Posted on December 6, 2010 by John Cronin
Revised plans for two office buildings in Hammersmith, London are expected to be discussed at a forthcoming planning meeting.
Developers Development Securities and architects BFLS submitted revised plans for the speculative Hammersmith Grove mixed-use development at the end of August, 2010.
The current scheme is predominately office based and also incorporates an element of retail floor space. Two office buildings are now proposed rather than the larger, single building that was in the original plan. The original building was an all-curved design in the shape of a shell and was given the nickname of the Hammersmith Snail.
Following objections to the height and size of the original design, elements of the development have been dropped, including a proposed new cinema. Local residents action group the Brackenbury Residents Association had also argued that the development would offer little community benefit if it only consisted of commercial space. The developers response is to include space for a new public library and improvments to the public realm.
The two new buildings will offer approximately 377,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation. The North Building will provide 10 floors of office space above ground level whilst the South Building contains eight floors of office space above ground level. The site for the office blocks is currently used as a surface car park and is adjacent to the tube station.
A spokesperson for the developers commented: “there is demand for additional office space within Hammersmith and more offices are required so the area can compete with areas like Paddington, Chiswick and Victoria”.
Posted in London |
Tagged Planning, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on December 3, 2010 by John Cronin
The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has purchased a premium London office building.
The USS is the principal final salary pension scheme provided by Universities and other associated institutions for their employees. The USS has agreed to purchase Savoy Court, a premium office building for a total of £45.4million and expects a return yield from rental income of 6.25%. The figures equate to an approximate rental price of £49 /sq ft for the combined floor space.
Seven Savoy Court (website) is adjacent to the Savoy Hotel in London’s West End and offers approximately 53,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation over 8 floors. The largest floor plates within the building are just over 8,000 sq ft.
The building, which underwent a major internal refurbishment in 2008, also has approximately 5,000 sq ft of retail floor space. The headquarters style offices are currently let until 2017 to Booz & Co, a global management consulting firm.
The purchase marks the first acquisition by USS since it purchased the National Magazine House in May 2010 for over £40million. National Magazine House, located on The Carnaby Estate in Soho is another Grade A office building comprising of approximately 54,000 sq ft of space over 5 floors. USS is assumed to receive rental income of approximately £44 / sq ft from a lease agreement that expires in 2018.
Speaking of the latest acquisition Alex Turner, office fund manager at USS, said: ” This acquisition takes our central London office acquisitions in 2010 to over £150m, reflecting our confidence in the continued resilience of this sub sector.”
The previous owner of the offices was Redevco, a property investment company predominately operating within the retail property sector.
Posted in London |
Tagged Renovations, Rental Prices |
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Posted on December 2, 2010 by John Cronin
Nottinghamshire County Council has today announced that it is to discuss a programme of multiple office closures in an attempt to save £2 million per year.
In a full council meeting due to take place on 9th December at County Hall (pictured – credit), a proposal to dramatically reduce the Notts County Council office count is to be debated.
Following many other county councils across the country, Notts Council has reviewed how it can make significant savings by making more effective of the office space it currently has. The council currently spends about £7.5 million each year on office accommodation and is aiming to trim around £2 million from that expenditure.
Having undertaken a review of current office space occupancy levels the council has identified that approximately 33% of the available desks and meeting rooms are not fully utilised during the working week. A shared-desk arrangement is being considered, using a ratio of 7 workstations per 10 employees.
Significant office closures are being considered as part of the process. The 23 office sites currently used are to be reduced to just 5 – a reduction of approximately 80%. Offices that are no longer required will either be sold, leases will not be renewed and in one case an office extension will be demolished.
Martin Suthers, Deputy Leader at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Rationalising our office space will help the Council reap significant savings over the long-term. Much of our office space is underused and not fit for modern working arrangements.”.
However, the council does not envisage any net savings until the financial year 2014/15 as it plans on spending £10m on the 4-year rationalisation programme.
Posted in Nottinghamshire |
Tagged Public Sector |
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Posted on December 2, 2010 by Nell Frizzell
Like an uneasy cat, the sixth series of The Apprentice has had eight lives so far. Eight aspiring men and women thrown to the hungry lions that are Dara O’Brien and the JobSeekers queue. Strangely, out of all the roaring chuffingtons and mindless twonks, it is Mel ‘this is a dumb arse thing’ Cohen that I miss the most. No-one can suck their teeth and masticate their quiffs like old Cohen.
