Search Results for: real estate

December 10, 2014

‘Empty desks’ costing UK business 18bn a year, as job vacancies go unfilled

The economic impact of unfilled job vacancies on the UK economy may be leading to a staggering annual cost of over £18bn. Research by job site Indeed, claims that falling unemployment and robust job creation is resulting in many businesses finding it a challenge to locate and secure the right employees. This inability to find and recruit the right hire for a role is impacting on both the business itself and the wider economy in two major ways. For the employer, failing to effectively resource a business slows both production and profits, while in the wider economy unearned wages reduce consumer spending power and contribution to economic growth. ‘Empty desks’ in the real estate sector are having the greatest impact on the UK economy, due to high levels of contributed economic value (the goods and services that could be produced if the position were filled).

December 3, 2014

Focus on the wellbeing of the occupants of the office, not that of the building

by Maciej Markowski • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace

If you ask a typical corporation about their real estate strategy you will most probably hear a lot about rationalisation, minimising cost and synergy. Real estate strategy should include all these but a cost-cutting approach can be very short-sighted. Staff costs usually account to about 90 per cent of the business operating cost, while any improvement in staff’s productivity will have a stronger and more positive outcome than any cost saving on a building. The recently released World Green Building Council (WGBC) report Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices developed with the support of JLL, Lend Lease and Skanska, clearly shows that the design of an office has a strong impact on the health, wellbeing and productivity of its occupants. It describes the impact of acoustics, interior layout, look & feel, amenities, air quality, thermal comfort, location, daylight and user control on occupants. But it doesn’t stop there.

November 28, 2014

Global property measurement standard for offices is published

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

The first International Property Measurement Standard (IPMS) for offices has been published. The International Property Measurement Standards: Office Buildings was produced by the IPMS Coalition of 56 organisations to help address the long-standing problem of inconsistency in the way offices are measured around the world, which has led to deviations of up to 24 per cent across different world markets. Launched at a World Bank meeting in May 2013, the standard required 18 months of work by a group of measurement experts, including two global public consultations and 85 drafts and will mean that, for the first time, professionals and their clients will benefit from a common method for measurement, wherever they are. RICS Global President, Louise Brooke-Smith, has defined IPMS as a “profession-led response to globalisation and the vital importance of consistent and transparent standards in a modern world”.

November 26, 2014

CBRE identifies priorities for facilities management excellence

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Knowledge, News

To achieve operational excellence in facilities management, organisations must balance three priorities: managing costs efficiently and creating value; maintaining high satisfaction among occupants and clients; and proactively stewarding property and infrastructure. Forging the Iron Triangle: Facility Management Operational Excellence, is a new report by the CBRE’s Global Corporate Services research team and the result of a year-long inquiry into mainly US-based facility management organisations, industry scholarship, and an industry-wide survey of more than 125 facility management executives. It reveals the initiatives that have a lasting impact on facilities management team performance and the reduction of risk, increasing workplace satisfaction and extending the useful life of properties or building infrastructure. Talent management, risk management and life cycle cost analysis are also found to be prevalent in high performing FM teams.

November 13, 2014

Workplace Week focuses on the office and individual productivity in all its forms

by Cathy Hayward • Events, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace, Workplace design

The holy grail of improving people’s productivity was the focus of this year’s Workplace Week, which took place last week from 3-7th November and raised more than £12,500 for Children in Need. The annual event organised by AWA and designed as a celebration of workplace innovation, included visits to 11 workplaces showcasing the latest techniques to get people performing at their very best, a day-long convention and a series of Fringe events. Andrew Mawson, who heads up AWA, opened the convention by setting the discussion in context. “We have maximised asset productivity by getting more people into buildings, and therefore working a building harder. But we need to focus on human productivity. If each organisation could make each person just 5 per cent more productive, that would have a major impact both on that organisation and the wider economy. In the knowledge economy we need to get the very best performance out of each and every brain on the payroll and to create the conditions that consciously support that.

November 12, 2014

2015 looks set to deliver lowest volumes of London office space in 20 years

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

The total amount of office space under construction in central London is down to 7.7 million sq ft, with next year looking to deliver the lowest volumes of space in twenty years. However, according to the London Office Crane Survey, published by Deloitte Real Estate, 22 new schemes (2.1 million sq ft) have started construction in the last six months, almost double the volume of new space started compared to the previous six months. Steve Johns, head of City leasing at Deloitte Real Estate, said: “The sharpest rise in construction starts is in the City of London, where ten new office buildings are now underway. This includes over a million sq ft in the City core and over 500,000 sq ft in ‘tech city’, accounting for three quarters of the volume of space across all the new schemes we’ve recorded. The West End has also seen 10 new starts, adding 462,000 sq ft to the development pipeline, while Southbank, Midtown and Docklands have seen no new construction this survey.”

