Demand for office space in Central London continues to grow steadily but falls elsewhere

Demand for office space in Central London continues to grow steadily but falls elsewhere

by • News, Property

A new study from commercial property advisors Savoy Stewart based on UK government data claims that demand for office space in Central London has continued to grow at a steady rate for a number of years, but that the trend is not always matched elsewhere in the UK, including for areas on the outskirts of the capital. The report, based on an analysis of data from the Valuation Office Agency, covers the period from 2000 to 2016. It found that the total floorspace of 21,092,000 square metres in Central London accounts for nearly one quarter of the total office floorspace in England and Wales (89,037,000 square metres) and more than twice the total floorspace of the top 10 office hotspots outside London combined.

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UK commercial property volumes to exceed £50 billion for sixth consecutive year

UK commercial property volumes to exceed £50 billion for sixth consecutive year

by • News, Property

Despite 2017 being a year of political surprises and, seemingly, never ending Brexit negotiations, both the UK economy and commercial property market have shown demonstrable resilience with transaction volumes reaching £55 billion. With recent announcements suggesting more certainty about the post Brexit relationship between the UK and the EU, renewed business confidence will increase demand for quality commercial real estate. Global real estate advisor, Colliers International, predicts that 2018 volumes will exceed £50 billion for the sixth consecutive year.

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Flexible space and smart tech to grow this year, while occupiers decide on Brexit

Flexible space and smart tech to grow this year, while occupiers decide on Brexit

by • Coworking, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property, Technology

Flexi-space and Smart tech to grow this year, while occupiers decide on BrexitThe proportion of flexible space within occupier portfolios will continue to increase in 2018; a growing adoption of technology will redefine buildings, workplaces and portfolios; and it will be a year of decision for many businesses regarding Brexit. These are among the ‘UK Property Predictions 2018’ report from JLL which covers a range of different topics, with a particular focus on UK corporate occupiers. The report claims that traditional static portfolio concepts are being redesigned to incorporate new formats of space, co-working and a more fluid and diverse range of space options that support creativity, innovation and collaboration. (more…)

Seven stories that got us thinking over the holiday season

Seven stories that got us thinking over the holiday season

by • Architecture, Facilities management, Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Around the world in 80 architecture offices

If work dominated your every moment would life be worth living?

Ten years in and nobody has come up with a use for blockchain

The case against digital transformation

All the creepy, crazy and amazing things that happened in AI in 2017

The tyranny of competence: why it is bad for us to be ‘good enough’

The dangers of dark nudging

Seven workplace design and management stories that you must read this week

by • Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

The jingle jangle of work non-work balance

Productive healthy ageing and musculoskeletal health

Understanding modern work in an age of insecurity

The death of employee engagement or a happy ending?

Is the era of management over?

The paradox of choice in the workplace

Ten workplace meta-trends for 2018 (really)

Commercial property is undergoing tech disruption, but not as some believe

by • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Technology

According to a recent report, executives in the commercial property sector have significant reservations about emerging disruptive technologies such as Big Data and predictive analytics, augmented and virtual reality, Blockchain and driverless vehicles, but see huge potential for process automation. Disruption is a strong word.  It conjures up apocalyptic images and radical interventions leaving unrecognisable outcomes in its wake. Big terms like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and big data bring equally big expectations.  For those of us at ground level, it’s hard to see the cumulative impacts of the many changes taking place around us.  It’s also hard not to share the same view expressed above. Future-gazing is nice to a point, but board level conversations like to take signposts from what is actually happening around them as well, and the commercial property sector is no exception. This sector is undergoing profound disruption but not necessarily from Silicon Valley’s headline grabbers.

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City of London on track for record levels of office investment

by • Cities, News, Property

The City of London is defying the doomsday Brexit scenario and on track to reach record levels of office investment in 2017, as Savills anticipates total turnover will hit £12.5 billion – subject to a number of deals currently under offer exchanging or completing before 31st December. This sees total transactions in 2017 doubling the 10-year average (£6.259 billion), in line with the all-time record volume seen in 2014 (£12.6 billion). The real estate advisor suggests the West End market will see £7.155 billion transacted in 2017 bringing total turnover in central London for the year £19.6 billion. Savills says that the weakness of sterling since the EU referendum has boosted the city’s attractions to overseas capital.  This has happened in tandem with a return of UK buyers to the London market. Figures from the firm show office take-up in the City and West End are both above the long-term average while more than a third of the city’s developments are pre-let.

