April 11, 2014

Allied London announces plans for development of former Granada site

Property Developer Allied London has announced plans to transform part of the former Granada Studios site in Manchester into a new media hub when it takes control of the building in June. The new building is to be branded Hello House and will offer workspace specifically aimed at media and PR companies, including startups and SMEs as well as established businesses. Not only has the site already enjoyed a long associated with one of the UK’s most famous and well-established media firms, it is also be able to take advantage of Manchester’s growing reputation as one of the country’s most important media and tech locations. The revamped space will include a rooftop media bar and facilities to encourage tenants to work together and develop new joint opportunities. Allied London has already signed up its first tenants.

April 11, 2014

Moderate stress levels can enhance performance, claims new research

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Workplace

A new research project conducted jointly by the University of Reading and Ashridge Business School claims that managers can perform better and make better decisions when they are exposure on a regular basis to stressful situations. The research applied principles from the science of neurobiology in measuring changes in the heart rates of 350 managers aged from 26-55 to analyse their performance under pressure. All of the participants in the research were current students on an Ashridge management course who took part in simulated high-pressure executive situation, such as conflict resolution, high-level decision-making and handling difficult employees and conversations. Their physical and psychological responses were continually monitored over two days, including sleep patterns, heart rate and psychometric tests.

April 9, 2014

Local Government is lagging behind in its use of digital technology

by Mark Eltringham • News, Public Sector, Technology

A new report claims that the UK’s local authorities are not only lagging behind the rest of the world in their use of digital technology but in some areas their development has stalled completely, despite significant investment. The report, Smart People, Smart Places from the New Local Government Network claims that ‘whilst there is much good practice emerging, councils sometimes struggle to fully unlock the benefits of technologies that they do invest in [because] they are often uncomfortable, and risk averse.’ While it acknowledges that the problem does not apply to every council, with some showing exemplary thinking in certain areas, it also paints a general picture of organisations unable and unwilling to make the most of the technology in which they invest, lacking vision and leadership and intimidated by change.

April 9, 2014

Foreign investment fuels record quarter for London commercial property

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

More London, Riverside

Foreign investment in London’s commercial property market has fuelled a record breaking start to 2014, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield. The influx of overseas capital dominated deals in the first quarter of the year and, in turn, drove total investment levels that exceeded £4.3 billion, three quarters of which came from abroad and was centred on East London and Docklands . The 32 deals covered in the report included the sale of the More London estate to a Kuwaiti investor for £1.7 billion and concluded the busiest quarter since 2007. According to the report, foreign investors are attracted by London’s status as a safe haven. Last month we reported how domestic investors were looking outside the capital for opportunities but the Cushman & Wakefield report now suggests that interest from domestic investors and occupiers is increasing as the UK economy improves.

April 7, 2014

RICS’ operational headquarters to relocate to Coventry Friargate Development

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, News, Property

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has announced that it will be relocating its Coventry operational headquarters to a new building in the 37 acre sustainable, mixed-use Friargate development in the city. From 2017, RICS plans to lease 36,000 sq. ft. of space in the second building on the site, adjacent to Coventry railway station. The district will showcase cutting edge low carbon building design and regeneration policies by using local businesses throughout the construction phase to provide improved public transport links, affordable housing and public parks. RICS claims that ‘through a connection to an ultra-efficient combined heat and power generator, Friargate will be at the forefront of sustainable commercial accommodation, reducing both RICS’ carbon footprint and operating costs and offering RICS employees a much better work environment and surrounding area than they currently have.’

