Search Results for: investment

August 17, 2016

Do people really matter when we design workplaces? ⁰

by Steve Maslin • Comment, Events, Facilities management, Workplace design

Some may think this is a daft question. They’ll argue that of course people matter when we design workplaces. Granted, there are those for whom the human experience of the built environment is really important. They demonstrate this it in their attitudes and actions. However, based on some of the attitudes and actions I have observed over the years, I would suggest that the belief that people really matter when some designers design workplaces for them is quite frankly all too often skin deep. How do we know this? And if we accept that it is true, it then begs the secondary question of why this should be the case. Is it entirely our fault? What might we do to address the issues? In part, we know that people haven’t really mattered enough in design because of mistakes of the past. Meanwhile, society is facing many pressing challenges, ranging from health to housing, work to economy and climate change to resource depletion.

August 16, 2016

A well executed wellness strategy benefits staff and employers ⁰

by Beate O'Neil • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employee health and wellbeing is moving up the agenda of many companies. A recent report from the Reward and Employee Benefits Association (Reba) and Punter Southall Health & Protection found that a third of companies have a wellness strategy in place, with 80 per cent having introduced one in the last three years. Of the 70 per cent that don’t yet have a strategy, a third plan to implement one this year, a third plan to implement a plan in the next few years and the final third have it firmly on their wish list. This is driven by the fact that the UK is experiencing a major demographic change – in 2014 the average age of the population exceeded 40 for the first time. With the percentage of the total population over 60 predicted in a report from AgeUK to rise from 24.2 percent at present to over 29 percent in 2035, employers are beginning to wake up to the fact that wellness is good for staff and good for business.

August 15, 2016

Brexit leads to ‘softening’ of employment market, claims CIPD survey ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Public Sector, Workplace

The UK’s decision to leave the EU has resulted in a softening in hiring intentions and businesses should invest in skills immediately, according to the latest CIPD/Adecco Group UK & Ireland Labour Market Outlook. The report is based on employer sentiment in the two weeks before and after the EU Referendum and claims that employers surveyed ahead of the vote were somewhat more optimistic about hiring intentions than those surveyed afterwards. It suggests that the proportion of employers expecting to increase staffing levels over the next three months dropped from 40 percent pre-Brexit to 36 percent following the vote. The net employment balance, based on the difference between the share of employers expanding their workforce and those reducing it, dropped from +21 pre-Brexit to +17 post-Brexit. However, the fall was significantly sharper among private sector employers, with the post-Brexit employment balance declining to +25 from +39.

August 15, 2016

UK commercial property prices fall during first full month after Brexit ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, News, Property

The first full month of market activity in the UK’s commercial property sector since the Brexit vote, saw its value fall by just under three percent, according to the latest data from real estate researchers MSCI in their monthly IPD real estate index. The value of the nationwide market fell by 2.8 percent over the month. Central London was particularly badly hit with values falling by 4.1 percent. The monthly report is sponsored by a number of the major players in the commercial property sector and is based on an analysis of every building in the MSCI database including currently occupied buildings and those in development and being refurbished. A report published earlier this month by Investment Property Forum found that while the overall value of the UK’s commercial property had hit record levels, the uncertainty surrounding the consequences of Brexit was of major concern for investors and occupiers.

August 5, 2016

UK commercial property market hits record high but Brexit uncertainty lingers ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

The UK commercial property sector is now larger than at any time since before the last recession, claims a new analysis from the Investment Property Forum. It has risen nearly 50 percent since its lowest point in 2009 and is now valued at £871 billion, an increase of around 11 percent. The amount of stock actually shrank last year, according to the study, with the increase in overall value arising from price rises. The previous highest valuation the IPF puts on the market was £865 billion in 2006. All is not good news however as a second report from the same organisation which explores sentiment in the market following the Brexit vote confirms there is a great deal of uncertainty in the market. This is particularly acute in the London market which makes up over a third of the nation’s total and is increasingly dominated by foreign owners who may have a negative response to the UK’s vote to leave the EU. Intriguingly, the report found that total floorspace marginally declined over 2015 and has only increased by 0.9 percent since the market high of 2006.

August 2, 2016

London firms paint a mixed picture in their post Brexit reaction ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace

Investment and hiring intentions remain relatively robust among London’s leading firms, despite the Brexit vote, claims a new analysis by the CBI and CBRE. Over two fifths (41 percent) of the 186 firms surveyed after the Referendum said that they planned to maintain their investment plans, with one in ten (9 percent) planning on actually increasing their plans. The demand for property from occupiers and investors also appears to remain strong. However, 16 percent of firms said they will freeze investment plans, whilst a fifth (21 percent) think they will reduce them. Half of businesses (50 percent) plan to continue to hire after the Referendum, with less than a third (29 percent) not planning to do so and 12 percent planning on reducing staff numbers. Many firms though are still considering their response to the Referendum and will be looking for a clear plan from the Government and City Hall to maintain the openness of London’s economy.

