RICS announces standards to tackle unfair commercial property service charges

RICS announces standards to tackle unfair commercial property service charges

by • Facilities management, Legal news, News, Property

RICS standards aim to tackle unfair commercial property service charges

New mandatory requirements that will ensure service charges to commercial tenants are transparent, upfront and fair, and that any costs incurred are in accordance with the terms of the occupational leases, have been announced by RICS. The Institute, which has long called for a fairer and more professional approach to property management to help outlaw “rogue” landlords and managing agents says ‘Service charges in commercial property’ will help regulate the activities of landlords and their agents, whilst protecting tenants from having to pay for unscrupulous repair or maintenance costs. It has worked with major property bodies representing owners, occupiers and managing agents – including BPF, BRC, BCO, PMA, CoreNet, REVO, PMA alongside ICAEW and Law Society, the professional bodies for accountants and lawyers – to produce the recommendations that reflect the needs and opinions of landlords and tenants and the specific considerations of different sectors.

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LinkedIn confirms deal for new London headquarters

LinkedIn confirms deal for new London headquarters

by • News, Property

Tech giantLinkedIn has sealed a deal for its new London headquarters, pre-letting the entirety of a building in North East London that was once home to The Guardian newspaper. LinkedIn has taken 83,000 square feet at The Ray Farringdon, at 119 Farringdon Road, according to a statement from Viridis Real Estate Services, which is redeveloping the property.

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Crown Estate HQ becomes first office in Europe to achieve WELL Platinum Certification

Crown Estate HQ becomes first office in Europe to achieve WELL Platinum Certification

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector, Wellbeing

The Crown Estate has announced that it has been awarded WELL Certification at the Platinum Level for its head office at No 1 St James’s Market, London by the International WELL Building Institute. The Crown Estate earned the distinction based on seven categories of building performance—air, water, light, nourishment, fitness, comfort and mind—and achieved a Platinum level rating.

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You should not expect the coworking bubble to burst anytime soon

You should not expect the coworking bubble to burst anytime soon

by • Comment, Coworking, Property, Workplace design

Coworking is not the norm yet, but it is headed that direction. In fact, a sign of its success is the fact that it has moved from being labelled a fad to asking if it is a bubble about to burst. Here’s a short answer: it is not going to go pop, fizzle out or run out of steam anytime soon. Why would it? Coworking is not something driven by real estate and developers. It reflects how our society is changing.

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Work&Place new issue showcases most informed and challenging workplace thinking

Work&Place new issue showcases most informed and challenging workplace thinking

by • Facilities management, Features, Flexible working, News, Premium Content, Property, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace, Workplace design

The new issue of Work&Place has been published and is free to read on the journal’s new website. Its overall readership is now around 100,000, including in the new Spanish language edition, so it’s not just more accessible, it is even more influential. The journal continues to explore the most cutting-edge ideas surrounding the physical, digital and cultural domains in which we work. The convergence of these elements of the workplace define the greatest challenges we face in the workplace of the early 21st Century. Some of these are addressed in the features included in this edition.

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Network Rail agrees £1.46bn commercial real estate sale to Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property

Network Rail agrees £1.46bn commercial real estate sale to Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property

by • News, Property

Network Rail has agreed terms with Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners for the sale of its commercial real estate portfolio. Proceeds from the £1.46 billion transaction will help fund the railway upgrade plan, bringing improvements for passengers and reducing the need for taxpayers to fund the railway, according to a statement from Network Rail. Telereal and Blackstone will hold equal ownership stakes and intend to be long-term owners of the estate. Both parties have adopted a ‘tenants first’ approach, cemented in a tenants’ charter, which offers a commitment to engage with all tenants and communities in an open and honest manner. Telereal will oversee the day-to-day property management of the portfolio.

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A round up of some of the best recent workplace content from around the web

A round up of some of the best recent workplace content from around the web

by • Facilities management, Features, Flexible working, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

All the workstyles we have ever loved

Open plan v private offices déjà vu

Britain’s productivity crisis in eight charts

Investors discount office buildings with high WeWork occupancies

Perceptions of pay fairness

Agile humans, and therefore organisations. Just a dream?

Excessive hours and intense work is (sic) bad for your career

London pledge to make all new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030

London pledge to make all new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030

by • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

London pledges to make all new buildings zero carbon by 2030London has joined 18 other cities around the world, including Paris, New York and Tokyo, in a landmark commitment to make all new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030. Regulations and planning policy will also target existing buildings to make them net-zero carbon by 2050. Net zero carbon buildings are buildings which reduce all energy use as far as technically possible, with remaining demand met through renewables. The commitment has been orchestrated by C40 cities, a global group of major cities committed to delivering on the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement at the local level. As city authorities do not have direct control over all the buildings in their area, the commitment includes a pledge to work together with the private sector as well as state and regional governments to drive the transformation. This pledge from cities is part of the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment for businesses, cities, states and regions.

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Major tech companies continue to acquire new London offices, despite Brexit concerns

Major tech companies continue to acquire new London offices, despite Brexit concerns

by • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

Major tech firms continue to acquire large London offices, despite Brexit concernsThe repercussions of a no-deal Brexit are being hotly debated but there are some indications that it’s yet to impact the Capital’s commercial property sector. A number of leading tech and creative companies have continued to acquire large volumes of office space across London. According to figures from CBRE, take-up of Central London office space stood at 1.2m sq ft in July 2018, above the 10-year monthly average of 1.0m sq ft. The increase in July was largely down to two Facebook deals at 11/21 Canal Reach, N1 and Building P2 Handyside Street, N1, where in total 600,600 sq ft of office space has been filled. The creative industries sector led July take-up at 679,400 sq ft, representing 61 percent of the space taken; with the business services sector acquiring 17 percent of space, with 133,200 sq ft going to flexible office providers. In the past 12-months, business services has been the principal sector, accounting for 31 percent of take-up ahead of the creative industries (25 percent) and banking and finance sector (16 percent).

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The office will always live on because nothing propinks like propinquity

The office will always live on because nothing propinks like propinquity

by • Comment, Property, Workplace design

Perhaps the most pervasive and enduring myth about the office is that it is somehow dying off. It’s a blast of guff originally farted out at the dawn of the technological revolution in the early 1990s, which has somehow lingered and been stinking the place out ever since. The essential premise behind the idea of the death of the office is that mobile technology makes it possible for us to work from ‘anywhere’ and so that must mean ‘somewhere’ is no longer needed. (more…)

Nine workplace stories that have challenged and informed us in the last week

Nine workplace stories that have challenged and informed us in the last week

by • Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

How blue light from screens literally blinds us

Physical closeness makes people and things more desirable

Non-monetary incentives and the implications of work as a source of meaning

How clean is your desk? The unwelcome reality of office hygiene

The utter uselessness of the Cat A habit

UK can thrive post-Brexit, but only with design

New Zealand firm’s four-day week an unmitigated success

Real Estate and technological denial

Biophilic design for the workplace is so much more than plants

Image: Hunt of the Unicorn (tapestry circa 1500) housed at Stirling Castle

How will Crossrail impact the office landscape of London and beyond?

How will Crossrail impact the office landscape of London and beyond?

by • Comment, Property

We are now just a few months away from the grand opening of the central section of Crossrail, the 118km long railway line spanning London and the South East which will, once completed, will deliver a direct connection between all of London’s main employment centres; linking Heathrow with Paddington, the West End, the City and Canary Wharf. This ambitious redevelopment plan will bring huge positive change to the City and is estimated to generate over 850,000 new jobs in the Capital, as well as making the lives of those already working in London easier and more efficient.

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