Barwood Developments and the North Yorkshire-based Potter Logistics have joined forces to develop a 16-acre logistics hub at Knowsley Industrial Park. The joint venture Draco project — situated on North Perimeter Road and with immediate access to Potter’s neighbouring rail freight terminal — will have the capacity for a total of... Read More
Investment into retail commercial properties is beginning to reach pre-recession levels once more, indicating that businesses and individuals are becoming more confident about a long-term recovery within the retail industry. Shopping centres, in particular, have seen a great deal of market activity in the past year, with the latest sale... Read More
LinkedIn, the online professional networking service, has continued its Irish acquisition spree with plans for a new corporate headquarters in Dublin. So far this year LinkedIn — often described as Facebook for suits — has cranked up its Irish workforce from 450 people to over 600. Its latest move to even bigger purpose built... Read More
During the initial stages of the economic recovery, Britain’s manufacturing industry flourished due to a combination of strong overseas demand and an increasingly stable domestic market. However, Eurozone issues and importing issues within key markets have seen growth stagnate in recent months, with firms such as Tata Steel now examining... Read More
Work is expected to start before Christmas on the latest expansion of a 200-acre Derbyshire distribution and business park. The latest speculative build will add a 100,000sq ft warehouse and office building to the Markham Vale enterprise zone site with Henry Boot Developments (HBD) expecting the scheme ready for occupation by spring... Read More
WH Smith has been one of the UK’s most popular High Street chains for many years now, with consumers frequently turning to the retailer for their stationery and reading needs. However, like many during the recession the retailer struggled to lift sales – a trend which, fortunately, appears to have come to an end, as WH Smith has this week... Read More
An Israeli billionaire and gambling tycoon has paid up to £90m for a second chunk of one of London’s most famous market sites. In March, Teddy Sagi bought Camden Stables Market, on Chalk Farm Road, for £400m. He has now acquired Camden Lock Market for a figure reportedly between £70m and £90m. The overall market site is made up... Read More
The upcoming New Street development is one of the most exciting retail developments to take place in Birmingham in recent years, with the 40 retail units and 20 new restaurants expected to create employment for up to 1,000 local residents. However, the future management and ownership of the development has this week been thrown into doubt by... Read More
Cushman & Wakefield has released its Winning in Growth Cities report for 2014-15, and Tokyo has been named as the largest commercial property investment market in Asia. The Japanese capital city reported 30.4 per cent increase in real estate investment which put it in the No. 3 spot in the world on the index. In the year to June... Read More
The German owner-managed investment company PATRIZIA AG has become joint owner of three more UK business parks as part of a £430m sell-off deal. PATRIZIA’s fifty-fifty venture with the Los Angeles-headquartered Oaktree Capital Management now makes the pair one of the largest owners of business parks in Britain. The partnership... Read More
Although the UK has seen widespread sustained recovery for the large part in the retail industry since the end of the recession, the ongoing issues surrounding the Euro have meant Ireland has lagged somewhat behind. This has seen vacancy rates in all but three of the country’s urban centres climb, causing a degree of concern amongst... Read More
Less than four months after the completion of a five-year £83m transformation BAE Systems is selling its Cheshire munitions factory. Commercial property consultants GVA says it has already received “considerable” interest from British and overseas investors considering the purchase of Radway Green Small Arms Ammunition facility.... Read More
A bidding frenzy has pushed the sale price of a former Northern Ireland Methodist church to £1.2m — three times its guide price. The Grade II listed church on Belfast’s University Street was previously owned by the Ballygowan-based Soll Developments but was repossessed by the Irish government's National Asset Management Agency... Read More
One major benefit of the economic recovery has been the consistent drop in unemployment figures, which today reached their lowest level since late 2008. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this is largely due to the past year yielding the largest annual fall in unemployment since records began. Since January 2014,... Read More
As one of Europe’s most stable economies, Britain has attracted a great deal of investment attention in the past few years. This has seen the number of commercial properties owned by overseas investors rise sharply, with this group now holding around 25 per cent of income producing commercial assets in the country. According to... Read More
The Kingsgate Centre is currently one of Yorkshire’s most successful retail destinations, with the Huddersfield town centre development attracting consistently strong levels of footfall all year round. However, owner WD Huddersfield Ltd has now expressed a wish to expand into the evening market by investing in the shopping centre’s... Read More
Croydon has called for greater business rates autonomy to support its plans to transform the London borough into a premier office location. The council hopes to create close to 3 million sq ft of Grade A office space in a bid to attract tech and creative firms to the borough. The local authority’s Growth Zone strategy also includes... Read More
The beginning of the year saw retail sales pick up strongly following several years of decline. This upturn contributed to increasing demand for retail property in key locations and the first rise in rental values in the sector since the recovery. Unfortunately, a disappointing blip in September has seen sales fall to a low not seen since... Read More
Specialist investment management firm Kames Capital is toasting the acquisition of two of Birmingham’s most popular nightspots. Kames has purchased the Mechu and Après nightclubs on Summer Row from Town & Country Inns as a means of boosting its West Midlands portfolio. In total, the deal was worth £6.9 million after the... Read More
A Northern Ireland Government minister has claimed the benefits from a multi-million pound scheme to regenerate Belfast's historic docks far outweigh the effect it will have on nearby landmark buildings. Announcing outline planning permission for the City Quays One development plan, environment minister Mark H Durkan effectively gave... Read More
The value of English farmland increased by 2 per cent in Q3, taking the rise in the year to date to 12 per cent. Year on year, values have risen by an average of 15 per cent, outperforming the housing market (+10 per cent), the FTSE 100 (+5 per cent) and gold (-9 per cent). According to the Knight Frank Farmland Index, the price of... Read More
Leading property and facilities management provider Bellrock has agreed a new contract with UKDN Waterflow to manage its warehouses, offices and storage properties throughout the UK. Bellrock will be responsible for the management of rent payments and reviews, lease renewals and break options across the estate. They will also help to... Read More
