The Centre for Cities has today published its seventh annual report into the economic conditions in the 64 largest urban areas in the UK. The Cities_Outlook_2014 report paints a picture of a patchy economic recovery across the UK, with many cities such as Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool and Leeds seeing an upturn in their economies, but one that lags significantly behind that of  London. The capital continues to disproportionately attract investment and people from across the UK and overseas, sometimes to the detriment of other towns and cities. The report argues that more power and finding needs to be devolved away from London to ensure that the UK enjoys a sustainable and balanced economic recovery.

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In the week the ONS announced the UK unemployment rate has dropped to 7.1 per cent, comes more evidence of the recovery from the built environment. Figures released by construction industry analysts Glenigan have revealed that the value of UK projects put on hold during 2013 was the lowest since the start of the recession in 2008. In total, £12 billion of potential projects were put on hold last year, compared to £47 billion in 2012 and a peak of £80 billion in 2009. According to Glenigan economist Tom Crane, the value of stalled projects have been falling since 2009, but the latest figure shows the continuation of an encouraging trend, with a 16 per cent fall in the value of underlying projects.   (more…)

Last year marked a six year high in commercial property investment across the UK according to a new report from property information providers CoStar, driven by increases in regional markets and a sharp upturn of interest in Central London from overseas investors. A total of £52.7 billion of transactions was completed across the UK in 2013, albeit that two-thirds of investments were made in London and the South East of England. It was also a year for record breaking deals, notably the Broadgate office development in the City (above) and More London on the South Bank, each of which were valued at £1.7 billion. London was particularly attractive for Asian investors who CoStar claim see it as a safe haven and invested £9.2bn, up 80.6 percent on 2012.

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Developers have submitted plans for the development of a new tower on the site of an existing office building in Manchester city centre. Allied London is looking to create a new 19 storey office in Spinningfields, the city’s troubled £1.5 billion business district which ran into development problems at the height of the recession between 2007 and 2010. The new building a will offer over 340,000 sq. ft. of office space and is designed by Ian Simpson Architects who were responsible for the design of the Beetham Tower. The ground floor is also likely to incorporate retail outlets, cafes and restaurants. A final decision on the application from the local authority is due in April. Quay House, the current building on the site, is argued by the developer to be under-occupied and outdated.

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A new report from McGraw Hill Construction claims that contractors in nine of the world’s top construction markets who use Building Information Modelling (BIM) believe that the technology helps them to improve productivity, efficiency, quality and safety on their projects, as well as their own competitiveness. The Business Value of BIM for Construction in Major Global Markets SmartMarket Report reveals that contractors in markets with well-established BIM use, such as Canada, France, Germany, the UK and US, as well as those in markets that are still in the initial stages of BIM adoption, such as Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea, are seeing a positive return on their investments in BIM, from project benefits like reduced errors and omissions, to process improvements like the ability to enhance collaboration, and internal business benefits such as enhancing their company’s image.

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