New office space aimed at occupiers in the creative sector is included in Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan’s planned redevelopment of the former BBC Television Centre in west London. The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham have granted planning permission for the revised plans for the mixed use development of the iconic building; to include the demolition of the existing Stage 4 and 5 office buildings and their replacement with a more sustainable and efficient new ten storey office building with improved facades, designed by architects AHMM. A change in use from residential to commercial has also been approved for a new nine storey office building fronting Hammersmith Park on the site of the old BBC restaurant block, with an overall increase in office accommodation across the site from 350,000 sq ft to 519,000 sq ft.

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Take-up in the central London office market is expected to hit its highest level since 2010, bolstered by a massive increase in demand among firms in the Professional and the tech, creative and new media sectors. These sectors are forecast to employ a further 110,000 people across Westminster, the City of London, Southwark and Tower Hamlets in the next decade, which is expected to further increase demand. According to DTZ’s latest Central London Offices Update overall office take-up is expected to reach 14.5m sq ft in 2014; up by 30 per cent on the five year average and at the highest level recorded since 2010.  However , availability has continued to fall, with just 9.5m sq ft of office space currently remaining – the lowest level since 2001. This restricted availability is leading to a higher level of competition for space which is driving up rents. More →

Global corporate real estate executives report that economic conditions improved again in the third quarter and they remain optimistic about economic growth. This is according to the most recent findings of the CoreNet Global Economic Index; a statistical measure that reveals trends and confidence levels within the corporate real estate (CRE) world. The survey, which takes advantage of the unique perspective that CRE executives have of the overall economy was conducted among a targeted group of 220 senior level managers of corporate real estate at Fortune 1000 companies globally. The survey measures the overall optimism that these executives have with respect to their own companies, as well as the economy at large. There were positive responses on their own company’s prospects for growth and expansion: many were likely to increase their real estate portfolio as a result of more employees and there was optimism regarding the global economic outlook over the next quarter.

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The availability of office space across the country has declined for the sixth consecutive quarter and at its fastest pace since the late 1990s, according to the latest RICS Q3 Commercial Market Survey. One in five said more than 10 per cent of office space in London is now earmarked for residential conversion. Twenty per cent of respondents report that a rise in transactions of commercial properties being sold with Permitted Development Rights (PDR) had led to more than 10 per cent of available commercial properties being earmarked for conversion into residential use. At the same time, over half (51%) of surveyors reported a growth in demand for office, industrial and retail space, with two thirds suggesting that if PDR exemptions are not extended then the availability of commercial properties will fall further. Demand for commercial space has risen across the whole of the UK, with 32 per cent saying availability across office, retail and industrial properties had fallen, while demand has risen to a net balance of 44 per cent. More →