Posted on May 15, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
Vacancy rates for office space in the south east are at their lowest since 2001.
The research by Knight Frank says that availability within the M25 was down 13% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to a year earlier.
The M25 vacancy rate for 2015 Q1 stood at 5.9%, falling to just 4.2% when only new and Grade-A office space is considered.
Emma Goodford, head of national offices leasing team, Knight Frank, commented: “2015 has started positively supporting our view that take up in the M25 will be almost 30% ahead of 2014, and above the ten year average.
“Vacancy levels are heading towards crunch point in combination the market seeing rental growth across a growing number of key centres. In some cases rents are now at an all-time high- motivation for occupiers to identify and secure the best space now. The election has removed uncertainty and will drive demand.”
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Posted on May 1, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
LOCAL planners in Birmingham have approved plans for a new 210,000 sq ft office development in the city.
Construction work on 2 Arena Central in Broad Street is expected to begin next month following the planning decision by Birmingham City Council.
The brand new offices, situated in Birmingham Enterprise Zone, have been leased by HSBC for the head office of their ring-fenced bank for UK personal and business customers. About 1,000 positions will be moved from London Birmingham.
Speaking recently, Antonio Simoes, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC UK, said: “We want to be the bank of choice in the UK. Creating our ring-fenced bank head office in Birmingham gets us a step closer to that ambition for our 16 million personal and business customers.
“We have a strong track record of establishing banks outside of London, with first direct in Leeds and M&S Bank in Chester both recognised for great customer service. Birmingham City Council has worked hard and significantly invested to make the city an attractive home for UK businesses and their employees.”
Arena Central is a mixed development which will include over 600,000 sq ft of office space in total alongside leisure & retail, residential units and a hotel.
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Posted on April 29, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
AN OFFICE building in the heart of London’s Soho has been taken over by squatters who plan to create a “hub for homeless people.”
The building in Frith Street was formerly the head office of digital agency Reading Room but was bought by a pension fund with plans to turn it into flats and a restaurant.
According to the Evening Standard, a spokesperson for the group that have taken over the building said:
“We want to offer a safe space policy to vulnerable and homeless people – no drugs, no violence, racism or sexism.
“Our aim is to ensure no one has to sleep on the streets of London. There are thousands but to us one person is too many.”
The group previously occupied an office building in nearby Carlisle Street.
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Posted on April 24, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
SOCIAL media giant Facebook plans to expand its London presence at the Regent’s Place campus.
Developer British Land has announced that Facebook have signed an Agreement for Lease at 338 Euston Road.
The company will occupy nine floors in the seventeen storey building which is about to undergo a comprehensive refurbishment. This comes in addition to the almost 90,000 sq ft of space that Facebook already has at 10 Brock Street, also at Regent’s Place.
James Danby, Head of Office Leasing at British Land, said: “Facebook’s decision to expand their presence at Regent’s Place is a fantastic endorsement of the campus, and underlines their commitment to this location. While the area’s connectivity and the quality of the office space are of course significant factors, our work to make Regent’s Place a vibrant destination in its own right has been crucial in attracting high calibre media and technology businesses, of which Facebook is unquestionably one.”
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Posted on April 8, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
PLANS for a major new office building has been approved as part of the continued regeneration of Longbridge.
Councillors on the Planning Committee at Birmingham City Council have given the green light to the outline planning application for One Park Square, creating over 100,000 sq ft of Grade A office space.
The new office building is just part of the major Park Square development by St Mowden which is taking place on part of the former MG Rover Longbridge motor work.
Mike Murray from St Mowden told the Birmingham Post:
“This prime office space will create hundreds of new jobs and attract more professionals to Longbridge, adding to the thriving mixed-community we’re creating here.
“This is an ideal location for occupiers that need to be in easy reach of road link and public transport connections, and want to work in a high quality environment surrounded by amenities.”
Also on offices.org.uk: Office space to rent in Birmingham
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Posted on April 2, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
LAND SECURITIES has sold the Times Square building in the City of London to real estate investor, Blackstone.
The £268.4 million deal is for Land Securities’ 95% stake in the propertyat 160 – 162 Queen Victoria Street. Completion of the sale is due to take place by July.
Times Square is fully let and includes Bank of New York Mellon and law firm Dechert as its tenants.
