Business leaders set out plans to create ‘tech supercluster’ in West Midlands

Business leaders set out plans to create ‘tech supercluster’ in West Midlands

West Midlands superclusterGenerating £27.8 billion gross value added annually, and employing more than 360,000 people, the West Midlands is the UK’s largest centre for business, professional and financial services (BPFS) outside London. Now, business leaders from Shoosmiths, Wesleyan, Bruntwood CBRE amongst others, are working with the region’s just under 12,500 leading tech and digital companies to see how they can integrate AI and advanced technology into their everyday activities. More →

Regional office markets show some signs of recovery

Regional office markets show some signs of recovery

Manchester office marketTake-up of office space in the cities outside of Central London during Q4 2020 totalled 1.1m sq ft, an increase of 138 percent compared to Q3 2020. However, the overall take-up for 2020 reached 3.9m sq ft, a decline of 40 percent on the five-year average, according to research from real estate advisor CBRE. More →

Organisations weigh up options to make workplace fit for the future

Organisations weigh up options to make workplace fit for the future

a fit for the future workplaceAvison Young, realestateworks and HLM Architects have launched a new report that assesses the impact of this year’s pandemic on workplace and corporate real estate strategies in the longer-term. Over 100 private and public sector companies were asked about their evolving approach to working culture, office design and portfolio strategies in the context of multiple forces of change, including greater resilience, the decarbonisation agenda, personalisation, remote working and the integration of the physical and virtual workspaces. More →

Plans for 2 million sq. ft of offices in South East England

Plans for 2 million sq. ft of offices in South East England

developmentsThe Commercial Park Group, a partnership between Sir Robert McAlpine and the John Baker Group, has announced it will invest £200 million to kick-start developments of two million sq ft of new offices across locations in the south east of England. More →

UKGBC publishes guidance to catalyse the delivery of net zero carbon buildings

UKGBC publishes guidance to catalyse the delivery of net zero carbon buildings

UKGBCThe UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published new guidance, Unlocking the Delivery of Net Zero Carbon Buildings, which examines how current barriers to the delivery of net zero carbon buildings can be overcome. More →

London commercial property market shows some resilience

London commercial property market shows some resilience

market

New analysis by McBains, of commercial property transactions worth £100m-plus completed in London over a 12-month period suggest a fall in the total value and volume of deals, but the market holding relatively strong in the face of COVID-19 and uncertainty over the UKs impending EU exit agreement. More →

Focus shifts to refurbishment as new office building in London falls by half

Focus shifts to refurbishment as new office building in London falls by half

office building and constructionThe construction of new offices in central London has declined by half (50 percent) in six months as developers and occupiers shift their focus to refurbishment, according to Deloitte Real Estate’s latest London Office Crane Survey. The crane survey analysed office building data over the six months to 30 September, and included a poll of London’s biggest developers conducted at the end of September. The total office space under construction in central London is now 15.1 million sq ft. This is similar to the level recorded in the previous survey (15.3 million sq ft, the highest since 2002) as developments are now taking longer to complete. More →

Plan submitted for London`s first net-zero carbon commercial property

Plan submitted for London`s first net-zero carbon commercial property

CarbonClimate change has accelerated the urgency to address the way people live and work. With the UK’s aim to become carbon neutral by 2050, CIT and Foster + Partners want to help realise this ambition sooner, submitting a planning application for London’s first ever net-zero carbon workplace and commercial hub at Colechurch House, on the banks of the Thames. More →

Chris Kane discusses his new book on workplace transformation

Chris Kane discusses his new book on workplace transformation

The physician can bury his mistakes,—but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines. Frank Lloyd Wright’s eternal epigram is not just true for buildings. It also applies to the authors of books, especially those on the subjects most affected by this year’s pandemic. Speakers and blog writers can quietly inter the things they get wrong, while the book sits unchangeable on a shelf. Maybe behind a houseplant.
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Unused office space could cost London businesses almost £13 billion

Unused office space could cost London businesses almost £13 billion

Office spaceUnused office space after coronavirus could cost London-based businesses almost £13 billion according to a new report by Space Three Two, a new office timeshare marketplace born out of lockdown. According to a survey of London office workers, employees want to spend an average of 2.7 days back in the office once all Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted. 1 in 10 workers said didn’t want to go back to the office at all. More →

Green commercial properties prove their worth

Green commercial properties prove their worth

green Nearly half of respondents in a global survey reported stronger occupier and investor demand for commercial properties with green building certificates. This translates into higher rents according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, RICS, sustainability findings within its global commercial property monitor for the third quarter. More →

CIBSE launches COVID-19 achievement award

CIBSE launches COVID-19 achievement award

AwardA new award recognising the work undertaken by building services professionals and the wider supply chain to combat the effects of COVID-19 has been set up by CIBSE. More →