Demand from business for commercial property rose for the eleventh consecutive quarter, while available space fell for the ninth successive period, according to the latest RICS Commercial Market Survey. As a result, rents are expected to rise at the fastest pace since the survey began in 1998 with 46 percent more respondents forecasting higher, rather than lower, rent rates going forward. Offices remain the segment of the market where rental expectations remain most buoyant, while retail continues to lag, although even in this area, momentum is picking up. Across the whole of the UK, but excluding the capital, 95 percent of respondents believe that current commercial market valuations are either at or below fair value (roughly unchanged since Q1 2015). However, in London 50 percent of contributors now feel that commercial office space valuations are ‘expensive’ – an increase from 45 percent in the first quarter of this year.

More →

City Centre office take-up across the Big Nine Cities during the second quarter of 2015 is almost 50 percent ahead of the five year quarterly average, the latest quarterly review of the regional office occupier markets by GVA has revealed. The regional office markets have continued to demonstrate a strong occupier story, led by Birmingham where take-up for the half year point has exceeded all records at 650,000 sq ft, helped by HSBC’s announcement to locate its new 212,000 sq ft retail bank HQ into Miller’s Arena Central scheme. Other centres also had above average deal levels, with take-up 65 percent above average in Leeds and well above average in most other cities. Significant deals for Leeds include a 51,500 sq ft pre-let to Addleshaw Goddard at 3 Sovereign Square and 49,600 sq ft to PwC at Central Square. Both buildings are due for completion during the second half of next year.

More →

The property sector offers its customers pretty appalling customer service, according to a ‘damning’ new report from the British Council of Offices (BCO).  The study, based on the experiences of just 64 occupiers claims that fewer than one in five (17 percent) rate their property management service as “good” or “excellent” and fewer than one in three feeling that their suppliers understood their business needs. The survey found that although customer service is lacking, satisfaction with the end product itself was high, with two out of three occupiers happy with the quality of their office and three out of four perceiving quality to have improved over the past 10 years. The report sets out a 10-point action plan to improve the service occupiers receive, including adopting a new definition of “building performance” set by the BCO and encouraging more transparency.

More →

Only 1 in 5 office occupiers rate their property management service as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, according to new research by the British Council for Offices (BCO). While two thirds of occupiers are happy with the quality of their office and three quarters perceive the quality of office space to have improved over the past 10 years, less than one in three occupiers feel the industry understands their business needs. This clear gap between customer expectation and customer experience has led the BCO to call on the industry to develop a better understanding of what a well-performing building looks like from an occupier perspective. The BCO has developed a new definition of building performance, which sets out to frame a more sophisticated approach for property owners and managers to engage with occupiers, focusing upon value and quality creation, rather than simply cost reduction.

More →

The amount of leased office space in London over the first half of this year is 13 percent ahead of the same time last year, according to new research published by commercial property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield (C&W). Leasing activity totalled just over 6.26 million sq ft from January to June 2015, compared to the same point in 2014 when 5.6 million sq ft was transacted and is the highest Central London first half total since 1998, when 6.7 million sq ft was let. According to C&W, the figures presented in the report suggest that there was a significant upturn in activity in East London, with 1.2 million sq ft let, only marginally behind the City market (1.24 million sq ft) and significantly ahead of West End volumes (915,000 sq ft).  East London offices take-up was at its highest level since Q4 2010 as a result of three transactions over 100,000 sq ft.

More →