August 8, 2022

Commercial property values fall during July

Capital values decreased 0.5 percent across all UK commercial property in July 2022, according to the latest CBRE Monthly Index. Over the month, rental value growth was 0.3 percent. Total returns were -0.1 percent. In July, capital values for the office sector decreased 0.1 percent. Capital value growth was pulled down by Outer London and M25 offices and offices in the rest of the UK both reporting a decline of 0.3 percent. Central London offices posted a capital value growth of 0.1 percent. Rental values for the office sector increased 0.1 percent in July. Rental growth was driven by Outer London and M25 offices (0.4 percent) and rest of UK offices (0.3 percent). In July, total returns for the office sector were 0.4 percent. (more…)

August 5, 2022

Zumtobel create a consistent corporate identity with light

by Freddie Steele • Company news

The Zumtobel MIREL and PANOS infinity luminaires have been chosen for the latest FinTrU office refurbishment. A good brand provides a distinct experience and evokes emotion from its customers, which is why a business needs to care about branding all the way through to its interior spaces. Extending branding to the working environment helps staff and customers understand who the company is and what makes them unique. FinTrU, a multi-award-winning company specialising in the areas of KYC, Compliance, Legal, Risk & Controls, and Operations, works with Investment Banks around the globe designing technology-enabled solutions to help its clients meet their regulatory obligations. (more…)

July 21, 2022

Flex office provider Mindspace opens its first Düsseldorf location

by Neil Franklin • Company news

Mindspace is opening its first location in Düsseldorf: the flex office provider is moving into 4,100 square meters in the centrally located mixed-use commercial complex “Stilwerk” on a long-term basis. The location “Mindspace Grünstraße” will include 600 workstations overlooking an attractive atrium and will include the numerous Mindspace benefits and amenities such as meeting rooms, lounges and kitchens. Mindspace Grünstraße is scheduled to open in February 2023. (more…)

July 20, 2022

Enduring problems holding back success of UK government property strategy

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Public Sector

Longstanding problems such as poor data pose major risks to the successful delivery of the UK Government’s property strategy, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). Central government property, valued at £158 billion, is one of government’s largest assets. It includes offices, hospitals, academy schools, jobcentres, courts, prisons and museums. The Office of Government Property (OGP) sets the strategic direction for the management of government property. The Cabinet Office has categorised properties into 12 portfolios (such as health, defence and school portfolios), 10 of which are led by a single department or arm’s-length body. The Government Property Agency (GPA) sets and implements a property strategy for the government’s office and warehouse portfolios. (more…)

July 14, 2022

Rising office fit-out costs begin to hit occupiers

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

An analysis by Savills of Q2 2022 Prime Office Costs (SPOC) in global markets around the world suggests that inflation and supply chain issues are now feeding into office fit-out costs and keeping occupiers’ net effective costs high in many cities around the world. Over the past year office fit-out costs have risen an average of 6 percent across the SPOC cities that have so far reported rises says Savills, although proportionally they remain a small part of overall costs compared to rents. (more…)

July 12, 2022

Downing Street is no longer fit for purpose as an office

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace design

The next Prime Minister needs to move his or her office out of 10 Downing Street and into a modern, efficient office for Government to be effective, says consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA). Presently up to 400 people work in a suit of cramped buildings across 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street, a complex first built in the 17th century as residences and not significantly updated since the 1980s. Floorplans show over 100 different rooms, including flats occupied by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer and their families. The layout of the buildings has been described by Whitehall insiders as a “rabbit warren”. (more…)

July 12, 2022

Working from home has more than doubled in the UK since 2019

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

The number of people working from home in the UK from October to December 2019 and January to March 2022 has increased by 108.8 percent, according to the latest employment data from the Office for National Statistics. Between the two periods, the number of home workers increased from 4.7 million to 9.9 million. The number of homeworkers increased by more than 50 percent in all UK regions. (more…)

July 8, 2022

Flex office space market in UK set to increase by half over next four years

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Property

Hybrid working policies are driving demand in the flexible workspace market as companies are using coworking and serviced offices at record levels. In its annual UK Market Update Report, The Instant Group’s data claims that demand for flex office space across the country is up 22 percent in the last 12 months. Cities – such as Leeds and Manchester are leading the way in this increase although there are also signs of a recovery in central London. The size of the space being taken with flex operators has also increased by 44 percent since the pandemic as larger companies incorporate more flexible workspace in their real estate portfolios. (more…)

July 4, 2022

Post-occupancy what? Evaluating active workplace design, with Jo Yarker

by Freddie Steele • Facilities management, Premium Content, Workplace design

Different workplace experts are interested in different elements of workplace, so it follows that workplace change projects featuring interdisciplinary teams can yield innovative methods and diverse insights. In episode 11 of Workplace Geeks, Chris and Ian are joined by health and wellbeing expert Dr Jo Yarker, Reader in Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, and Managing Partner of Affinity Health at Work. (more…)

July 1, 2022

UK rated world number one as Europe sets the standard on real estate transparency

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

Europe is leading the way on real estate transparency as a raft of new sustainability legislation raises industry standards, according to the latest Global Real Estate Transparency Index [registration] published by JLL, in partnership with LaSalle. Six of the 12 countries classed as ‘Highly Transparent’ in the report are in Europe with France, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium among the most improved, joining Ireland and Sweden. (more…)

June 30, 2022

The fifteen minute city will transform the way we think about workplaces

by Wybo Wijnbergen • Cities, Features, Flexible working, Property

For most of history, there have been a small number of immovable truisms that formed the nature of what work is, and how communities form around it. While individuals have long held some agency around the structure and pattern of their work, being present in a communal workplace has been a non-negotiable reality. This need to work from an office comes wed with parallel requirements to help facilitate it. Employees have been willing to strike a compromise between where they wish to live and where they want to work through commutes, with the financial and time cost and associated stress that comes along with it. (more…)

June 24, 2022

People become chameleons to fit in with strong workplace culture

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

People struggle to express themselves authentically at work because they feel a need to conform to the tenets of the workplace culture, Dame Inga Beale, the former and first female CEO of Lloyd’s of London, told ESCP Business School. Speaking on the school’s ‘We All Make Mistakes’ podcast to the host and Professor of Entrepreneurship Ben Voyer, Dame Beale said that companies with a strong traditional culture can be resistant to modernisation as new employees are either absorbed into the current culture, or decide to leave. (more…)