July 28, 2016

Growing number of people past retirement age still work to boost income ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, News, Wellbeing

For all that everybody bangs on about Millennials, it’s increasingly apparent that the workforce in most nations is actually getting older and that it’s not just Governments who are keen to keep older staff in work, but also people themselves. A new study from MetLife based on Government data claims that nearly one in seven over-65s in the UK are boosting their retirement income by working, earning around £296 in addition per week. The data suggests that the numbers of over-65s working has increased from just 8 percent of the pensioner population to 13 percent in the last ten years, the equivalent of 1.1 million people. Median earnings from working are £296 a week adding up to annual pay of nearly £15,400. The need to keep working is underlined by the continuing squeeze on saving and investment income, which generates just £312 a year for pensioners on average. The proportion of pensioners earning money from investments has dropped from 72 percent in 2004/05 to around 64 percent now. Around 72 percent of all pensioners have private or company pensions compared with 66 percent a decade ago.

July 19, 2016

UK should avoid severe recession and property crash after Brexit vote ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Knowledge, News, Property

UK growth had already eased from around 3 percent in 2014 to around 2 percent before the EU referendum due primarily to slower global growth, but the Brexit vote to leave the EU is likely to lead to a significant further slowdown. UK GDP growth is forecast to decelerate to around 1.6 percent in 2016 and 0.6 percent in 2017 according to PwC’s main scenario in its latest UK Economic Outlook report. Quarter-on-quarter GDP growth could fall to close to zero in late 2016 and early 2017 in this main scenario, but is then projected to recover gradually later in 2017 as the immediate post-referendum shock starts to fade. The UK would avoid recession in this scenario, although the report notes that uncertainties around this view are significant, with alternative scenarios showing GDP growth in 2017 of anywhere between +1.5 percent and -1 percent. But even this latter relatively pessimistic scenario would not be a severe recession of the kind seen in the early 1980s or in 2008-9.

July 18, 2016

Opportunities and challenges crystallise for smart cities and buildings ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

Global law firm Osborne Clarke has released its fourth research report on smart cities and the future of the built environment. The new edition addresses a number of key issues related to the built environment and poses what it suggests are the two key questions: How can the built environment become smarter? And what are the challenges and obstacles that might prevent this from happening? The report looks at case studies cross Europe and interviews experts in an attempt to discover how smart built environments ‘leverage data, new technology and innovative and collaborative thinking to deliver services that benefit citizens’. The report concludes that a fundamental shift in thinking is already well underway but it is patchy and still faces a large number of major obstacles, not least a silo mentality in decision making which restricts the ability of organisations to innovate and achieve results across a broad base of objectives.

July 15, 2016

ICE makes the case for infrastructure ahead of Brexit negotiations ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Property, Public Sector

In a new report Brexit – The Case for Infrastructure, the Institution of Civil Engineers has set out the business case for the valuable contribution which infrastructure makes to the economy and argues that the UK should not lose sight of this as it begins negotiations for Brexit as it leaves the European Union. The report claims that high quality, high performing infrastructure is vital for economic growth and improved quality of life. It points to transport, communications, energy and housing as being central to spreading opportunity across the whole country. It also makes the case that infrastructure acts as a catalyst for social and economic inclusion, encouraging greater participation in society from people of all walks of life. In particular, during uncertain or volatile economic times, continued investment in UK infrastructure can help provide economic stability, facilitate inward investment and drive economic growth.

July 12, 2016

Major European telecoms firms to drive roll out of 5G across continent ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Legal news, News, Technology

A coalition of twenty major European telecommunications firms has come together to drive the rapid creation of a continent wide 5G network and warn national Governments and the EU of the dangers of over-regulation. The seven page document entitled the 5G Manifesto for timely deployment of 5G in Europe, is backed by firms such as Vodafone, Telenor, Orange, Nokia, BT, Ericsson, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, and Hutchison. Its core aim is to showcase the technology on a large scale by 2018 and launch a commercial network capability in at least one city in every EU nation by 2020. The document outlines the features and benefits of the technology but also sets out the potential risks posed by over-regulation, including the possible threat to net neutrality, the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites

July 11, 2016

Momentum grows to make BIM standard for global construction industry ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, Knowledge, Technology, Workplace design

According to a new survey from research firm Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC), momentum is growing towards the universal implementation of Building Information Modelling across the construction industry worldwide, with the highest percentage of respondents claiming that it will be the future of the industry. In related news, the UK BIM Alliance will be launched in October and will take over from the UK BIM Task Group as the emphasis is now on making Building Information Modelling the standard approach to construction. The industry alliance has been set up to respond to the UK Government’s challenges in meeting Level 2 requirements. The group will be branded the UK BIM Alliance, and is planned to be officially launched this October. The challenge now faced is to transform from industry mobilisation for Level 2 to make BIM, the standard approach to construction for the entire UK Construction Industry.