But let’s not get caught up in a fit of nostalgia so soon. It’s 5.30am and the phone is ringing. Well, you know what these pensioners are like about early mornings – my granny wakes up at six every day despite having nothing to do whatsoever except eat mints and slag off the nurses. So, Lordy Lordy Miss Maudy Sugar is calling at the crack of dawn to order his remaining no-marks to Tower 42 in ‘Central London’, wherever the hell that is.
“I need to show Lord Sugar I’ve still got my spark” gurgles Hollyoaks Jamie, who – let’s be honest – is dimmer than a 4 watt bulb, wrapped in a hessian sack at the bottom of a very deep well.
Once the taxis arrive, all the golden glowing lights and lilting choirboys suggest that the Apprentices are gathered in Tower 42 for Lord Sugar’s funeral. Or at least some sort of mass-suicide involving a bottle of Gatorade and a badly wired Amstrad. In fact, it turns out that they are gathered here today to learn a little something about business. Lord Sugaga tells his financial disciples that he wants to see some ‘wheeling and dealing’. Poor old codger. He means ‘meals on wheels’ of course. Mind you, while they’re out they might as well buy a shit load of rubbish for the best deal possible. I mean, that’s what retirement is for, right?
The teams are rearranged to make it girls (Apollo) versus boys (Synergy). Hollyoaks Jamie heads up the lads, while Bambi-eyed Liz agrees to look after the girls.
“I’m going to see who can drive the hardest bargain,” barks Lord Sugarpuff. Bargain chicken feet, truffles, singers and tartan… that’s the beginning of a delicious stew right there.
Before Synergy head out, Jamie gives a little pep talk about pitching at 70% lower than the price you are offered. Armed with no internet, no research and absolutely no clue, Jamie then heads out to chase ‘a plain single tikka… 22 carat gold’. In search of their own tikka, the girls are off to Southall. Cue tablas! Frantic tablas! And a bit of chanting for good measure!
Meanwhile, the other contestants are all chasing up something called the ‘blue book’. If I know Lord Sugar like I think I do, then the ‘Blue Book’ is almost definitely porn. Tortoise porn. Or, as Joanna finds out, it’s the taxi drivers’ book of the ‘knowledge’. Well, it was a 50/50 chance.
According to Karen, “Jamie never takes no for an answer”. Which must make him fun in public toilets. Talking of which, the next scene sees Christopher the bionic blue-eyed boy shout “Come on baby!” to Stuart ‘the brand’ Baggs as they run down the middle of the street. Sexy, sexy, sexy.
So far the teams have been buying laptop memory, chicken feet, tartan and a four metre wooden work top… Personally I’m just holding on until Lord Sugar sends them out for ‘the long weight’.
Talking of long waits, Stella is trying to call Gordon Ramsay to ask for some truffles. That’s basically like calling Madonna because you want a ball of string. Or calling Andy Murray because you’re looking for some shoelaces.
Stuart and Christopher, on the other hand, are going for the tactic of telling long, laborious and ultimately insane stories about fictional family members in order to purchase totally reasonable items. Surely such delusions are the first signs of serious mental illness? “Somehow their stories are working!” says Karen, amazed. As if the enormous television crew, team of producers and truck full of filming equipment that follows the boys in to each shop has nothing at all to do with people’s willingness to sell.
After some pretty tear-jerking negotiation in the plate shop that time forgot – where Joanna and Liz are served by a dumpling in a baseball cap – it’s time for both teams to race back to the boardroom for a photo finish. “Come on big man up there!” shouts Liz, presumably addressing Lord Sugar, who she believes to live in the sky like Mary Poppins. Baggyface and invincible Chris, on the other hand, simply jump on Jamie’s knee like children greeting a father just back from the trenches.
The boys have driven some pretty hard bargains, but only managed to get seven of their items, while the girls bought all ten, but walked in to a couple of scams. So, is Lord Sugar going to reward aggressive lying and hardnosed bullying, or weak-willed competence? I’m so far off the edge of my seat that I’ve actually worn a hole in the floor tiles.