April 4, 2014

RICS issues case studies to celebrate strategic role of facilities management

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Property

RICS has published six case studies examining the impact strategic facilities management (FM) can have on business performance. The case studies were devised following the publication of a 2012 research report, Raising the Bar: Enhancing the Strategic Role of FM, which found that over 75 per cent of survey respondents believe that facilities management is a strategic role. This was followed earlier this year by Raising the Bar: City Roundtables Report which made specific recommendations for action, including better promotion of the strategic role played by facilities management within organisations. The case studies were launched at the BBC’s Salford Quays building, featured in one of the studies, which describes the role the BBC’s FM team took in relocating critical services from London to Salford Quays and how the FM strategy was responsible for fostering creativity in the organisation. More →

April 3, 2014

Rem Koolhaas to create office design for new media centre in Berlin

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Company news, News, Workplace design

An office design by Rem Koolhaas’s architecture practice OMA has been selected for the new Axel Springer media centre in Berlin. The firm claims the design will encourage collaborative working and strike the right balance between the needs of people to work priavtely and with others. The new building will sit on the site of a section of the Berlin Wall. It includes a 30 metre high atrium, described by OMA as an ‘open valley’, with a series of interconnecting terraces, work spaces and meeting areas. The atrium opens up towards the existing home of multimedia company Axel Springer and deliberately references the distinction between the old and the new by associating so closely with Zimmerstrasse, a main street which was previously synonymous with the split between East and West Berlin. The ground floor level also contains studios, event and exhibition spaces, canteens and restaurants.

April 3, 2014

Benefits of mobile broadband to Australia run to tens of billions, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

While the UK Government continues to fuss over the rollout of broadband in the UK, bickering with the notoriously ponderous BT about a dysfunctional monopoly they created themselves, a new report from Australia claims that the economic benefits of mobile broadband in that country came to nearly AU$34 billion (£19 billion) last year. The report commissioned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in partnership with the Centre for International Economics (CIE) and Analysys Mason found that although the mobile telecoms sector only accounts for 0.5 percent of economic activity in Australia, its impact on productivity is profound. Last year it accounted for an additional AU$33.8 billion in activity, 2.28 percent of Australia’s total gross domestic product. The report makes its claim on the basis that between 2006 and 2013, productivity growth was 11.3 percent per year, but would have been only 6.7 percent without mobile broadband.

April 3, 2014

Remove flexible working stigma to improve women’s career chances says report

by Sara Bean • Comment, Flexible working, News, Workplace

Employers need to stop viewing female progression as a diversity issue and see the promotion of women in the workplace as a core business priority. This is according to a major new report by charity Opportunity Now, which surveyed 23,000 women between the ages of 28 and 40 as well as 2,000 men, to try and determine why women tend to be less successful than men at work after the age of 28, The report found a gap between organisational policies and the actual experiences of women at work, particularly women aged 28-40, including real challenges around bullying and harassment. And in a challenge to proposals for female-only programmes, the research found that women actually want better line management and initiatives such as flexible working – without the stigma it can cause which can often be an obstacle to progression.

April 3, 2014

Rush to convert offices as demand for commercial property hits 14 year high

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

A new report from commercial property specialists Lambert Smith Hampton claims that demand for office space in the UK this year is set to hit its highest level since 2000. The firm claims in its annual Office Market Review that the take-up of office space could reach 30 million sq. ft in 2014, continuing the momentum from the remarkable 33 percent upswing in demand last year. However, the report also notes that, following the introduction of the Government’s new permitted development legislation in 2013, the number of notifications for conversions of office buildings to residential use jumped 500 percent in the first six months. The trend will act as a further constraint on supply and push up rents as businesses seek additional space for expansion or moves to new property at the end of leases although it will also remove obsolete office space in many less desirable business locations.

April 3, 2014

Plans unveiled for London’s £1.5 billion Silvertown Quays development

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Plans have been released for the £1.5 billion redevelopment of Silvertown Quays in the East of London. The 7 million sq. ft. mixed use scheme will cover 62 acres on the site of the Royal Docks directly opposite the Excel exhibition centre. The development will include around 2.5 million sq. ft. of commercial and retail space, and some 2,500 new homes along with education, research and exhibition facilities. As announced by London Mayor Boris Johnson in 2013, one of the key features of the project will be an avenue of ‘brand pavilions’, where companies from across the world will be invited to showcase their products. The district will be served by a new bridge connecting it to the ExCel site giving access to transport links, including the new Crossrail station with express services to the City of London, West End and beyond.