Savills helps Great Portland Estates to report full pre-letting in W1

Savills has agreed to pre-let the remaining office space at 33 Margaret Street, W1.

The agreement means Great Portland Estates has now successfully pre-let all space within the building which is currently being refurbished.

Property broker Savills has helped Great Portland Estates to report full pre-letting at one of its office space properties in London’s West End.

Following an agreement to lease the majority of 33 Margaret Street in December 2011, Savills has now committed to the rest of the space in W1. The agreement means the property is now 100% pre-let, despite the fact it is not due to be completed until October. (more…)

Olympics to affect internet speed for UK businesses

Some firms are introducing flexible working to allow staff to work from home.

A greater use of smartphone technologies and social media platforms will put an added strain on internet connections.

Experts are concerned that UK businesses will suffer with slow internet speeds during the Olympics as tourists and spectators use the web access on their smartphones and clog up networks.

Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) member James Blessing said: “There is the potential for a massive hit on the infrastructure” adding that “the average connection speed for small and medium business is unlikely to allow every employee to stream the Olympics to their desk.” (more…)

BAM to upgrade old government offices in London

BAM will upgrade former government offices in London.

A sustainable construction company has emerged with the contract for the London offices which used to belong to a department of the British Government.

BAM have won a contract which will see them refurbish the former offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for £23 million.

The official office address is 1 Page Street in Westminster and BAM will be working under the contractor who tendered the bid out, Derwent London.

(more…)

THECUBE looking to encourage innovative ideas

Filed under: News — Tags: — Javaria @ 10:56 am

A unique experiment is being trialled in London.

Shared offices in the east end of London could herald an interesting approach to problem solving by bringing together everyone from different businesses, whether friendly or not.

A structure known as THECUBE has been designed to gain the maximum potential out of clients who are using the commercial office space in Shoreditch.

The collaboration, which is being backed by Virgin Media is aimed at allowing companies to work better together and therefore keep them at the forefront of their industries.

(more…)

Crown Estate reveals £400 million redevelopment plans for Central London

The Crown Estate has revealed plans to transform three sites in St James’s.

The £400 million project will create around 300,000 sq ft of mixed use accommodation, including 200,000 sq ft of office space in the West End.

The Crown Estate has announced proposals to spend around £400 million redeveloping three separate sites in the St James’s area.

The scheme, known as St James’s Market, will create around 300,000 sq ft of mixed use accommodation, including 200,000 sq ft of office space on Regent Street and Haymarket. The proposals also include plans to create a 10,000 sq ft pedestrian square with public art and to revitalise a 24,000 sq ft public area. (more…)

PNB acquires two London office properties for £500 million

Malaysian fund management company PNB has acquired two London office properties from KanAm.

Permodalan Nasional Berhad now owns One Exchange Square and 90 High Holborn.

German fund manager KanAm have confirmed they have sold two landmark London offices to Permodalan Nasional Berhad in a deal thought to be worth around £500 million.

The Malaysian fund management company have purchased One Exchange Square in the City’s financial district and 90 High Holborn for an undisclosed sum. The buildings are currently home to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and law firm Olswang Solicitors respectively. (more…)

West End office space second most expensive in the world

Knight Frank name London’s West End as second most expensive office space location in the world.

Hong Kong rents grew 28% in 2011 to knock the West End into second place.

London’s West End is now the second most expensive place to rent office space in the world – that’s the message from Knight Frank’s 2012 review of global real estate markets.

The firm found the capital’s upmarket area was knocked into second place after Hong Kong office space rents grew 28% in 2011 – a stark contrast to the West End’s growth which slowed last year following a 31% rise in 2010. Statistics show that while rents in the West End rose by 9% in the first half of the year, they remained stagnant during the last six months of 2011 as uncertainty over the UK economy grew. (more…)

80 Leadenhall Street sold in £14.6 million deal

A private UK property company has purchased 80 Leadenhall Street for £14.6 million.

Henderson Global Investors offloaded the asset on behalf of its £690 million Central London Office Scheme.

Henderson Global Investors has announced it has sold one of its major London office schemes to an unnamed UK property company on behalf of its £690 million Central London Office Fund.

80 Leadenhall Street, which offers 23,000 sq ft of office and retail space, was sold for £14.6 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.4%. Home to a range of tenants including Hartford Financial and National House Building Council, the EC3 property was recently refurbished by the fund to provide quality, Grade-A standard office space across six floors. (more…)

Workstation size slashed for City office workers

A new report shows the amount of office space allotted for each City worker has been slashed to just 10 sq m.

The DTZ study found space efficiency drives have led to a 7.3% drop in occupancy costs in the City.

Office space workers in the City are sure to be feeling the squeeze from the economic downturn – a new DTZ study has found that businesses in the Square Mile have slashed the amount of office space allotted to each employee.

A new space efficiency drive has seen the average workstation size drop from 11 sq m in 2010 to just 10 sq m today. This figure falls in direct contrast to workstation size in New York which currently stands at double the average City figure at 20.9 sq m per worker. (more…)

Skanska to construct £115 million 6 Bevis Marks scheme

Skanska have been appointed to construct a £115 million development in the heart of the Square Mile.

6 Bevis Marks will provide 170,000 sq ft of office space and will be capped by a triple height glazed roof atrium and a roof garden.

AXA Real Estate and MPGA have appointed Swedish firm Skanska to start construction on their 6 Bevis Marks scheme in the Square Mile.

Designed by architects Fletcher Priest, the £115 million development will bring 170,000 sq ft of office space to the City of London when completed in 2013. Skanska were appointed for construction after being involved in the demolition phase of the project which has been financed by European real estate bank Eurohypo. (more…)

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