Posted on September 8, 2010 by John Cronin
After declining demand for office space during the whole of 2009 and much of 2008, Glasgow is seeing a sharp turnaround with rising occupancy levels for the first 6 months of 2010.
Demand for Grade A office space in central Glasgow is buoyant and accounts for over 50% of transactions in the first half of 2010. Reports suggest that prime rents have also increased by over 10%. Prime rents of £26.00 psf (per square foot) in January 2010 have been surpassed, with recent deals at the prestigious G1 building in George Square being secured at circa £29.00 psf. Some 82,000 of the available 130,000 sq ft within the 9 floor complex is already let.
In another significant transaction, NFU Mutual purchased the 77,000 sq ft Clarion Building in Wellington Street, predominately for its own occupation as Chartis UK had already signed-up for 8,000 sq ft of floor space within the building.
Within central Glasgow there is currently just one speculative office complex under construction, that being the 65,000 sq ft Copenhagen Building. This new development is nearing completion and offers Grade A office accommodation over 9 floors. The glass-fronted building is located in Hope Street, opposite Central Station in the International Financial Services District (IFSD).
Lettings agents expect the strengthening demand for Grade A space to have a knock-on effect upon good quality Grade B refurbishments, particularly in core city locations. Without new, premium developments coming to market, Grade A space availability will contract due to lack of supply rather than any lack in demand, creating an upturn in the B+ quality office accommodation market.
Posted in Glasgow |
Tagged Rental Prices |
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Posted on September 7, 2010 by John Cronin
Peel Holdings has announced its bid for Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) status for its Atlantic Gateway scheme.
Peel Group is a major land and property owner with significant assets in the UK and especially the north west including Liverpool Airport, Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal, The Trafford Centre and MediaCityUK in Salford, soon to be offices and studios for several BBC productions relocating from central London.
LEPs are to replace regional development agencies which currently fund local regeneration and Peel wants LEP status for its mixed-use £50 billion Atlantic Gateway scheme (previously called Ocean Gateway).
As part of that scheme, Peel was granted planning permission by Wirral Borough Council in August for the controversial £4.5 billion Wirral Waters development – the largest planning application in the UK for a 30 year, 18million sq foot mixed-use development project.
A similar project – Liverpool Waters – for dock land on the other side of the River Mersey includes proposals for over 50 new buildings including an iconic 60 storey hotel and office complex to be called the Shanghai Tower.
Offering approximately 1 million square feet of development space and expected to cost in excess of £300 million, Shanghai Tower will also boast a heli-pad on the roof of the building and underwater, basement car parking. It will be the tallest skyscraper outside London and river facing offices at the top of the tower would command a healthy premium for offering stunning views of what is a World Heritage Site.
Liverpool has the oldest Chinese community in Europe and is twinned with Shanghai and the tower was named after a visit to Shanghai by Peel executives. Shortlisted architects for the skyscraper are AFL, Broadway Malyan, Chapman Taylor and Benoy. Approval for this development and the broader Atlantic Gateway development is still however far from certain.
Posted in Merseyside |
Tagged Liverpool Waters, Peel Group, Wirral Waters |
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