“You’re taking so much on board, you sound like a container ship,” Lord Alanstrad tells Liz. That’s a nice way to deal with responsibility, isn’t it? Meanwhile, Stuart’s generation game joke falls foul of the rigorous Sugar laugh-o-meter. Lord Sugarmort is accusing someone of making shit jokes? Have we just fallen in to some sort of irony wormhole?
So, to the figures. All fines considered, the compulsive shopping Apollo spent £1,094 while the compulsive lying Synergy spent just £1,020. So, it’s a win for the boys, which means a little trip to Paris to make jokes about rosé and skip around in pretty hats.
The girls, on the other hand, are sent home for an uncomfortable night of reflection before the boardroom of firing and brimstone the next morning. Laura, of course, is having a good old fashioned sulk. One day I’d like to pull Laura’s perennially flaring nostrils right up over her entire head so I could see her tiny brain at work during one of these meta-sulks.
Liz calls Laura and morgue make-up Stella and in to the firing line with her.
“I should have been more aggressive,” admits Stella. “Aggressive? I heard you were a bit wooden.” Lord Sugar gives out constructive criticism like my mum gives out cups of tea; burning hot and painful to swallow.
Laura, of course, tries to sulk about having to call Liz all the way through the task. Sadly, this tactic massively backfires when Sugardaddy points out that the one time Laura was given a useful quote, she ignored it and overspent by £100 on truffles.
“This is about more than just truffles… It’s a bit bigger than that,” proclaims Stella. You’re right Stella, there’s tartan, plates and chicken feet involved too.
And so, Laura’s sulking, polo-necked huffing and general sense of ‘meh’ loses her the chance at that whimsical ‘six figure salary.’ Oh well. At least she has a nice collection of leaving presents to take home with her. Those taxi manuals will make a lovely coffee table display.
Conclusion: Whatever happens, don’t ever let Lord Sugar in on your Secret Santa. Ever.
Posted in Misc |
Tagged Apprentice Blog |
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Posted on December 1, 2010 by John Cronin
A business park in County Durham is supporting the Help For Heroes charity by hosting a fundraising event in one the huge on-site offices.
The Lingfield Point business park in Darlington is set to host a fund-raising tea break in one of the large office floors with the help of armed services organisation NAAFI. The event will take place at 10am on 6th December, 2010 and the famous NAAFI strong tea will be served.
The announcement from the publicity team of Lingfield Point suggests that one of the office buildings within the business park has the largest, single office floor plate (pictured) in the UK measuring 100,000 sq ft.
A former wool factory sitting within a 107 acre site, Lingfield Point is the resultant conversion of old factory buildings into a range of serviced office units. Whilst very large floor plates have been made available, hot desking and small incubator offices at around 300 sq ft are also available.
Office space is available in several of the converted buildings within the mixed-use scheme. The Meadow building offers Grade A specification offices along with very large floor plates. The larger offices have been aimed at tenants seeking regional or headquarters accommodation. Current tenants include The Student Loans Company, Capita and Darlington Borough Council.
The recently launched Alaska building now allows the centre to offer hot-desking and serviced office facilities. There are also on-site meeting rooms and free wifi access.
Developers behind the redevelopment are Marchday. Flexible lease agreements are available upon request.
Posted in County Durham |
Tagged Business Parks, Renovations, Serviced Offices |
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Posted on December 1, 2010 by Rob Powell
Eleven councils in the south of England are using their combined purchasing power to bring down the cost of office supplies.
Brighton & Hove City Council are leading the Sussex Stationery Consortium which is putting a three year stationery and office supplies contract out to tender.
The Consortium has already been in operation for about ten years but the group of councils, which spend about £1.2million per annum on office supplies, are now seeking to find a single supplier to extract even better value for money.
Brighton and Hove Council leader Mary Mears said: “Our council is proud to be leading on this contract. Buying as a consortium is much more efficient and saves taxpayers money.”
The other councils in the consortium are Adur, Arun, Brighton & Hove, Chichester, East Sussex, Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother, Wealden and Worthing.
Posted in East Sussex, West Sussex |
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Posted on November 30, 2010 by Rob Powell
A huge development in Wirral has been given the thumbs up by Secretary of State of Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles.
