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Nigel Farage fined for failing to declare free office space

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THE LEADER of the UK Independence Party has been fined after not declaring the free use of office space.

MEP Nigel Farage was given the £200 fine after he didn’t disclose to the Electoral Commission the donation in-kind of office space.

A probe by the Electoral Commission has determined that the use of the 625 sq ft office near Littlehampton, West Sussex, had been worth £3,500, rising to £3,800, per annum since Mr Farage started using it in 2001.

The commission did find, however, that the donations had been declared correctly to the European Parliament and that there had been no intent to hide the donations.

Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 all non-cash donations of more than £1,500 that are made to individual regulated donees, must be reported to the Commission.

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Societe Generale to move in to new Canary Wharf office building

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FRENCH bank Societe Generale will move in to a brand new office building in Canary Wharf in 2019.

The pre-let of 280,000 sq ft of office space in 1 Bank Street was announced today by developers, Canary Wharf Group.

The deal represents 40 percent of the 700,000 sq ft, 26 story office building which construction started on earlier this year, with the banking giant occupying space from the ground floor to the seventh level.

Sir George Iacobescu CBE, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canary Wharf Group plc said:

“We are pleased to welcome Societe Generale, one of the most important European institutions, and to be able to provide them with a technologically advanced building which responds to their new requirements. This pre let demonstrates the enduring attraction of our high quality office space and infrastructure to a broad range of world class organisations. Societe Generale will join over 105,000 people already working at Canary Wharf with companies providing a range of services in diverse sectors.”

Find Office Space in Canary Wharf

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Staines offices transformation complete

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Ashby_House_-_Strata_1[1]

WORK to turn a former brewery headquarters in to a modern new office block has been completed.

Built in the late 1980s, Ashby House by the Thames in Staines has been transformed in to a modern Grade-A office space building called Strata.

Planning permission for the redevelopment of the former Courage Brewery headquarters was given by Spelthorne Council late in 2011.

The finished building provides 89,000sqft of office space over three floors, 174 parking places, a central landscaped courtyard and extensive gardens in the heart of town.

Strata was Designed by ESA – part of Capita – on behalf of LaSalle Investment Management and Bell Hammer. A spokesman for Bell Hammer commented, “Without wishing to appear immodest, I think Strata is the best office development seen in the Thames Valley for a long time.”

Elsewhere on Offices.org.uk: Office space in Staines

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Mayor of London lobbies government to protect capital’s business districts

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THE MAYOR of London Boris Johnson has written to the government urging it to abandon plans that could “compromise London and the UK’s future economic growth.”

The coalition government has relaxed rules on converting office space to homes but exemptions were obtained for key business districts such as the City of London, the West End and “tech city”.

Those exemptions are now under threat prompting the mayor to sign a joint letter together with London First, the British Property Federation and the Planning Officers Society London to the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles.

The letter warns that the “incremental unplanned loss of office accommodation in strategically important office areas of London can significantly weaken the agglomeration benefits provided by these locations.”

Last year, City Hall heard that four million square metres of office space in the capital were at risk from unplanned redevelopments.

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Gender diversity increases office productivity, report says

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MIXED-Sex offices can help improve productivity in the workplace, according to new research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

But while diversity seems to be good for a business’ productivity, employees actually prefer single sex working environments, says the study.

MIT economist Sara Ellison commented:

“Having a more diverse set of employees means you have a more diverse set of skills…[which] could result in an office that functions better.”

But less diverse working environments can lead to “higher levels of social capital”, although this doesn’t lead to increased productivity.

Ellison continues: “The interesting twist is that higher levels of social capital are not important enough to cause those offices to perform better. The employees might be happier, they might be more comfortable, and these might be cooperative places, but they seem to perform less well.”

The findings come from an eight year study in to a single US company with sixty offices across the country.

Read the MIT findings: Workplace diversity can help the bottom line

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London tops poll of best cities in world to work in

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officesorguk-20fenchurchstreet

LONDON has come out on top in a survey of the most desirable places to work on the planet.

The UK’s capital city beat off competition from New York, Paris and Sydney to come first in the worldwide survey of 200,000 workers across 189 countries.

When looking at countries as a whole, the UK came second, beaten only by the USA, in the poll which was undertaken by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), TotalJobs.com and THE network.