November 11, 2014

City of London’s iconic building the Gherkin, sold to Brazilian billionaire

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property

The Gherkin, otherwise known as 30 St Mary Axe, has been sold to The Safra Group, controlled by Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra. Although the financial terms of the deal agreed with Deloitte, the receiver for the London property were not disclosed, it is reportedly to be around £700m. Designed by Norman Foster, the 180-metre office tower encompasses approximately 50,000 square meters of office space and is the second-tallest building in the City of London. It was completed in 2004 for Swiss Re, which still occupies half the space, along with law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Safra Group said that the acquisition: “Is consistent with our real estate strategy of investing in properties that are truly special – at the best locations within great cities. While only ten years old, this building is already a London icon that is distinguished from others in the market, with excellent value growth potential. We intend to make the building even better and more desirable through active ownership that will lead to a range of enhancements that will benefit tenants.”

October 28, 2014

Four-building Hammersmith office development acquired by AXA

by Sara Bean • Company news, News, Property

A 193,000 sq ft (17,930 sqm) office property based in Hammersmith West London has been acquired by AXA Real Estate. 77 Fulham Palace Road comprises four buildings: Hamlet, Horatio, Ophelia and Elsinore and is currently let to 19 tenants. It has a wide range of floor sizes across the four buildings and unusually for Central London has 221 parking spaces. Given a current lack in supply of Grade A office space in West London, AXA has indicated that it will increase the current floor space at the property by 18,900 sq ft (1,755 sqm), and transform it into Grade A office space. This expansion would be undertaken alongside a planned refurbishment of some of the buildings, to enhance their overall functionality and design, adding to the current facilities on offer. Huw Stephens, Head of UK Transactions at AXA said: “At 77 Fulham Palace Road we have identified an opportunity, through a number of asset management initiatives, to add value to a core, well located asset in London. By utilising the expertise of our local asset management teams, we will be able to improve the tenant mix, whilst delivering investment performance to our clients.”

October 10, 2014

Is workplace management now a core capability for knowledge businesses?

by Andrew Mawson • Events, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

That’s the key question for delegates coming to this year’s Workplace Week Convention at PWC’s More London office on the 6th November. Entitled ‘The Work/place revolution….taking human performance to new levels’ the convention aims to explore what organisations need to do to get ‘personal best’ performance from every worker on the payroll.For years, the management of Facilities has been viewed by many leaders as ‘non core’, but recent research by AWA (Advanced Workplace Associates),the organisers of Workplace Week, suggests that this may no longer be true for knowledge based businesses. ‘It’s becoming clear that the way the workplace is designed and managed can have a really dramatic impact on the performance of knowledge workers in ways that have not previously considered. Knowledge workers think for a living it’s critical that everything is created to give them the best chance of delivering a great performance.

October 10, 2014

Case study: A public sector building that lights the way ahead for others

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Facilities management, Public Sector, Workplace design

The new offices of Wiltshire County Council, Trowbridge

Last year, I had the pleasure of producing a case study of the new offices of Wiltshire County Council for Mix Interiors magazine. Given that the building was this week shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Better Public Buildings Award and had already won an award from the BCO, we thought this seemed a good time to retread its corridors of power…. The recession has led the UK government to develop a number of new approaches to public sector buildings. But some of the UK’s local authorities are way ahead of the new thinking. Even so, 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 public finances has politicised the design of the UK’s public buildings, with the government launching a wide range of initiatives to improve the efficiency of the way public sector acquires, designs and runs the places it calls home.

September 30, 2014

Global Workplace Solutions to leave Johnson Controls’ portfolio

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, News

Facilities services provider Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) is to leave the Johnson Controls portfolio following the parent company’s decision to concentrate on manufacturing, engineering and product-based, rather than services-based businesses. GWS, which provides facilities, corporate real estate and energy management, has been part of Johnson Controls’ portfolio for more than 20 years, and currently manages more than 1.8 billion square feet of corporate real estate. “We have a strong reputation in the market, an incredibly talented team of employees, and a portfolio of long-standing high-quality clients,” said John Murphy, vice president and president, GWS. “Our business has only just begun to realize its full potential. With a new owner we will have access to the capital and resources required to continue to strengthen our business and be a formidable force in the market.” More →

September 26, 2014

HOK releases new workplace benchmarking report for financial services sector

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Briefing, News, Workplace design

Architectural practice HOK has released a new benchmarking report that examines design and work-style trends at leading financial services firms over the past three years, including the finding that space is underutilised across the sector by nearly a half, meaning that growth can easily be accommodated within the existing facilities of many firms. The HOK Benchmarking Report claims to provide information on recent trends affecting the industry, an analysis of how organisations are using office space and metrics for space standards based on recently completed workplace projects for financial services firms in New York, Toronto and London. The authors claim that because ‘companies are eager to understand the link between their work environments and organisational performance, the space standards and findings in this report can provide a baseline to help corporate real estate and facilities professionals identify and respond to opportunities for improvement.’