The £4.5 billion scheme will see the construction of a vast mixed use development, including 5,000,000 square feet of modern office space, in Birkenhead docklands with the expected creation of thousands of jobs.
The development had already been approved by Wirral Council but it had to be referred to the Secretary of State for final approval. He has opted not to call in the application for further review which means Wirral Waters can go ahead.
Wirral Council Leader Cllr Jeff Green said: “It’s not everyday that a Leader of a Council is given the go-ahead to see 26,000 jobs created. I am delighted the Government has demonstrated its trust in allowing local people to make the decision and will not ‘call in’ the Wirral Waters plan for national review.
“This is a £4.5bn project which will create many thousands of jobs over 10-15 years. It is a landmark day for Wirral and is tremendous news.”
The developer for the project is the Peel Group who are also behind the £5.4 billion Liverpool Waters scheme.
Posted in Merseyside |
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Posted on November 30, 2010 by John Cronin
A business park in Lincolnshire is set to expand after being granted planning permission for additional office buildings.
The Lincolnshire Enterprise Park (pictured) on the outskirts of Lincoln is set to expand with the addition of three more industrial units and a further four office units. Phase four of the five-acre development will provide a further 4,388 sq ft of serviced office space along with 6,647 sq ft of industrial space.
Having already let or sold all the buildings constructed in the previous three development phases the developers are confident there will be strong demand for the latest buildings. Nick Falkinder, a Director of Lincoln Enterprise Park says: “The business park is in a perfect location for new and established businesses and we’ve been tremendously encouraged by its success so far.”
Built on the site of a long-standing, former equestrian centre, construction of the business park began in 2005. Phase four will complete the redevelopment of the site that is situated in a rural location close to the A46 and A1.
Construction is due to start in the New Year. The office units will be made available on a freehold basis, either as complete units or on a floor-by-floor basis. Quoted asking prices (ex VAT) for the office buildings are:
Unit 18: £177,500 (1,178 sq ft)
Unit 19: £177,500 (1,178 sq ft)
Unit 23: Under Offer (1,016 sq ft)
Unit 24: £152,500 (1,016 sq ft)
Marketing agents are JH Walter.
Posted in Lincolnshire |
Tagged Business Parks, Serviced Offices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on November 29, 2010 by John Cronin
Commercial property agents Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) have been instructed to market one of the largest office properties in the Commercial Estates Group (CEG) portfolio.
CEG recently purchased several commercial properties from the administrators of the collapsed Kenmore property group. Kenmore Group having entered into administration on the 12th November. LSH and Hanover Green are now jointly marketing the building.
The former headquarters building known as Prospect Park in Hurley, near Maidenhead (pictured) has been re-branded as Horizon.
The new building offers 82,500 sq ft of office floor space over three floors and is located within 11 acres of landscaped grounds.
The premises are being marketed to prospective tenants that might need large floor plates – the building offers floor plates of approximately 28,000 sq ft. The building offers a fit-out specification to Grade A rating. The agents believe that the other main selling point of the building is the rural location.
Kevin Hawthorn, Partner at Hanover Green, says: “Behind the re-brand strategy is the location of the building; its self-contained base within a natural environment, and its 360 degree countryside views, set it apart from other office schemes and business parks in the region.”
The agents suggest potential tenants will include the pharmaceutical and technology, media, telecoms sectors. Flexible office spaces are available from 10,000 sq ft upwards. Whole floors lets are available is a whole-building option. Rental prices are quoted at £20 / sq ft. Flexible lease terms are available upon request.
Posted in Berkshire |
Tagged Rental Prices, Speculative Developments |
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Posted on November 27, 2010 by Rob Powell
The Shard London Bridge tower this week became Britain’s tallest building.
Construction on the development is still underway but the core has now moved higher than the previous tallest building – One Canada Square at Canary Wharf. The landmark Canary Wharf tower had held the record for 18 years.
Once completed in 2012, the Shard, next to London Bridge station in Southwark, will stand at 310m in height and offer 600,000 square feet of prime office space spread over 24 floors.
Other floors in the tower, designed by Renzo Piano, will be used for a luxury hotel, residential apartments, restaurants, a spa and viewing gallery.
Posted in London |
Tagged Skyscrapers |
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