Rainer Strack, a BCG senior partner and one of the report’s four coauthors, commented:

“It’s a world in which the geographic barriers to employment are coming down, including in the minds of some of the most talented and highly educated workers.

“This is opening up significant opportunities for individuals and for the many countries and multinational companies that are facing talent shortages of one sort or another.”

Top Ten Most Appealing Cities

London
New York
Paris
Sydney
Madrid
Berlin
Barcelona
Toronto
Singapore
Rome

Top Ten Countries for Foreign Job Seekers

USA
UK
Canada
Germany
Switzerland
France
Australia
Spain
Italy
Sweden

Read the full report here. Find office space available in London.

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Law firm takes entire floor in new Walkie Talkie

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officesorguk-20fenchurchstreet

LAW firm Vinson and Elkins has leased an entire floor at the new skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street in London.

The signing of the 24th floor means that the new City of London icon from joint developers Canary Wharf Group and Land Securities Group is now 90% let.

Work on the office floors of the skyscraper was finished in April and 1,700 staff work inside already.

Alex Msimang, London Office Managing Partner at Vinson & Elkins, explained: “As a firm we have been in London for more than 40 years and 20 Fenchurch Street will be the ideal London base for us for many years to come. In all our locations we strive to provide an outstanding environment and state of the art facilities for our people and our clients, and this exceptional building enables us to continue to do that in London.”

By the end of the year, the Walkie Talkie’s Sky Garden, featuring landscaped areas, restaurants and event space, should be completed.

Elsewhere on offices.org.uk: Search for City of London serviced office space

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British Land announces 96% occupancy across its West End offices

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THE DEVELOPER British Land today boasted of a 96% occupancy rate across its portfolio of West End offices.

The fully-refurbished, nine-storey 39 Victoria Street has just been fully let. The success follows on from 10-30 Brock Street and 10 Portman Square also being fully let or under offer.

British Land says its 2.4 million sq ft West End office portfolio occupancy rate now stands at 96%, up from 88% at 31 March 2014.

Tim Roberts, Head of Offices and Residential at British Land, said: “We have continued to see good letting momentum across our London office portfolio which reflects the high quality spaces and environments we have created along with improving occupational demand. With little new product coming to market over the coming years, we are pushing forward with our near-term pipeline.”

Elsewhere on Offices.org.uk: Offices for rent in London

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Historic London Underground offices could be turned in to homes

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GRADE I listed office space used by the London Underground could be turned in to flats, if local planners in Westminster agree.

Transport for London has announced that it plans to submit a planning application next month to convert historic 55 Broadway in to flats with a mix of affordable, social and private housing.

The iconic offices were designed by architect Charles Holden and built in the late 1920s for the Underground Electric Railways Company of London – the forerunner of London Underground.

Graeme Craig, Director of Commercial Development at TfL, said:

“All revenue raised from the redevelopment of 55 Broadway and the rest of our commercial activities will be reinvested, enabling us to make journeys better for everyone who uses public transport and the road network, bear down on the fares and charges people are asked to pay, and support economic prosperity in London and the UK.”

Architects TateHindle have been appointed to lead the redevelopment.

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Amazon announces new London office space

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AMAZON UK has announced plans to move in to brand new office space in Shoreditch in 2017.

The online retail giant will leave its current home of sixteen years in Slough to move in to the still under-construction Principal Place, close to the City of London.

The new mixed use development combines a 15-story office building, of which Amazon will occupy over two-thirds, with an adjacent residential tower.

“We have already invested well over £1 billion and created more than 7,000 permanent jobs across the UK,” said Christopher North, Managing Director of Amazon.co.uk Ltd. “To support our continued growth in the UK, we have secured this exceptional building giving us the capacity to hire thousands of new employees in London in the coming years, in addition to the thousands of permanent roles we will create across our UK fulfilment and customer service centres.”

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Our city is the perfect home for top tech talent and I am very pleased that Amazon have confirmed their intention to create thousands of new jobs at a major new base in east London. We are proving time and again that we have the right places and people to support this vibrant sector.”

Amazon plans to have relocated all its corporate employees to London offices by the middle of next year, ahead of the move in to Principal Place.

Related: Search for London Office Space

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