Search Results for: real estate

Office space sees dip in demand post-Brexit says RICS

Office space sees dip in demand post-Brexit says RICS 0

Office space demand fallsDemand for office space following the Brexit outcome remains flat according to RICS latest UK Commercial Market Survey 2016; and while the overall UK Commercial property market is showing some signs of a return to a more positive mood post-EU referendum, this has been driven mainly by the industrial sector. London and Scotland are lagging behind the rest of the UK, with Scotland seeing the sharpest drop in headline demand with 24 percent more chartered surveyors seeing a fall during Q3. In the capital, demand fell for the second consecutive quarter with offices seeing the most significant dip (22 percent more respondents reported seeing a fall in demand for London office space). Anecdotal evidence suggests that political uncertainty is still having an effect on both these markets. And the survey also found that respondents from German cities have seen enquiries from UK-based firms and expect there to be an increase in relocation away from Britain over the next two years.

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Newsletter: Self-image problem + Top tech trends for 2017 + Offices more productive places? 0

An EMC officeIn this week’s Newsletter; Steven Lambert argues millennials’ love of mod cons may make them dislike noisy open offices; Cathy Hayward describes a tech giant’s One Team approach to workplace management and design; and Mark Eltringham says FM is not alone in thinking that it doesn’t shout loudly enough. The majority of people prefer working in an office; Gartner highlights the top technology trends; a belief Brexit could improve European commercial real estate investment opportunities; and the majority of freelancers don’t want more employment rights. Automation could swallow a sixth of public sector jobs; flexible working behind growing popularity of self-employment; and corporate real estate sector is reducing energy consumption, carbon emissions and water usage. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

One in six public sector jobs to be lost to automation, claims report

One in six public sector jobs to be lost to automation, claims report 0

public-sector-automationUp to 861,000 public sector jobs in the UK – around 16 percent of the overall workforce – could be automated by 2030 according to research by Deloitte. The research builds on Deloitte’s work with Oxford University on job automation and is included in the firm’s The State of the State report for 2016-17 – its annual analysis of the state of public finances and the challenges facing public services. Deloitte’s previous work has shown that all sectors of the UK economy will be affected by automation in the next two decades, with 74 percent of jobs in transportation and storage, 59 percent of jobs in wholesale and retail and 56 percent of jobs in manufacturing having a high chance of being automated. The public sector includes higher numbers of roles in areas such as education and caring, as well as jobs requiring public interaction, all of which are at lower risk of automation. However, Deloitte calculates that automation could still lead to a reduction of up to £17 billion in public sector wage costs by 2030.

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How tech giant EMC standardised the design and management of its office portfolio

How tech giant EMC standardised the design and management of its office portfolio 0

workplace-insight-imagesThis summer’s headlines have been full of discord, a cacophony of angry voices either directed at continental Europe, or at the Brexiters who voted for Britain to leave the European Union. But EMC, a global leader in information technology-as-a-service which has recently been acquired by Dell, is a leading light of European integration through its One Team approach to workplace management and design across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Over the past three years, the EMC Global Real Estate and Facilities Team (GREF), which supports more than 12,000 people in around 130 office locations across 50 countries in EMEA, has transformed from a group operating independently, to a fully-aligned team which provides a uniform and standardised approach to workplace delivery and management to enable greater business success.

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Uberification of work + Future of coworking + Quest for productivity

Uberification of work + Future of coworking + Quest for productivity 0

Tower 535 CoworkingIn this week’s Newsletter; Anthony Brown argues Uber’s success lends a name for a process that is reshaping the commercial property sector; Mike James wonders where the gig economy and zero hours contracts are taking us; and Mark Eltringham discusses the interaction of people and technology. Two new reports highlight the growth of the freelance workforce in the UK and US; researchers analyse the impact of coworking from a corporate real estate (CRE) perspective; Barclays presents its vision of the workforce of the future; and Herman Miller unveils a new Aeron chair.  The latest stage of the UK’s BIM Task Group programme is officially launched; responses to a government enquiry reveal the barriers the built environment still presents to disabled people; and a combination of financial, mental and physical health problems affect many workers. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

The global uberification of commercial property and the workplace

The global uberification of commercial property and the workplace 0

uberificationTechnology doesn’t just transform the world, it reshapes our language. So, we all need to get used to the word uberification as well as the idea of it. Based on the success of the on demand taxi service Uber, the word refers to the way a product or service becomes available to customers on demand via the Internet. Customers book a service only at the point of consumption. This represents an entirely new commercial model and is the defining characteristic of the new 21st Century economy. Uber may have provided the tipping point, going from start up to market valuation of $66 billion in just 7 years, but its success has given us a name for a process that is reshaping businesses and customer experiences across the entire economy, including in the commercial property sector.

