Search Results for: finance

July 3, 2013

Two separate reports highlight thriving London office market

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Property

Holborn Circus

The London office market continues to thrive according to two new reports from property consultancies CBRE and BNP Paribas Real Estate. According to the CBRE survey, take-up of Central London office space in the second quarter of 2013 increased by 32 percent compared with the previous quarter while, according to BNP Paribas, the take up of central London offices in the first half of 2013 rose by nearly a quarter 24 percent to 6.02m sq ft compared with the same period in 2012, while activity rose by around a third (31 percent) to 3.08m sq ft in the second quarter of the year compared with the second quarter of 2012. CBRE report that there were three deals for offices over 100,000 sq ft in the period covered and eight deals over 50,000 sq ft, the highest number since Q4 2010.

June 3, 2013

Whitehall savings boosted by property and procurement efficiencies

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Public Sector

The joint Cabinet Office and Treasury initiative the Efficiency and Reform Group has exceeded the Government’s savings target by 25 per cent to make an overall saving of £10 billion, Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude announced today. The savings made include; £1.1 billion made by boosting online services and selling empty buildings and exiting expensive rentals in sought-after locations; £1.7 billion by reviewing large scale projects including construction, and stripping out inefficiencies; and a further £3.8 billion was saved in procurement, by linking together departments to buy goods and services.

May 25, 2013

Why facilities managers deserve a seat at the design table

by Tony Cole • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

For a long time there has been a distant relationship between facilities management (FM) and design, with FM treated as a post occupancy issue rather than a valuable consideration during the design process. The truth is that effective collaboration between facilities managers and designers can yield innovation and even better product design, be that in relation to a new head office building, or the systems and furniture that are housed within it. The compartmentalised view that design occurs and then facilities managers come along to operate and maintain is inaccurate and outdated.

May 21, 2013

Office hierarchy determines ergonomic quality of workplace

by Sara Bean • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Knowledge, News, Technology

When you consider health and safety dangers at work, there is really no contest between the risks blue collar workers face – falls from height, heavy lifting and breathing in asbestos dust – compared to the relatively minor mishaps of the average office worker. But it seems there is no such thing as an ‘average’ office worker either and where you fit in the pecking order could have a direct impact on the level and quality of the ergonomic tools you’re offered. According to a worldwide survey published by Jabra and YouGov there is a great demographic divide when it comes to the ergonomic equipment provided within the office – and your level of education and department play a significant role in how well you are seated and whether you are offered a headset or handset. More →

May 13, 2013

Employment rates set to grow but applicants must battle for jobs

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Employment growth is set to continue in the second quarter of this year, but the jobs market remains a ‘battleground’, particularly for low-skilled workers. According to the Spring 2013 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)/Success Factors Labour Market Outlook (LMO), the net employment balance – which measures the difference between the proportion of employers who expect to increase staffing levels and those who intend to reduce staffing levels, has increased to +9 from +5 for the previous quarter, the fifth consecutive quarter of projected growth. However, the median number of applicants employers receive for medium-skilled roles is 29, highly-skilled vacancies typically receive 10 applicants and pay rates continue to be squeezed.

April 30, 2013

New survey reveals risks of cutting costs in corporate real estate

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Property

A new report from Jones Lang LaSalle claims to highlight how those firms who see their property as a driver of added value rather than a cost reap rewards in the form of higher revenue, employee performance and shareholder returns. In contrast, those firms who view their facilities as a cost and seek to reduce those costs for short term gain are, in fact, storing up long term problems and risks. JLL’s report – Global Corporate Real Estate Trends – claims to reveal the top five corporate real estate risks, including negative impacts on competitive advantage and profitability from cost cutting, procurement processes, lack of collaboration between functions and failure to drive productivity.

April 24, 2013

Majority of employers support flexible working but perception problems persist

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, Legal news, News, Workplace

As we reported last week, the Millennial generation of workers born in the 80s and 90s would describe work as a “thing rather than a place”, and want more flexibility in where and how they work. While the Yahoo home working ban debate uncovered a lot of exasperation and suspicion towards this trend, it’s interesting to see two separate studies, from the UK and the U.S. that show a far less combative attitude. But, as the U.S study discovered, while a majority of employees enjoyed real productivity benefits from home working, nearly half would still go into the office because it is what is expected of them and a small percentage still go because it gets them out of the house. More →

April 18, 2013

Fully mobile workplace for Cisco’s new Singapore regional HQ

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

IT giant Cisco has opened a new regional headquarters in Singapore that features utilisation-based space allocation that for the first time allows all of its staff to work just about anywhere in the building, using whichever kind of mobile device they prefer. The move reflects the findings of Cisco’s recent report which revealed that growing numbers of workers prefer to use an iPad or iPhone rather than a PC. The new offices, located at UE Biz Hub, within the Changi Business Park in Singapore, brings together 1,000 employees from Cisco’s previous four offices around the island and has reduced around 40 per cent of the required workspace.

April 13, 2013

Report highlights changing occupier demands in City of London property

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Property

A new report from DTZ has outlined the ways in which the City of London property market is changing in response to occupier demand. As has been revealed in previous recent surveys, one of the most significant factors is a shift in focus away from the City’s traditional financial services heartland towards the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector. Other structural changes include greater demand for different types of facilities from law firms as the legal sector adjusts to developments in its own market. The broader base of tenants and the expected economic upturn will mean a gradual improvement in demand although the report concedes that even by 2017, the market will not have returned to its peak.

April 8, 2013

Public sector property initiatives have proved successful but work still needed

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

There was a time, not so long ago, when nobody worried too much about the shape of the rooms that led off the corridors of power. But the pressure on UK finances has politicised the design of the UK’s public buildings. The latest example of this was the recent announcement in Parliament of a report that, amongst other things, called for a new approach in the way facilities are designed to deliver better services in a more cost effective way. The report Restarting Britain 2: Design and Public Services was the result of an eight-month investigation led by the Design Commission along with politicians, designers and civil servants.

April 3, 2013

Office furniture leases are actually readily available

by Steve Russell • Comment, Furniture

The article from John Sacks from 25th March bemoaned the fact that leasing is essentially useless for furniture projects on the basis that no banks are interested in funding such assets. I am delighted to inform John, and more importantly, the broader readership of Office Insight that this assertion couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality is that finance for both pure furniture, and indeed broader fit out projects, is readily available. For some, the significant tax benefits (leasing is 100% tax deductible) are critical, whilst others recognise the importance of retaining capital and making sure cash is deployed effectively, not locked away in furniture, is key.

March 29, 2013

We shape the world’s cities, then they shape us

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Knowledge, Property

The story of the world’s cities is often told not in words but in numbers. This is especially the case with the megacities – those with a population in excess of 10 million – which obtain enough critical mass not only to produce eye boggling statistics but also to distort the fabric of whole regions and change the way people live and behave. This is true for the established megacities of London, New York and Tokyo as well as the emerging global metropolises in Sao Paolo, Beijing, Mumbai, Shanghai, Cairo and Istanbul. It is also increasingly true for cities many people have never heard of.