July 2, 2018

Investment in European corporate real estate takes a downward turn

Investment levels across European corporate real estate markets are currently on course to meet 2017 levels, after finishing last year on a high. Levels of investment in the first three months of 2018 was broadly in line with the long term average following one of the strongest final quarters recorded in the report from real estate consultancy Savills. Commercial investment totalled €46 billion across the survey area, down 8 percent compared to the same period last year but broadly in line with historic trends.

June 29, 2018

Edinburgh is best UK location for growing technology businesses but office space is becoming scarce

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Technology

Scotland’s capital city is the best place for tech companies looking to scale up, access funding, and do business in, according to a new Government backed report examining the UK’s tech landscape. Edinburgh tech companies responded with the highest approval rating in the UK when asked to assess how good their city was for ‘doing business’ – a combination of sub factors including access to finance and talent – as part of The Tech Nation 2018 Report – an annual series that captures the strength, depth and breadth of digital tech activity in the UK which employs over one million people. Although 62 percent of Edinburgh’s tech community are satisfied with local access to affordable office space, commercial property firm JLL, who sponsor the report, said one of the main challenges which now faces a burgeoning tech industry in Edinburgh is the room to accommodate continued growth of the sector.

June 28, 2018

New era ahead for corporate real estate strategy, claims CBRE report

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Property

The period to 2040 will bring profound and far-reaching changes to corporate real estate portfolios according to CBRE. The new report Portfolio 2040, claims to approach the issue from a portfolio perspective, examining how business, buildings and perhaps even cities themselves, might look in 20 years’ time. One of the key drivers for change is identified as pervasive availability, and creative use of very high-volume data and the growth of AI, enabling companies to adapt almost instantaneously to external change and offer increasingly personalised solutions. Rapid and fluid specialisation, either temporary or permanent, will characterise most businesses and real estate will need to reflect this by being increasingly flexible, multipurpose and rapidly adaptable.

June 28, 2018

Small flexible workspace operators are biggest winners as trend for coworking continues to grow

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

While the likes of WeWork have dominated the headlines over the past year, the number of smaller, more niche coworking operators, has grown significantly and now makes up 83 percent of the total flexible workspace market. The latest research from The Instant Group, which claims to be the world’s largest flexible workspace provider, suggests that the number of centres in the market run by smaller independent operators has grown to 83 percent of the London market. The increase of 20+ desk enquiries is evidence of growing demand as larger firms have started exploring flexible options rather than taking more conventional leases.

June 26, 2018

London seen as most desirable city in the world to work, but the UK falls in country standings

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace

A comprehensive study into global talent mobility claims that London is the most desirable city for overseas workers worldwide, beating New York, Berlin and Barcelona. In the four years since the first study conducted by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and totaljobs, the UK has dropped three places in overall attractiveness, from second to fifth in the country rankings. Decoding Global Talent 2018 (registration required), claims to be one of the most expansive studies every undertaken into workforce migration trends. Shining a spotlight on the UK’s attractiveness to global talent, the research reveals the world’s most desirable destinations for work.

June 22, 2018

Organisations are easily distracted from the task of creating a great workplace strategy

by Chris Hood • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

Earlier this month The Once Alternative Workplace Strategies 2018 workplace study was published. This study is the only known longitudinal workplace study and it was recently resurfaced by a group of volunteers to maintain a comparative thread of data on the evolution of workplace thought and practice now going back many years. Unfortunately, the results of this global study demonstrate that a high percentage of companies still see once alternative and now modern workplace strategies as a real estate initiative and not the opportunity to reinvent their businesses in deeper and more transformational ways. Workplace innovation is a litmus test for management quality and leadership. This isn’t about real estate, it’s actually about people and business outcomes.

June 20, 2018

Asian investment in City of London offices now hitting record levels

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Asian money is pouring into office investments in the Square Mile at a pace rarely seen before, according to a new analysis by Savills. About £3.4 billion of Asian capital has been invested in London offices already this year, according to a study from the property consultancy. That is 70 per cent of the total volume and a record high for the first six months of a year. In the past three months alone, Asian buyers have snapped up £3.5 billion of buildings in London’s financial district. This is the highest figure for a second quarter since 2007, when the commercial property market was at its peak just before the credit crunch hit, according to Savills.

June 18, 2018

World Green Building Council launches Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment

by Neil Franklin • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has launched its new Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment as part of Building Lasting Change 2018 with WorldGBC Congress Canada in Toronto, and called on market leaders in the sector to join as signatories. The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment challenges businesses and organisations across the world to take advanced climate action by setting ambitious targets to eliminate operational carbon emissions from their building portfolios by 2030 in order to meet the Paris Agreement ambition of below 2 degrees of global warming.

June 14, 2018

Nearly half of employees still assigned to same place as the traditional office clings on

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property

The worry over a loss in productivity when people are able to work anywhere is entirely unfounded, and what we once called “alternative”, we have come to call current and future workplace strategies, a new report claims. Yet the new study, ‘The Once Alternative Workplace Strategies’, which was conducted and released by Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA), Global Workplace Analytics and Haworth Inc, found that nearly half of employees are still permanently assigned to one space; with no change since 2008. The research pinpoints five leading trends within today’s workplaces and compares the findings to the initial research from more than a decade ago. More →

June 14, 2018

Brexit will harm UK infrastructure improvements, say industry professionals

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Six in ten (59 percent) people involved in planning and delivering projects across the UK think that leaving the EU will make it harder to deliver improvements to the nation’s infrastructure, according to exclusive new research from the team behind the Public Sector Show and National Infrastructure Forum. The findings are based on a survey of over 200 professionals from across the public and private sectors, conducted by the National Infrastructure Forum – part of the Public Sector Show – in association with Burges Salmon, exploring the views of the country’s major building priorities for the coming years.

June 11, 2018

Coworking is breaking away from its cultural and geographical stereotypes

by Gary Chandler • Comment, Property, Technology, Workplace design

There is a persistent image of a coworking space as a sort of glorified serviced office for tech and creative startups who can’t afford the eye-watering rents in the areas they need to be. This is usually in the technology hothouses of the world’s major cities where they can work alongside the corporate giants and fellow innovators that thrive there. The reason such perceptions exist is because they are largely true. It’s no coincidence that coworking spaces have thrived up till now in the world’s most expensive property markets – in London, Hong Kong and New York, serving exactly the sorts of start-ups and freelancers who rely on proximity to their potential clients.

June 8, 2018

Flexible office space is becoming mainstream as demand grows

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property

The provision of flexible office space is increasing as landlords look to capitalise on its increasing demand by occupiers. Alongside this a significant proportion would be happy to work in partnership with a flexible office space provider. According to a new study; UK Landlords & Investors Embrace the Flexible Revolution from CBRE, the majority of UK landlords (92 percent) believe that flexible office space is on the brink of becoming mainstream and are not only keen to monitor but respond to the growth of flexible office space. Over three quarters (77 percent) of survey participants stated that they are currently considering some form of flexible provision, with 79 percent declaring an intention to act within the next 12 months. More →