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Insight weekly: Obsession with data + People subvert design + Engaged workplace

Insight weekly: Obsession with data + People subvert design + Engaged workplace 0

big-dataIn this week’s Newsletter; Jess Brook says beware of the latest data dressed up as pseudo-science; Serena Borghero on ways workplace design can boost engagement levels; and Mark Eltringham says how workplaces are utilised are subject to the vagaries of human behaviour.  Staff allegedly spend just 38 percent of their time performing their primary job duties; collaborative spaces are replacing the traditional office boardroom; and 30 percent of corporate real estate portfolios will incorporate flexible workspaces by 2030. Research suggests office design makes the most significant difference to employee happiness levels; over a quarter (28 percent) of employees are reluctant to ask for flexible work; digital tech within many workplaces is not up to spec; and extension announced of the One Public Sector Estate scheme. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

BDG architecture+design appointed by WPP on refurbishment of Rivierstaete building in Amsterdam

BDG architecture+design appointed by WPP on refurbishment of Rivierstaete building in Amsterdam 0

Insight_twitter_logo_2WPP, the world’s largest advertising and marketing services group, is investing in a landmark building in Amsterdam as a new base for its operating companies in the city. The agencies will move into a redevelopment of the well-known Rivierstaete building located in the centre of the city on the banks of the Amstel River. The new office will bring together some 30 companies and approximately 1,500 people in 19,000 square metres of space. The Amsterdam office is the latest in a series of WPP co-locations, including Madrid (more than 40 companies and 2,500 people) also being designed by BDG which continues their long standing relationship with WPP Real Estate and further showcases both parties track record, expertise and commitment to revitalising large, awkward inner city buildings through their innovative programme of ‘Evidence Based Design’.

Worldwide progress in creating sustainable building regulations is slow

Worldwide progress in creating sustainable building regulations is slow 0

green-transparency-sustainable-regulationsThe level of transparency in the reporting of the environmental performance of commercial real estate is growing across the world, but the pace of new sustainable building regulations remains slow. That is the key finding of JLL’s Real Estate Environmental Sustainability Index, which measures the availability of a range of environmental transparency tools in 37 countries. Whilst 17 countries have improved their overall scores since the last survey two years ago, 13 have remained static and three have declined. Half of all country index improvements have been driven by the introduction of voluntary minimum energy efficiency standards for existing buildings. This year France topped the Index for the first time, thanks to the consistent roll-out of mandates to transition to a low carbon economy. Japan has moved up from the transparent group to join France, Australia and the UK in the highly transparent group.

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Businesses failing to look at workplace effectiveness in the right way

Businesses failing to look at workplace effectiveness in the right way 0

workplace-effectivenessThis month, the director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Carolyn Fairbairn, suggested that productivity growth across all parts of the UK economy should be the number one priority for business and government. And the CBI isn’t alone in emphasising the importance of honing in on and tackling the ongoing productivity problem. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) economic forecast summary, published earlier this summer, productivity has been exceptionally weak since 2007 and doesn’t show much sign of abating nearly ten years later. Labour productivity per employee has failed to markedly rise since the global downturn and the UK is still miles behind the G7 average – that’s according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) quarterly figures and CBI data. So, to echo Fairbairn, reviving British productivity is essential to sustain growth and living standards.

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Boost predicted for commercial property transactions across the UK

Boost predicted for commercial property transactions across the UK 0

commercial-propertyThe next five years will see demand for commercial property in the South East of England expand at a faster rate than in London according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Annual Occupiers Survey 2016. The survey, conducted in association with EY and Savills found that a fifth (20 per cent) of UK property decision-makers expect to increase rather than decrease the amount of space they own or rent in the South East. In total, a net balance (percentage expecting to expand minus percentage expecting to downsize) of 13 per cent more respondents in the South East expect to increase, rather than decrease their portfolio, nearly double the figure for London at seven per cent. The net balance figures showed the lowest indication of growth was in the South West, at four per cent. The survey also revealed that 41 per cent of UK firms expect to expand the amount of UK property they own or rent over the next five years while only 8 per cent expect to downsize.

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Flexible productivity myth + Women’s wear + Millennial motivators 0

Insight_twitter_logo_2In this week’s Newsletter; Colin Watson points out that we sometimes forget just how young the Internet is; Paul Carter ponders working off the radar and the rise of co-working hubs and agile working; Mark Eltringham argues we’ve known for some time what makes people happy and productive at work; and says flexible working has developed a reputation as something of a silver bullet. Women’s choice of office attire is subject to unfair criticism by bosses; contrary to popular belief Millennials want the same from the workplace as everyone else; and evidence that sensory inputs can significantly improve productivity and cognitive performance. A new report suggests how technology will impact on real estate; and reasons for the boom in co-working spaces in London are revealed.  Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.