Competition for space in the UK’s major cities is becoming intense, with companies keen to expand yet often unable to find suitable premises due to a lack in supply. Fortunately, developers are continuing to channel investment into new builds – something which has had a very beneficial impact upon Birmingham’s office... Read More
The Starwood-owned Irish property company, Gangkhar, is selling an historic Dublin police headquarters to Hibernia for €70m (£52m). The off-market deal is the investment trust's fourteenth — and its second biggest — acquisition since its 2013 inception. Harcourt Square, in the Dublin 2 district, is the regional headquarters of... Read More
With Christmas a distant memory and Easter still more than a month away, many small businesses will be experiencing a slight lull, especially those operating in consumer facing industries. However, there are several ways in which SMEs can capitalise upon Valentine’s Day this year thanks to the largely buoyant economy the UK is currently... Read More
The huge demand for commercial property is extremely good news for London’s market, yet often the squeeze for space is coming at the expense of smaller independent retailers and leisure operators. This has been the case in the city’s restaurant sector, where small family-owned establishments are struggling to find space as international... Read More
Investors in government sponsored Business Premises Renovation Allowances (BPRA) schemes face unexpected demands to repay large sums of tax relief, the Financial Times reports. BPRA was introduced by the government to attract tax-deductible investment into the renovation of disused commercial properties in deprived areas. The scheme... Read More
As part of the Arena Central scheme, a proposal has been submitted for new offices and apartments on Broad Street in Birmingham's City Centre Enterprise Zone. Two Arena Central will consist of 212,821 sq ft Grade A office space, designed by architect Ken Shuttleworth's Make, while the 400 apartments were designed by Glenn Howells. There... Read More
The supermarket price war has been escalating recently as the traditional leading grocery retailers attempt to win back consumers from discounters such as Aldi and Lidl. While this technique has appeared unsuccessful to date, it seems that two of the Big Four are finally beginning to see results with grocery sales growing at their fastest... Read More
Manchester-based Capital & Centric (C&C) is about to add a speculative £3m warehouse and small business hub to its list of on going Merseyside projects. Work started last month on the 40,000 sq ft scheme at Estuary Commerce Park in Speke. Designed specifically for small to medium-sized enterprises the office and warehouse... Read More
John Lewis has this week signed a preliminary agreement to take the largest unit at Croydon’s upcoming £1 billion town centre retail development. Joint developers Hammerson and Westfield have confirmed that executives from the department store brand recently “agreed the design and layout” for the anchor unit in the... Read More
According to a report from BNP Paribas Real Estate, Central London has seen one of the biggest declines in office vacancy rates since the year 2000. In regards to take-up, during the fourth quarter of last year, 4.49m sq ft of leasing was recorded, giving a total for 2014 of 16.03m sq ft. The report shows that TMT occupiers... Read More
Clyde Gateway — Glasgow's urban regeneration company — has received eight separate industry award nominations for a range of its property developments. Attracting the most attention at this year's Scottish Property Awards is the organisation's Albus office development. The futuristic Bridgeton Cross complex is being nominated in... Read More
With a booming commercial property market and high levels of demand from international investors, London is one of the top business destinations in the world. However, when it comes to sustainability, the UK capital remains second best, as German “green city” Frankfurt has pipped it to the post in the first ever Arcadis Sustainable Cities... Read More
ASSOCIATED BRITISH PORTS (ABP) has ended its long-running challenge to the development a £450m energy facility on the south bank of the River Humber. This month's High Court rejection of its demand for an official examination of the Government’s decision to grant a Development Control Order (DCO) for the Able Marine Energy Park... Read More
The café sector has begun to diversify rapidly in recent months, with the traditional coffee and cake offering spreading to offer cereals, crisp sandwiches and even alcohol. However, one business has revolutionised not its offering, but its pricing structure, launching a “pay to stay” café in Manchester. Ziferblat offers... Read More
A West Midlands' property consultancy has won the contract to manage and oversea several urban transformation projects on an historic 1,500-acre estate. GBR Phoenix Beard — an independent agency with offices in Birmingham, London and Leeds — has now taken over the management of Calthorpe Estate’s commercial property portfolio, with... Read More
Albion Court, a building in Leeds city centre, has successfully been acquired in a deal worth £9.7 million. The property has been sold by Catalyst Capital, with whom Knight Frank acted on the behalf of, and was succesfully purchased by The Cordea Savills UK Income & Growth Fund. This 30,762 sq ft building is currently let out to... Read More
The upcoming General Election has cast some uncertainty over the business outlook in many areas of the country, as many companies are concerned about the repercussions of policy changes during the aftermath. However, according to the latest Business Trends report by BDO, any negative effects are yet to be felt in the West Midlands with... Read More
Scotland's booming technology sector has already outpaced Britain's traditional high-tech hubs and is snapping at London's heels to become the nation's start-up capital. According to Office for National Statistics figures, analysed by the contractor-accountancy provider Nixon Williams, 6,520 information technology businesses have now... Read More
An award-winning Wearside business park — created at the height of the recession — is celebrating its fifth anniversary with every square foot let to a full complement of tenants. "At times the project felt like a huge undertaking, but it has been worth the risk to deliver many thousands of jobs," admitted Ian Baggett, chairman of the... Read More
Three local companies have taken space on a recently refurbished rural Yorkshire business park bringing its job creation tally to more than 130. Seven disused farmsteads on the Escrick Park Estate — which has been owned and managed by the Forbes Adam family for the past 350 years — were converted to offices as part of a £1.4m... Read More
Local traders have launched a petition against the upcoming redevelopment of Brixton’s railway arches. The move comes after Network Rail recently contacted the 18 businesses operating along the stretch between Atlantic Road, Brixton Station Road and Pope’s Road to inform them of the plans and to request that they make preparations to... Read More
The Westgate Oxford Alliance has today confirmed that the £440 million Westgate Oxford development will proceed shortly. The Alliance, a joint venture between Land Securities and The Crown Estate, says that preparatory works for the centre upgrade will begin ‘imminently’ and the construction phase will follow in the spring. The... Read More
