Search Results for: economic

September 27, 2013

What’s wrong with adopting a more positive approach to work and workplaces?

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Public Sector, Workplace, Workplace design

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Has there ever been a UK government more interested in the workplace than this one? Most of it has been about cutting costs of course, so the majority of announcements emanating from the Cabinet Office have been about procurement, design and environmental performance. David Cameron even at one point announced that he wanted to measure people’s happiness. The questions needed to work out how happy we are proposed by the Office for National Statistics as a result would have had a very familiar feel for anybody who has ever completed a workplace satisfaction survey even if they miss the most blindingly obvious point that when you’re skint and in mortal fear of losing your job, most other things about work lose their lustre.

September 16, 2013

Value of offices and property rental income across the UK hit two year high

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

The value of commercial real estate in the UK rose for the fourth consecutive month during August, led by increases in the average value of offices, according to a report from Investment Property Databank (IPD). The average value of offices, warehouses, retail and industrial rose by a 0.4 percent across the country. Office buildings rose by 0.6 percent during the month while total return, which combines changes in real estate values and rental income, was 0.9 percent, to reach the highest level since March 2011. The report claims the upturn is down to the wider economic upturn and persistent low interest rates which incentivise investors to acquire high income generating assets. The report also notes that investors are looking to acquire more property outside of London as the economic recovery spreads across the UK. More →

September 13, 2013

UK’s leading political parties criticised for a lack of environmental leadership

by Sara Bean • Environment, News

Britain’s leading political parties are failing to provide visible and consistent green leadership, threatening two decades of steady environmental policy progress in the UK, warns an influential group of charities today. In The Green Standard 2013, seven leading charities, including WWF, the Green Alliance, Greenpeace and Campaign for Better Transport, assess the green performance of coalition ministers and Labour shadow ministers since the last general election, reviewing the parties on four key areas: the economy, communities, nature and international leadership. The report concludes that none of the parties has a coherent environmental programme and there is no consistent public leadership on the environment from any of the party leaders. More →

September 12, 2013

Growing commercial occupier demand set to price firms out of the City fringe

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

A “west-to-east” migration, focussing predominantly on Clerkenwell and the western City core, is continuing amongst media and service sector businesses seeking more affordable London rents. But according to Cluttons’ latest West End Office Market report, many firms seeking the combination of value and idiosyncratic space are set to be priced out of the current City fringe. The area between the City and West End – branded Noho by estate agents – is attracting a new wave of private equity and extraction firms, willing to pay premium rents for new or pipeline space just north of Oxford Street. Meanwhile, prime office rents in Mayfair / St James’s have broken through the £100 per sq ft ceiling once again as a handful of tenants continue to favour location over quality. More →

September 11, 2013

Research reveals UK’s shrinking workplace space standards and regional disparities

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Flexible working, Knowledge, Property, Workplace design

The latest Occupier Density Study from the British Council for Offices reveals that London and the South East of England have some of the most spacious workplaces in the UK, in spite of the fact that London has the most expensive office space on Earth. The BCO research found that the South West has the highest density at 8.6 sq. m. per workstation while London (11.3 sq. m.) and the South East (12.7 sq. m.) have lower densities than all UK regions apart from Wales (11.4 sq. m.). Yet recent research from Cushman and Wakefield has identified London as the world’s most expensive city to rent office space and a report last week from BNP Paribas revealed the large disparities in total occupancy costs between London and the rest of the UK.

September 10, 2013

We deserve better than a polarised debate about cellular v open plan offices

by Andrew Mawson • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

Jacques Tati’s Playtime

Stimulated by a number of rather unsubtle commercial interests, the ‘in’ workplace discussion seems to have swung from ‘collaboration’ i.e. organisations need more new spaces for formal and informal collaborative interactions, to ‘distraction’ i.e. open plan workplaces are creating a loss of productivity because people whose work requires concentration are impeded by constant interruption. The implication of the latter is that people should keep their ‘cubes’ and open-plan should be avoided at all costs. You can see pretty quickly where the commercial axes are being ground can’t you.

September 1, 2013

CBI calls on Government to incentivise businesses to invest in energy efficiency

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, Facilities management, Legal news, Property

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has published a new report calling on the Government to adopt a more streamlined and integrated approach to energy efficiency policies, including those relevant for the UK’s commercial buildings. The report also addresses a range of related benefits and obligations for companies to help them cut costs, manage risk and open up commercial opportunities. The report argues that energy efficiency has been neglected for too long, despite the fact that Government figures show a domestic industry that is growing at 4 percent a year, is worth £17.6bn in sales and supports 136,000 jobs.

August 27, 2013

Employee engagement, not fear, behind the fall in staff turnover

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Legal news, News, Workplace

Explanations for a marked fall in employee turnover have largely attributed it to the recession, which, it’s been suggested, has led cautious employees to prefer to stay put in a secure position, rather than risk losing their place in an uncertain job market. However new data published today from the CIPD’s Megatrends research project suggests a more positive picture. The proportion of workers leaving their employer at any given time fell by over two fifths between 1998 and 2012, long before the downturn took hold. And the good news for those concerned with improving the quality of the workplace environment is that increased job satisfaction and improved levels of employee engagement could play a significant role.. More →

August 23, 2013

Investor confidence in commercial property highest in five years

by Sara Bean • News, Property

The news this week that work is to begin on the former Lumiere site in Leeds is a clear indicator of how investor confidence in commercial property has reached its highest level since Q2 2008, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. Its latest UK Real Estate Investor Confidence Survey, which canvassed the views of nearly 100 principals and lenders in the UK commercial property investment sector, found investor confidence has jumped by 7 per cent in the second quarter of 2013 compared with Q1, a 63 per cent increase on Q2 last year. The report’s findings also showed even greater competition for assets amongst property investors is anticipated with 61 per cent of respondents expecting more buyers than sellers, up from 42 per cent last quarter. More →

August 22, 2013

Work to begin at last on major mixed use development in Leeds City Centre

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Work is to begin on the development of the troubled former Lumiere site in the centre of Leeds after it was acquired by new owners. As we reported back in March, planning permission was granted as a way of resurrecting the site for a 195,000 sq. ft. mixed-use scheme including over 130,000 sq. ft. of commercial space, which will at a stroke increase the supply of available office space in Leeds city centre by more than half. The original plans to build Europe’s tallest residential tower on the site fell through in 2008 in the wake of the economic slump. The new Central Square scheme will consist of two new building up to 11 storeys high which will create an initial 130,000 sq. ft. of office space with outline consent for 64,000 sq. ft. for either office or hotel use.

August 21, 2013

Finalists announced for first global City Climate Leadership Awards

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, News, Property

Siemens and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group have announced the 29 cities shortlisted for the inaugural City Climate Leadership Awards. C40 is a network of cities from around the world committed to implementing meaningful and sustainable climate-related actions and the new awards aim to recognise C40 City members that can demonstrate climate action leadership. The winners will be announced at an event at the environmental London landmark building the Crystal [pictured], home to Siemens’ sustainable cities initiative, on September 4, 2013. This will be followed by a conference on September 5, gathering mayors, city planners, and urban sustainability experts to address some of the most pressing climate change and sustainability challenges of the day. More →