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Hong Kong replaces London as most expensive place in world in which to rent a workstation

by • News, Property, Workplace design

Hong Kong has replaced London’s West End as the most expensive office market in which to accommodate staff, according to new research from Cushman & Wakefield. The annual Office Space Across The World report surveys occupancy costs across 215 office markets in 58 countries worldwide. Using proprietary data, it ranks occupancy costs per workstation and workplace densities for newly developed or refurbished office space globally. Limited availability and strong demand from mainland Chinese corporations have pushed Hong Kong costs up 5.5 percent to $27,431. Escalating rents are driving a growing number of multinational corporations to decentralise to lower cost areas.

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Shifts in occupier behaviour and attitudes to real estate pave the way for a workplace revolution

by • News, Property, Technology

The rise of the flexible office is the result of dramatic changes in the way corporate occupiers approach their real estate decisions, and will open up opportunities for landlords able to adapt and respond to these shifts. These are some of the claims from The Flexible Revolution (registration required), a pan-European report from CBRE exploring the flexible office market. Over the past decade the global flexible office market has been growing at an average of 13 percent per annum. Growth rates in EMEA (excluding UK) and APAC have averaged around 20 percent per annum, while the more mature and larger markets of the UK and the USA have seen average growth of 10 percent per annum over the same period. Key European cities like Berlin, Paris and London have all seen strong year-on-year growth of 12 – 21 percent between 2016 and 2017, which is comparable with markets like New York and San Francisco, where the flexible office concept has existed for longer.

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Commercial property sector disconnected from game changing new tech, claims report

by • News, Property, Technology

Executives in the commercial property sector have significant reservations about emerging disruptive technologies such as Big Data and predictive analytics, augmented and virtual reality, Blockchain and driverless vehicles, but see huge potential for process automation according to the Altus Group CRE Innovation Report (registration required). According to the report, which is based on a global survey carried out in September of 400 CRE executives at firms with assets under management of at least US $250 million representing a total of over US $2 trillion, a large majority of executives report their firms have benefited from technology investments made over the past two years. However, when presented with six rapidly emerging disruptive technologies, only a minority of respondents recognised them as having the potential for major disruptive impact.

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Facebook’s new Frank Gehry designed London office includes start-up space

by • Architecture, Case studies, Cities, Property, Technology

 

Facebook has unveiled its new offices in London’s Rathbone Place, with the announcement that it will include a dedicated incubator space for start-ups. In terms of Facebook staff, the office will be home to a diverse range of teams including engineers, developers, marketing and sales teams. The 247,000 sq office, designed by award-winning architect Frank Gehry, includes 7 floors and features a new public square just off Oxford Street called Rathbone Square. In a first for a Facebook office, the new London site will offer incubator space for start-ups, called LDN_LAB, which will invite UK-based start-ups to take part per three month long programmes designed to help kick start and accelerate their businesses. The programme will help start-ups who are focused on creating, building or empowering communities through innovation and technology. Facebook experts from a range of disciplines including engineering, product and partnerships, will share their knowledge, expertise and mentorship as part of the programme.

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Podcast: From office to imaginariums, with Antony Slumbers

by • Podcasts, Premium Content, Property, Technology

In episode 14 of Workplace Matters, I am joined by Antony Slumbers, history of art graduate-cum-proptech entrepreneur, futurist and digital advocate. In a wide-ranging discussion which includes the inevitable advance of computer processing capability and artificial intelligence, Antony explains why the only option for future business success is to embrace our digital future. Making links to how this will impact upon our workplaces, Antony and I explore many of the points he made in this Work&Place article from earlier this year leading to a bold assertion: the office is dead, so it’s time to think differently.

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