Search Results for: economic

May 8, 2015

The death of the office has been overstated but it is changing, study confirms

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design

The implications for the property industry of more efficient space planning models and the uptake of flexible working are laid bare in a new report from planning and design consultancy Nathaniel, Lichfield and Partners (NLP). The headline figure from the report, Workspace Futures: The changing dynamics of office locations is that the office stock in England and Wales rose by 17 percent in the twelve years to 2012 while the numbers of office based staff increased by around 21 percent. The report includes details on how these trends affect 11 key locations including Manchester, Cambridge, Bristol, Newcastle and Reading and concludes that while ‘the death of the office has been largely overstated’, the market is undergoing structural changes that need to be addressed by developers and government.

May 5, 2015

Election uncertainly blamed for slowdown across the UK construction sector

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

The UK construction market experienced a slowdown in April, with output and new orders expanding at the slowest rates since June 2013, according to the latest Markit/CIPS UK Construction survey. Although the growth of commercial work was the least marked since August 2013, many survey respondents suggested that underlying conditions remained favourable, but some clients had delayed decisions ahead of the general election. Looking ahead, confidence regarding the 12-month outlook dipped from the nine-year high seen in March, but remained stronger than its long run average. A number of firms cited optimism that underlying demand would continue to improve, while others suggested that the removal of election related uncertainty would help support new business gains.

April 30, 2015

Three workplace issues that could help to shape the general election ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, Technology

With only a week to go until the general election, nobody seems clear on what exactly will happen at the polls, least of all the voters. The BBC’s political correspondent has described it as the Vanilla Election, with the major parties paralysed by the closeness of the race into not doing anything bold or imaginative enough to spook an ambivalent and undecided electorate. With little to differentiate the parties and an unprecedented degree of cynicism fuelled by social media and online commentary, it seems likely that voters may be swayed by what may in the past have been peripheral issues. Over the past few days several news items have even hinted that workplace related issues might have a role to play in making up people’s minds. Here are three.

April 29, 2015

RICS reports surge in investment and demand for commercial property ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Demand for commercial property in the UK is growing close to its fastest pace since 1998. The latest RICS UK commercial market survey shows that there was a surge in investment and tenant demand in the first quarter of this year, which suggests stronger economic growth over the remainder of 2015. The UK had its 10th consecutive quarterly acceleration of demand, with 46 percent of respondents reporting greater interest. However, the availability of commercial property declined, with 38 percent of RICS’ surveyors seeing fewer properties on the market, the impact of which is higher rents. This is particularly apparent across the industrial and office sectors. Looking ahead, respondents expect the office sector to perform most strongly; with London leading the way, despite some concerns over the valuation of prime property in the capital.

April 27, 2015

Business clusters fuel growth in office occupier demand in smaller cities ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Smaller cities, including Brighton, Solihull, Reading and Warrington [pictured], look set to see a growth in occupier demand for office rentals over the few years, a new report has revealed. JLL’s ‘Where Next in the UK?’ report analysed the economic and office market performance of 37 smaller towns and cities giving an insight in to which locations will offer investors the biggest opportunity over the next five years. It shows some smaller cities are found to have a stronger outlook than the ‘Big 6’, (Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh). The success of these smaller cities, says the report, will be closely associated with their ability to develop and grow clusters of businesses, for instance a growing nuclear research and technology cluster in Warrington – along with strong university links and the provision of integrated transport and infrastructure.

April 22, 2015

Flexible working and smart tools prove a big hit with UAE employees ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

It’s not just in the UK where employees say they are attracted by the idea of flexible working. A new study from YouGov commissioned by the Dubai based Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) claims that employees in the United Arab Emirates now rate employers most highly for the smart tools and flexible working opportunities they offer. The study of over 1,000 employees and HR professionals in the UAE was commissioned to uncover emerging trends in human capital management. It found that 64 percent of employees rate flexible working hours, provided by employers based on personal circumstances, as good or very good, which is particularly prevalent amongst Emirati respondents (83 percent). The majority of employees (74 percent) also believe a remote and flexible work schedule increases their productivity.

