July 11, 2017

Serviced and coworking offices top London leasing market for the first time ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Coworking, Flexible working, News, Property

Serviced and coworking office space providers have accounted for the largest share of space leased in Central London for the first time, according to new research from Cushman & Wakefield. During the first half of 2017, serviced office or co-working providers – such as WeWork and The Office Group – accounted for 884,235 sq ft of newly-leased office space in central London. The second quarter of the year in particular witnessed a dramatic escalation in activity by serviced office and co-working providers with 651,540 sq ft leased – around a quarter of central London’s take-up across April, May and June. This was more than London’s traditionally dominant occupational sub-sectors such as technology, media and financial services. The H1 2017 total is more than serviced office and coworking providers accounted for in the whole of 2016 (853,178 sq ft). and is just a deal or two shy of the sector’s average annual take-up between 2012 and 2016 (908,972). It seems certain therefore that serviced office and co-working providers will this year surpass their record annual volume of 1,267,926 sq ft set in 2014, according to the firm.

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July 6, 2017

UK remains most attractive global commercial real estate market, despite Brexit ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

One in three (31 percent) commercial real estate investors say that the UK remains their preferred region to invest in, with a figure that has remained the same since June 2016 despite the UK deciding to leave the European Union in that period. While a quarter (24 percent) of real estate investors favour Germany as their location of choice for commercial real estate opportunities; however, according to the latest BrickVest commercial property investment barometer this represented a fall from 28 percent in June 2016. More than one in five (21 percent) selected the US, the same as last June, while France saw an increase from 13 percent in June 2016 to 15 percent in June this year. The Barometer also revealed that French, German and US investors are more favourable towards the UK since June last year. Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of French, a fifth (19 percent) of German and 23 percent of US investors suggested they prefer the UK in June this year, representing an increase from last year across the board from 22 percent, 18 percent and 20 percent respectively.

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July 6, 2017

Balfour Beatty predicts a human free construction site by 2050 ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • AI, News, Property

Balfour Beatty has published a paper called Innovation 2050: A Digital Future for the Infrastructure Industry, which predicts that the construction site of the future will be in stark contrast to what we see today. Most notably it will be human-free with work moved off-site with remote control of machinery and new materials and techniques exploited to improve cost, safety and efficiency. The report claims that technology has already revolutionised contemporary life to such an extent that it’s not so hard to imagine radical changes for construction not least the emergence of new roles and the requirement and evolution of new skills to support delivery of the future pipeline of construction projects.

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July 4, 2017

Business Centre sector continuing to thrive amidst increased competition and Brexit uncertainty ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property

New research published by the Business Centre Association (BCA) in collaboration with CBRE claims that the business centre sector enjoyed a 13 percent increase in turnover and was home to around 11 percent more workers in 2015 and 2016, despite initial fears about the impact of Brexit on the sector, and increasing competition from new entrants into the market. The sector is worth around £3.3bn in terms of turnover, up from £2bn in 2013. The findings come from The UK Business Centre Market report which surveyed 580 business centres, representing 23 percent of the sector across the country, to assess the current state of the market. Overall, the report found the UK wide business sector is now home to 93,000 individual small businesses which employ over 480,000 people, supporting around £18bn of GDP.

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June 21, 2017

British Land launches Storey flexible workspace brand ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Flexible working, Property

British Land has launched Storey, a new brand providing flexible workspace for businesses employing between 20 to 70 people and larger organisations seeking additional space on flexible terms. Created to fill a perceived gap in the London office market which customers say is not being satisfied, Storey provides offices for companies who have outgrown co-working space and whose needs have evolved. Storey also suits existing or larger office customers seeking project or shorter term space on top of their core requirements. Storey will operate within British Land’s existing London assets, predominantly at its Broadgate, Paddington Central and Regent’s Place campuses. These have ‘a critical mass of office customers and offer the ideal environment for ambitious organisations looking to grow. Storey customers will be able to access facilities traditionally reserved for larger organisations and automatically benefit from the broader campus environment where a focus on wellbeing also supports growth and productivity.’

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June 20, 2017

Hong Kong and London’s West End again top global commercial property costs, according to CBRE ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

Hong Kong (Central) and London’s West End topped the list of prime commercial property occupancy costs again, according to CBRE Research’s latest annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs report. Hong Kong’s (Central) overall prime occupancy costs of US$303 per sq. ft. per year topped the “most expensive” list, followed by London’s West End (US$214 per sq. ft.), New York (Midtown) (US$203 per sq. ft.), Hong Kong (West Kowloon) (US$190 per sq. ft.) and Beijing (Central Business District (CBD)) (US$183 per sq. ft.). Global prime office occupancy costs—which reflect rent, plus local taxes and service charges for the highest-quality, “prime” office properties—rose 1.9 percent year-over-year, with the Americas up 3.6 percent, EMEA up 0.8 percent and Asia Pacific up 1.2 percent. Durban (South Africa) had the highest increase in occupancy cost overall, though Stockholm (Sweden) registered some of the fastest growth in Europe, along with Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Belfast (U.K.) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). In Asia Pacific, Shanghai (Puxi) in China had the highest growth in occupancy cost, followed by Guangzhou, Bangalore and Shanghai (Pudong). Buenos Aires showed the biggest increase in the Americas overall, while suburban Denver, suburban Houston and New York Midtown South saw the largest occupancy-cost increases in the U.S.

