Warrington planners have given the green light to a 686,000 sq ft expansion of the mixed-use Omega development on the site of the former RAF-USAF Burtonwood airbase. Developed and managed by Omega Warrington Ltd (OWL) — a joint venture between Miller Developments and Royal Bank of Scotland-owned KUC Properties — the application is... Read More
One of the key legacies of the recession has been an apparent desire on behalf of consumers to continue to seek bargains wherever possible, whether they are shopping for weekly groceries or high end luxury items. This has seen out of town designer outlets boom in popularity, with destinations from Beijing to Bicester Village seeing... Read More
The past five years have seen increasing amounts of investment pumped into Manchester improving infrastructure, boosting the commercial property stock and creating thousands of jobs. As well as going a long way to elevate the number of regular positions available in the North West, it has also led to a huge increase in... Read More
Fire damage is a significant cost for insurers with companies paying out more than £3.6m every single day. It can be even more expensive for businesses with the Association of British Insurers predicting that as much as £10bn will be lost due to commercial and industrial blazes by 2020. Now a senior commercial property agent has... Read More
Muse Developments has revealed details of the second stage of Swindon’s Kimmerfields scheme — the town’s biggest makeover in more than half-a-century. The company, backed by landowner Homes and Communities Agency, has already completed the first phase of the project with the construction of a £15m 850-space multi-storey car... Read More
Birmingham based Real Estate Investors (REI) has announced the acquisition of a Walsall retail scheme, pushing the value of its assets beyond the £100 million mark. REI acquired 59/75 Park Street from Scottish Widows for a £7.7 million sum earlier this week, with the firm hoping to add value to the centre’s current £814, 312... Read More
Although job security is much stronger since the end of the recession, many workers are still feeling the pressure to demonstrate their dedication. Along with remaining in the workplace for longer hours, this has seen sick leave fall to a new low, with employers claiming that the number of days taken has fallen from an average of 7.6 days per... Read More
The demolition of one of Bath’s last remaining 1960s office blocks is putting a “significant” squeeze on the city’s commercial space, according to one agent. Despite being empty for more than six years, the bulldozing of Kingsmead House on James Street West to make way for a new hotel will instantly remove 10,000 sq ft of... Read More
Buccleuch Property — one of Europe’s oldest privately-owned businesses — has sold three of its English industrial estates for almost eight-million pounds. Earlier this year the property firm, part of the Buccleuch Group, sold off Clydesmill Industrial Estate in Cambuslang in a deal worth £4.97m to asset management firm, Kames... Read More
Liverpool One — Merseyside’s prestige 170-store prestige retail complex — is playing a major part in filling dozens of empty shop units across the city, claims a new report. According to the National Retail Barometer, published by property advisors Colliers International, Liverpool has shown the greatest improvement in halting... Read More
Although it was revealed last month that London has overtaken Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive city in which to live and work, it seems that the soaring cost of both residential and commercial property has done little to diminish its appeal. In fact, London has now been voted the most desirable location to work in the world,... Read More
It was recently reported that Birmingham has been named the best UK destination for tourists for the second successive year. However, it appears that its northern rival Manchester is also attracting its fair share of visitors, with hotel occupancy reaching a record high in the first eight months of 2014. According to data compiled by... Read More
A number of heavyweight international investors have already shown an interest in buying an entire Birmingham estate of eight office buildings. The sale is one of the biggest portfolios ever to hit the Midlands’ market. The Great Charles Street business campus — opposite the city’s upcoming 17-acre Paradise Circus development —... Read More
An un-named pension fund has paid almost £9m for a Belfast office block indicating, claims one leading agent, that the city’s market is “going from strength to strength”. The 11-storey Victoria House on Belfast’s Gloucester Street — which boasts a range of national and international tenants — was acquired for a client by... Read More
A study, conducted jointly by small business network Enterprise Nation and research firm Duedil, has found that the number of young people starting up their own businesses grew by more than 70 per cent between 2006 and 2013. In real terms, this means that the number of new businesses launched by under-35s rose from 145,401 in 2006 to... Read More
Office REIT Parkway Properties has signed an agreement to purchase a 22-property portfolio of Class A assets located across six states in the Sunbelt region for $475 million. Once the transaction has been completed, Parkway is only planning to retain three of the properties - Corporate Centers I, II, and III at International Plaza in... Read More
An MP has branded the sale of a Kent airport as “opportunist land banking” and threatened to fight any development plans for the 800-acre site. In October last year Stagecoach bus company co-founder, Ann Gloag, acquired the loss-making Manston Airport for one-pound from former Prestwick owners Infratil. Part of the deal included... Read More
Real estate advisors Forton has released figures showing that commercial property investment in Bulgaria has soared by 60 per cent in the first nine months of 2014 to €98.7 million. According to Michaela Lashova, the firm’s managing partner, capital inflow has been increasing during the period, and she refers to an “accelerated... Read More
Top New York real estate executives are of the opinion that commercial property in the Big Apple is overvalued when compared with real estate in other major urban centres around the world, according to the results of a survey conducted by accounting firm Marks Paneth. A number of them have said they believe there is an asset bubble, due to... Read More
Planners have agreed a state-of-the-art office scheme that will revive the stalled regeneration of Leeds’ industrial waterfront. Acquired in 2013 by Allied London after the pre-crash failure of a previous council attempt to rebrand and regenerate the city’s Victorian Clarence Dock, a former Alea casino site looks set to get a... Read More
Not many years ago you would be hard pressed to find a Londoner who could point you in the direction of Midtown. Those who could would almost certainly be property professionals seeking to promote the area between the West End and the City comprising Bloomsbury, Holborn and St Giles. Then in 2010 visitors to the district were greeted... Read More
Thanks to an increase in the number of consumers in possession of smartphones or tablet computers, the retail industry is seeing a huge rise in online orders. This has proved to be good news for takeaway chain Domino’s Pizza which, thanks to strong investment in its online platform, has seen the number of consumers placing orders... Read More