Colette O’Shea, Managing Director, London Portfolio at Land Securities, said: “We’ve recently carried out some lease regearing activity at Times Square, and its sale reflects our strategy of recycling capital into our significant development programme.”
Anthony Myers, Head of Real Estate Europe at Blackstone, said: “This is our fourth investment in London as part of Blackstone Property Partners’ Core+ strategy, following the most recent acquisition of 125 Old Broad Street. Times Square fits the Core+ strategy extremely well as a high quality, well-leased asset in the centre of a global gateway city.”
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Posted on April 2, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
THOUSANDS of office workers, students and residents were evacuated yesterday after a fire started under the pavement in the West End.
The unusual fire saw smoke emerging from the streets and flames leaping up from the ground in and around Kingsway, Holborn.
Offices and homes nearby lost their power as emergency services tried to get the fire under control.
A statement from UK Power Networks today says:
“A major gas fire in an underground tunnel is still burning so we cannot yet access our equipment. Our engineers have restored power to 2000 customers and the remaining 1100 will regain power through generators and cable works as soon as possible. We had over a hundred staff working through the night and work continues today. We are working with the emergency services and other agencies to keep affected customers updated. The cause of the incident is being investigated.”
London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Dany Cotton said:
“This is a technically difficult and unusual incident to tackle as it is underground. Fire-fighting in tunnels is very hazardous and one of the reasons that the fire is still burning is because of the dangers involved in extinguishing the fire before the gas supply is shut down, which could result in the risk of a subsequent gas explosion. Firefighters have however been applying water through access points throughout the night, to control the spread of the fire.
“The fire is contained in the tunnel and we are making steady progress and working with the utility companies and the police to bring this incident to a close. Local road closures are still in place and it is affecting over one hundred businesses. We’d ask people to avoid the immediate area if possible.”
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Posted on March 25, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
BROADGATE Estates, a wholly owned subsidiary of British Land, is to move its HQ to the Paddington Central campus.
The property management company will occupy 26,150 sq ft of office space on the second floor of 2 Kingdom Street.
Broadgate Estates manages the 30 acre estate of the same name in the City of London as well as the More London and Kings Cross developments.
Steve Whyman, CEO of Broadgate Estates, said: “The relocation of Broadgate Estates’ headquarters to a larger space at Paddington Central reflects the very strong growth of our company’s business. British Land has ambitious plans for Paddington Central, and we are pleased to be joining the campus at this stage of its development.”
Elsewhere on offices.org.uk: Serviced office space at One Kingdom Street, Paddington Central
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Posted on March 17, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
PRESTIGIOUS offices on Pall Mall in the heart of London have been taken over by squatters.
The Grade-II listed building, which is 200 yards from Trafalgar Square has around fifty people living there, describing themselves as “five star squatters”
The London offices at 123 Pall Mall, built late in the 19th century, were most recently home to the Institute of Directors (IoD) and were officially opened as their HQ by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2001.
The Institute of Directors vacated the six-storey offices late in 2014 and they have been empty since then. A “To Let” sign in the window has been amended to say, “To Let them know we rule.”
Another sign in the window of the building says, “Autonomous nation of anarchist libertarians @ IOD.”
A spokesman for the IoD was quoted as saying: “We vacated this building six months ago, but there’s a chance there are some old Hayek or Adam Smith books left behind. Who knows, perhaps they’ll learn something.”
Related: In 2011, Offices.org.uk visited the Bank of Ideas created by squatters.
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Posted on March 6, 2015 by Offices.org.uk
LONDON has been named as the most expensive location for offices in the world in the latest annual Office Space Across the World global ranking survey by Cushman and Wakefield.
It’s the third consecutive year that London has been named in the report as being the most costly place for office space, with prime rents in the West End up over 4%.
London is the only European location feature in the report’s top five and at €2,344 per square metre per year, it’s more expensive than Hong Kong, New York, Rio de Janeiro and New Delhi.
Cushman & Wakefield’s head of London markets, George Roberts, commented:
“With a true global appeal, London continues to attract major international businesses looking to be based there, often using it as a springboard into Europe. As economic conditions in the UK further outperform, there will be heightened demand for London office space in 2015 from across all sectors. With supply heading downwards, further rental growth is expected.”
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