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June 19, 2017

Commercial property giant acquires controlling stake in London based flexible office provider ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Flexible working, Property

While we should never read too much into a single piece of business, the news that one of the world’s largest property investors is buying a young and still growing British flexible office provider is surely a sign of things to come. As Blackstone, a private equity giant with £140 billion of real estate assets worldwide acquires a controlling stake in The Office Group for £500 million, we must view the deal in the context of a market in which the most dynamic players are WeWork and its contemporaries. The Office Group has grown from seven buildings to thirty-six since it was founded in 2003 and provides flexible office and coworking space to start-ups, freelancers, small businesses and increasingly, corporates such as Facebook, Dropbox and British Gas.

June 16, 2017

3D printing and Virtual Reality could reduce waste in design and construction says BCO ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Digital technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and 3D printing could help reduce waste during a design and construction project, suggests a new report from the British Council for Offices (BCO). “Virtual Reality and 3D Printing – Reducing waste in office construction through new technology” reviews the existing applications of these technologies and their ability to mitigate waste during the design and construction process. The report, which is the result of a collaboration between an international team of multi-disciplinary experts also identifies opportunities and challenges for the technology in the future. According to the authors, if the UK construction industry is to come anywhere close to achieving the ambitious targets set out in the Government’s 2025 construction strategy there needs to be a sensible re-think about how we design, procure and construct buildings in the future; and two technologies that are now reaching maturity and could help are VR and 3D printing.

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June 16, 2017

RICS and banking sector sign commercial property valuation agreement ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

The Royal Institution for Charted Surveyors (RICS) and the British Banking Association (BBA) have signed a memorandum of understanding outlining their commitment to maintaining high standards in commercial property valuation. The trade bodies intend to future proof the profession by working on maximising consistency in standards of practice, supporting risk-based regulation and tools for managing risk and liability in valuation. Three key areas to be addressed have been highlighted in the agreement: the balance of risk and reward in valuation services, education on liability and risk for lenders and valuers, and clarification of the standards expected in the sector. RICS is set to publish revised guidance on risk, liability and insurance in valuation to help the market to address the challenges that surfaced following the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. As a result of the report Balancing Risk and Reward: Recommendations for a Sustainable Valuation Profession in the UK Dr Oonagh McDonald CBE, RICS has been working with the BBA and the wider industry to deliver improvements to the commercial secured lending sector.

June 13, 2017

Will battery storage be the next big energy trend for commercial buildings? ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

Building managers and FMs are under growing pressure to reduce costs and convince senior management about the need to take control of their energy needs according to a survey carried out a recent energy event; which also revealed that the majority (56 percent) believe that battery storage will be the biggest energy trend in the next decade. This was according to delegates at the recent Energy Live Future conference at Leicester’s National Space Centre where more than a third (38 percent) of delegates at the event, sponsored by British Gas Business, agreed that reducing energy costs remained the central energy issue for large organisations and those who manage commercial buildings. This was closely followed by the challenge of convincing business leaders to allow investment in new technology (35 percent). Nearly half (48 percent) of delegates suggested that political uncertainty, caused by the General Election, Brexit and changing regulation, could make it even more difficult for them to make significant energy changes.

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June 12, 2017

What will the UK General Election mean for the workplace? Some experts respond ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Flexible working, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

Any residual feelings of certainty that anybody in the UK may have had about the country’s future following last year’s Brexit vote, will have had them pretty much eradicated by last Thursday’s General Election result. However, we must try to make sense of things for society and the wider economy as well as specific facets of it, such as the world of work. The whole thing looks like the pig’s ear that it is, of course. Fortunately, as some experts have already argued, there are some reasons to see some positive outcomes, including a soft (or softer) Brexit and the chance of a more positive approach to workplace rights, now that the Government needs to maintain a broader consensus. The fear or hope that the UK would lighten its already soft touch approach to workplace legislation would seem at least to be less well founded.

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June 2, 2017

Google submits revised plans for vast new campus in London ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Google has submitted a revised application for planning permission to Camden Council for its proposed £600 million King’s Cross Campus in London. This building will be the first, wholly owned and designed Google building outside the United States. Construction on the purpose-built 11-storey building, comprising of more than 1 million square feet, of which Google will occupy 650,000 sqft, will commence in 2018. The building, designed by Heatherwick Studio and Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) will feature a natural theme, with all materials sourced through Google’s healthy materials programme. This new building, combined with the current building at 6 Pancras Square and an additional third building, will create a Google campus with the potential to house 7,000 Google employees. The new building is being developed from the ground up and will contribute to the Knowledge Quarter and King’s Cross’s growing knowledge-based economy. The original plans for the building from 2013 by AHMM had been put on hold, although some features such as a running track remain.