open 25 new sites every 12 months for the next six years. The chain already has a £100m construction programme underway which will see the opening of 15 new hotels by the end of this year. Those new... Read More
Birmingham based property group, Real Estate Investors Plc (REI) has unconditionally exchanged contracts to complete the acquisition of 35-37 Great Charles Street in a £1.85 million deal. The 24,500 sq ft office building is close to the new Paradise Forum development and at the heart of Birmingham’s new City Centre... Read More
As the number of leisure based redevelopments and regenerations continues to grow in the UK, one would be forgiven for thinking that new space has become less in demand and competition amongst restaurant brands has fallen. However, this is certainly not the case at the Guildhall Shopping Centre in Exeter, where owners have seen popular... Read More
The upcoming regeneration of London’s Royal Albert Dock by Chinese developer Advanced Business Park (ABP) is one of the most eagerly anticipated projects in the capital at present, with the aim of creating the city’s third financial district. This week, it has been announced that China Minsheng Investment Corp Ltd will provide £1 billion... Read More
As the UK becomes an ever more attractive destination for businesses, manufacturers are increasingly choosing to “reshore” their operations from overseas. But while a new report indicates that this could boost GDP by around £15 billion, a shortage of industrial property and skilled workers threatens to hinder the... Read More
TATA Technologies, the global engineering services firm, is to develop a European headquarters in Warwick. The 3.8 acre site, to be developed by property company A.C Lloyd, represents a £16 million investment into UK and European operations. Planning permission was submitted to Warwick District Council on January 28. According to... Read More
Land Securities has today announced it has unconditionally agreed to purchase the leasehold interest in in a 1.9 acre site in the City of London for £16.5 million. The site, which currently comprises an unoccupied 1970s office building and a TfL worksite, is at 21 Moorfields in close proximity to Liverpool Street Crossrail... Read More
According to new research, China is set to become the largest retail market in the world by 2018, overtaking the United States. A joint report from PwC and Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts that the sales volume growth in China will be at 7.9 per cent by 2018, whereas North America is expected to have lowest growth of 2.6 per cent... Read More
One of the UK's leading investment companies, Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), has let three industrial units in the largest leasehold deal in Merseyside in the last twelve months. The adjoining 210,000 sq ft Atlantic Park units have been let to Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHB) on a five year lease. RLAM was represented by... Read More
Work will get underway next month on a new £4m high-tech incubator hub for Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP). The design and build contract is the second science-based scheme builder Britcon will start in as many months. Last month the Humberside-based firm commenced work a 30,000 sq ft extension to the Langage Science... Read More
Scotland now represents the second largest investment region outside London. Last year commercial property deals north of the border surged by 82 per cent. But despite a survey by consultants Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) claiming that a total of £3.2bn was pumped into the country’s real estate market last year, a second CBRE report... Read More
Consumers are increasingly seeking a wider range of choice as the economy continues to improve, paving the way for upgrades to existing developments and regeneration projects for sites which have lain derelict for some time. In Preston, this will see the old Cottam Brickworks site transformed into a mixed use retail, leisure and healthcare... Read More
The drop in the value of the Canadian dollar has not curbed the appetite of Canadian commercial investors for property south of the border. According to a survey cited by the Financial Post, early results indicate that US$ 2.75 billion has already been invested in the States during the first two weeks of January. The enthusiastic start... Read More
British Land has confirmed that the development of 4 Kingdom Street, a nine-storey office building on the Paddington Central campus, is now underway. Following the acquisition of the campus in July 2013, British Land commissioned architects Allies and Morrison to update the existing plans for 4 Kingdom Street, which were approved in... Read More
