Posted on October 14, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
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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Posted on October 8, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
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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Posted on October 6, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
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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Posted on September 30, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
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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Posted on September 23, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
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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Posted on September 19, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
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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Posted on September 12, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
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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Posted on September 8, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
PUTTING plants and greenery in offices can help boost productivity, according to new research.
A greener working environment could see productivity go up by as much as 15% says the report by Cardiff University’s School of Psychology.
The presence of plants can see increased workplace satisfaction and self-reported concentration.
Lead researcher Marlon Nieuwenhuis, from the School of Psychology, said: “Our research suggests that investing in landscaping the office with plants will pay off through an increase in office workers’ quality of life and productivity.
“Although previous laboratory research pointed in this direction, our research is, to our knowledge, the first to examine this in real offices, showing benefits over the long term. It directly challenges the widely accepted business philosophy that a lean office with clean desks is more productive.”
The full report, which involved academics from the University of Exeter the University of Groningen in The Netherlands and the University of Queensland, Australia, is available here.
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Posted on August 22, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
OFFICE space take-up rates have almost doubled in Cardiff in the the first half of the year, according to new research.
A report by Savills says that take up in 2014 H1 was 250,000 sq ft (23,225 sq m), compared with 129,000 sq ft (11,984 sq m) in the same period last year.
The Welsh capital has also seen the return of large office days, says the property firm, with three transactions over 25,000 sq ft this year so far, including IBO taking 48,500 sq ft at Cardiff Gate and Public Health Wales taking 39,500 sq ft at Companies House.
Gary Carver, director of office agency at Savills Cardiff, commented: “We have seen a marked improvement in market sentiment in the Cardiff office market, which is reflected in the latest take-up figures. In addition, there are several active requirements over 20,000 sq ft including Legal and General, Geldards, PWC and Blake Morgan which, if they transpire, will further boost the take-up figure.
“Furthermore, with the 150,000 sq ft BBC deal likely to sign mid-2015, we expect the end of year take-up to reach circa 500,000 sq ft, 69% up on last year’s figures.”
Posted in South Glamorgan |
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Posted on August 21, 2014 by Offices.org.uk
A disused robotic car park could be turned in to offices in Scotland’s capital city.
The proposal would see a futuristic, auto-stacking car park, in Edinburgh which opened in 2001 and went bust two years later, converted into 120,000 sq ft of grade-A offices.
The plan has been proposed developer Hermes Real Estate would see the Sky Park in Morrisson Street demolished.
The proposals went on display yesterday at the EICC in a pre-application consultation to gather responses ahead of a full planning application.
A spokesman for Edinburgh City Council told the Edinburgh Evening News, “this speculative development is a welcome sign of investor confidence in the Edinburgh market and would mean yet another long-term brownfield site is being brought back into use.”
The Sky Park suffered a similar fate to that of the experimental Auto Stacker car park that was opened in Woolwich, south east London, in 1961 by Princess Margaret and closed a year later.
Posted in Edinburgh |
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