Landlords and occupiers must work together to meet climate change challenge

Landlords and occupiers must work together to meet climate change challenge

flexible work and climate changeDisruption, cost, building style, individual goals, responsibility and shared space are cited as the key sustainability challenges for the flexible office sector, according to the latest research report from The Instant Group. But while there is still a lot of work to be done in the sector as the role of the workplace evolves, Instant says that flex operators have an opportunity to lead the way in meeting the challenge of climate change. By creating innovative, low-carbon buildings, curating a clear engagement strategy with occupiers and landlords, and ensuring a low-carbon ambition is understood and adopted by everyone, flex operators can be the first to implement highly sustainable workplaces. More →

Business confidence back to pre-pandemic levels, with fewer plans to shrink offices

Business confidence back to pre-pandemic levels, with fewer plans to shrink offices

CEOs of the world’s largest businesses are increasingly optimistic about the outlook for their own business, according to the latest KPMG CEO Outlook Survey. Despite a slower ‘return to normal’ than expected, their confidence in the global economy has returned to levels not seen since the start of the pandemic. The number planning to reduce their office footprints has fallen dramatically since the height of the pandemic, and instead there is a growing focus on introducing flexible working cultures. More →

Overseas investment in UK regional offices soars

Overseas investment in UK regional offices soars

overseasInvestments in offices outside the capital for the first half of this year hit £3.58bn – 18 percent above the long-term average for the first half of this year, Savills research claims. Overseas investors accounted for two-thirds of the £3.58bn of investments from January to June 2021 – 38 percent above the five-year average. More →

Return to office doesn’t mean occupiers have lost sight of flexibility, claims report

Return to office doesn’t mean occupiers have lost sight of flexibility, claims report

return to office is underway

Offices will repopulate over the remainder of this year, led by small companies – those with fewer than 100 employees, according to the EMEA Occupier Survey of 130 companies from real estate advisor CBRE. The survey found that small companies are further advanced in their return to office. Over 80 percent of small companies report all locations are now open. This compares with only a third of the largest companies, although a majority of them have opened more than half of their sites. More →

Digital twin and other tech to benefit from landmark $3.5trillion infrastructure package

Digital twin and other tech to benefit from landmark $3.5trillion infrastructure package

Siemens digital twinGrowth in key tech sectors is set to rocket after a landmark $1 trillion infrastructure package bill passed in the US Senate, part of a comprehensive $3.5 trillion plan within President Biden’s post-COVID Build Back Better initiative and paralleling the UN’s Race To Zero campaign. There had been an upward trend in share prices for companies in several tech sectors already, but Pitchbook research identified nanotechnology and digital twin technology as most likely to gain from the new bill – the largest public investment in America’s infrastructure for decades. More →

Southeast office take-up higher than five-year average

Southeast office take-up higher than five-year average

officePent-up demand on hold in 2020 has returned with office take-up in the first half of this year nearly a quarter above the five-year average, according to Savills‘ data. Demand is outstripping supply with a development pipeline equal to five months take up in an average year said the property agent. More →

WeWork partners with Cushman & Wakefield on flexible working offer

WeWork partners with Cushman & Wakefield on flexible working offer

flexible working space provider WeWorkWeWork, arguably the world’s most talked-about flexible space providers, and Cushman & Wakefield, the global real estate services firm, have announced they have entered into an exclusive strategic partnership to market both landlords and businesses on WeWork’s management experience platform and on several new jointly developed ideas aligned with the new appetite for flexible working. More →

London office leasing activity gathers momentum in Q2 2021

London office leasing activity gathers momentum in Q2 2021

LondonThere was a spring in the step of the central London office market in Q2 2021 with more businesses committing to new office space, as plans to return to workplaces took shape. Research by DeVono Cresa claims that just over 1.98 million sq ft was transacted, representing an upturn of 21 percent on the previous quarter and the highest quarterly total since the outbreak of the pandemic. More →

Commercial property shows signs of recovery this year

Commercial property shows signs of recovery this year

commercialMore than half of respondents agree conditions are consistent with an upturn, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, RICS’ latest commercial property market survey. In the second quarter, 56 percent of survey participants predicted a recovery compared with 38 percent of respondents from January to March. More →

Corporate real estate markets continue to improve worldwide, report claims

Corporate real estate markets continue to improve worldwide, report claims

global corporate real estateThere has been a further improvement in sentiment across the global corporate real estate market, according to the latest RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor. Respondents highlight a continued steady recovery, with the Americas and Europe leading the way. Importantly the improvement is being recorded on both the occupier and the investor sides of the market, reflecting improved macro-economic factors. Sentiment amongst both occupiers and investors continues to recover, consistent with the expectation of a sustained economic recovery from the pandemic.  The global sentiment reading for occupiers rose from -26% to -10%, whilst for investors it climbed from -10% to +1%. However, whilst forecasts for the global economy have strengthened, uncertainty remains over any future impacts of COVID following the upsurge in cases linked to Delta variant.

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Thought Machine and LABS agree major deal for new Bloomsbury HQ

Thought Machine and LABS agree major deal for new Bloomsbury HQ

Thought Machine, core banking technology company, has agreed to lease all 67,000 sq ft, at 7 Herbrand Street, WC1, in a bespoke deal with leading flexible workspace provider LABS. The building will become its new London headquarters to support its ambitious growth plans. More →

Time to get real on what companies need from their real estate

Time to get real on what companies need from their real estate

A new era for real estateAs businesses return to their offices they are faced with a challenge – how do they reappraise their space requirements post-Covid? Social and technological advancements are changing real estate from being a fixed physical product, into flexible, employee-centric spaces that enable new models of hybrid working and business operations. These have a significant impact on the ways that businesses work and the options available to them. More →