May 3, 2019

Take up of office space in central London strongest for six years

by Marie Hillen • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

The first quarter of 2019 saw take-up of office space in central London at its strongest for six years, as it continues to outperform expectations. This is according to Savills, which also reports 1.16 million sq ft of new lettings being agreed in the City of London. In the West End, 42 transactions completed in March alone took total activity for Q1 2019 to 98 office lettings. In the City, there were 100 occupational deals for the year to date, of which 33 completed in March. The tech & media sector accounted for the largest share of take-up in the West End, at 25 percent, while the City benefited from a surge of serviced offices.

April 17, 2019

What to expect and not to expect from an Office 365 intranet

by Sergey Golubenko • Company news, Technology

According to the latest report by Nielsen Norman Group, Office 365 is one of the most popular platforms for intranets. Providing a rich toolset, it helps to build multifunctional and eye-catching corporate intranets that improve employee collaboration and communication and streamline business processes. Let’s see whether an Office 365 intranet is as good as described and try to look through its reported benefits with a cool head. More →

April 17, 2019

Bristol has lowest Grade A office vacancy rate among UK largest cities

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Bristol has the lowest vacancy rate for Grade A offices amongst the UK’s leading Big 6 cities, reflecting strong demand combined with a shortage of high quality commercial space, according to new figures published by property consultants JLL. Although the city and region’s reputation for talent and innovation has so far countered the shortage of space, with inward investors citing access to a highly skilled, graduate workforce as one of the main reasons for relocation, JLL is warning that more needs to be done to ensure Bristol continues to attract investment. More →

April 16, 2019

BW: Workplace Experts completes new GAM London office

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace design

BW: Workplace Experts has completed the new London headquarters for GAM, an independent global asset management firm. Located at the BREEAM Excellent rated building 8 Finsbury Circus, London, the new location consolidates the business from three separate locations into one. GAM occupies four floors totalling 48,500 sq. ft in order to accommodate its London employees under one roof, further strengthening the culture and operations of the business. More →

April 5, 2019

Still healthy demand for construction work on fit outs and office refurbishment

by Marie Hillen • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

Although the new commercial development sector may be subdued, specialist contractors are seeing a continued demand for construction work on fit outs and office refurbishment. According to Glenigan the construction sector has been buoyed up by a series of major refurbishments of government offices while some large private sector groups are also investing to update and modernise their commercial space. More →

April 2, 2019

A quarter of a century ago, the newborn Internet set office design on a different path

by Colin Watson • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design

Because we are now so immersed in technology, we can sometimes forget just how young the Internet is. It was only in 1995 that the final barriers to its full commercial development were removed. In 1994, the number of people using it worldwide was estimated at around 20 million, there were under 15,000 company websites and the UK had one ‘cybercafe’. Even so, there was something in the air. A sense that everything was about to change – and change spectacularly.

April 1, 2019

A chance to have a say on your experience of open plan office design

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The debate on open plan versus enclosed offices rages on, but it’s not binary, it’s not black or white, it’s not a dichotomy. Furthermore, office occupants appear to have different preferences from the wide range of workplace design solutions that are available. To inform workplace design, we need to understand what drives these individual preferences. Is it factors such as personality, personalisation, flexibility, sense of belonging and familiarity that affect where people prefer to work?

March 28, 2019

The rise of the digital workplace is transforming the physical office

by Giles Fuchs • Comment, Coworking, Workplace design

A recent survey by Gartner predicts that one in five workers will have an AI bot as their co-worker by 2022. It’s almost impossible to talk about the future of the workplace without mention of AI or robotics, and is therefore hardly surprising that there is a feeling of apprehension amongst workers. PwC’s 21st global CEO Survey in 2018 revealed that between 23 percent and 51 percent of respondents were “extremely concerned” about the speed of technological change, and indicated “anxiety about the impending promise and perils of AI.”

March 27, 2019

New book on the future of work argues that the office is not just surviving, but thriving

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property, Workplace design

A new book from RIBA Publishing, which examines the future office, argues that despite predictions that the office is on the verge of extinction, it is not only surviving, but thriving. Digital technologies have spurred this transformation, and with it, the metamorphosis of our entire working environment. The office of today can vary from a sweeping open expanse of ergonomic, futuristic workstations, to a local coffee shop. Future Office: Next-Generation Workplace Design debates tradition, change, and the future of how we work and where.

March 26, 2019

Over one in ten deaths linked to sedentary office life

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Sedentary office life which involves sitting down for at least six hours a day contributes to tens of thousands of people dying every year and costs the NHS £700 million each year, according to a new study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Researchers used previous analyses of the increased risks of heart disease, diabetes and cancer that have been associated with extended periods of inactivity. According to this meta-analysis, about a third of British adults spend more than six hours sedentary each day and almost 70,000 deaths a year in Britain – over one in ten of total deaths – could be attributed in some degree to the behaviour. More →

March 25, 2019

London office market saw more investment than any other global city in 2018

by Sara Bean • Cities, News, Property

Alongside the uncertainty surrounding Brexit there have been many predictions that London will be particularly hard-hit by the economic fallout. However, a new analysis by savoystewart.co.uk of Knight Frank’s The London Report 2019 proposes London will continue to attract the interest of occupiers and investors alike. The research suggests that London saw greater volumes of commercial real estate investment than any other global city in 2018 – with over £16 billion of transactions. More →

March 19, 2019

Insight Promotion: K2 completes an office like no other for Bericote

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Insight promotion, Workplace design

When property company Bericote acquired a 4-story mews building in central London, oozing character and charm, their aim was to transform it into a workplace like few others. From their first meeting at the new building, K2 Space quickly understood that this was not going to be a typical project or workplace, and that the objective was to create something truly unique and reflective of how the Bericote team worked. More →