April 22, 2015

UK’s health and social systems failing to improve workforce wellbeing ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Public Sector, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report published this week by The Work Foundation, Healthy, Working Economies sets out the challenges facing the next UK government to improve the health and wellbeing of the country’s workforce. The report calls on the government to review how it is using local organisations, such as Health and Wellbeing Boards and Local Enterprise Partnerships to encourage improvements in workforce wellbeing and health. The Work Foundation recommends that a standardised set of measures be included in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessments performed by Health and Wellbeing Boards, including measures of employment outcomes for individuals with health issues. The report also suggests that employer leadership is needed to drive the step-change needed to improve the health of the workforce.

April 21, 2015

UK office market grows as employers enhance quality of workspace ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The level of activity in the UK office market has grown as employers strive to create environments designed to enhance staff wellbeing. According to the 2015 edition of the annual Office Report from property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton, occupiers have expanded headcount and upgraded their accommodation, helping to propel take-up in markets up and down the country. Edinburgh reported record activity; Oxford, Cardiff, Bristol and Cardiff all posted take-up well ahead of their 10-year averages and Manchester enjoyed its best year since 2001. However, over 11 m sq ft of office space has been earmarked for alternative use since the relaxation of planning rules. This equates to an area the size of all the office floor space in Reading being converted into new uses such as apartments and hotels, since the introduction of Permitted Development Rights in May 2013.

April 14, 2015

The workplace as a strategic resource: a real life CEO’s perspective

by Jim Ware • Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

Raise your hand if you agree: “The workplace is obviously a strategic resource.” We facilities management professionals know that to be true. But if you often feel like a voice in the wilderness when speaking to anyone other than a fellow workplace professional, you are not alone. For many if not most senior executives, their facilities are a necessary evil that always cost too much. That reality frustrates me as much as it does you. So my colleague Paul Carder and I conducted two extensive research projects in 2012 and 2013 aimed at making the case (mostly to FM professionals themselves) that facilities and workplaces are incredibly strategic – and very poorly understood. And while we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about the work, we haven’t seen much change in mindsets, management practices or outcomes.

April 2, 2015

UK labour productivity continues to flatline in spite of upturn

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Workplace

UK labour productivity continues to flatline in spite of the recent economic upturn, according to a new report from the Office for National Statistics. Overall productivity as measured by output per hour fell by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared with the previous quarter. In 2014 as a whole, labour productivity was little changed from 2013, and slightly lower than in 2007, prior to the economic downturn. As ever, the devil is in the detail. There were notable increases in productivity in both manufacturing and construction but the modest gains in service industries obscure the fact that there is a great deal of variation across sectors and also the fact that any gains reflect a greater number of hours worked rather than an increase in the overall number of people employed or their underlying productivity.

March 30, 2015

Digital sector set to become ‘pivotal’ in Middle East over next five years

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Facilities management, News, Technology

Deloitte has launched a new report into the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector in the Middle East. Deloitte predicts that 2015 will be ‘pivotal’ for Digital Islamic Services as they start to take off across the Middle East region. The report estimates that within the next three to four years the region’s digital economy will nearly double in size from around US$15 billion currently to around $30 billion by 2018. The predictions are based on hundreds of discussions with industry executives, analysts and commentators, along with tens of thousands of individual interviews. The report also predicts that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will make significant open data advancements in 2015, and within the next three to five years, break into the top half of countries ranked the most ‘open’ in the world.

March 26, 2015

London remains world’s most expensive city in which to live and work

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

London has retained its place as the world’s most expensive city for businesses to accommodate their employees. But according to the latest analysis from Savills, Hong Kong and New York are closing the price gap. The three cities have dominated the Savills Live/Work Index since its launch in 2008 and form a tight group of world class cities where it now costs over US$110,000 per employee per year to rent typical office and living space. London is now 7.3 percent cheaper in dollar terms than in June 2014, while 4th placed Paris has slipped below the US$100,000 per employee threshold for the first time since mid-2012 as a result of rental falls, dollar appreciation and euro weakness. Meanwhile, fuelled by an improving US economy and tech industry expansion, San Francisco has outpaced all other cities in the live/work index, with growth in rent and other real estate costs of 55.1 percent since 2008.