Ball Hockey International’s £200,000 ice rink construction is set to bring new office space to London.
The hockey company has recently started the construction by building a rink with a unique plastic grid floor. The floor is said to simulate ice conditions.
Dan Gilbert, general manager, has said that the office space is to be added within the up-and-coming weeks, and that the site is thought to be complete by the summer.
The Gherkin, in central London, is to become a ‘Dragons den’ for entrepreneurs competing to win free office space.
The finalists of the competition will give a presentation on April 30th, at the famous London building, where they will discuss their business ideas.
At present Rona Robinson, from Barnet, is a favourite to win the competition as she has got further than 133 other competitors.
A mobile game developer has set up a new headquarters in London, to promote the growth of the company.
Bravo Game Studios, originally based in Spain was established at the beginning of the year, but their rapid growth has meant that they have needed to set up new London offices in order to compete in the market.
Rowan Corben, ex-THQ Wireless European marketing manager, will be setting up the new office and then managing the day-to-day running of the new headquarters.
Tower 42, which was the first skyscraper to be built in the City of London, is now being put up for sale by the owners BlackRock and Hermes Real Estate.
After owing the property for 12 years the owners have now announced plans to sell the 600ft building, which was the former Natwest tower.
They also have plans to sell five other office buildings, in the same area, on a 2.2-acre plot.
The eagerly awaited Heron Tower, in London, has been “topped out”, which is a ceremony to celebrate the near completion of the building.
Plans for the tower began in 1999 and now, 11 years later, development company Heron International is ecstatic about the approaching completion date.
“I’m delighted. It’s taken a long time, but we finally got there.” said Gerald Ronson, chief executive of Heron International.
In 2012 ‘The Shard’ will open on London’s South Bank and become Europe’s tallest building.
The colossal new skyscraper will be 1,004 ft tall and have an immense 1.361 million sq-ft of floor space. There will be enough room for 600,000 offices, 65,000 flats, a 200,000 sq-ft hotel and it will have a total of 44 lifts.
Construction has now began, despite the public objections that the Shard will ruin London’s skyline and that St Paul’s Cathedral will become overshadowed.
Bradford and Newport are competing for London office jobs as the government relocates offices to other areas.
As reported on Wednesday, the government is in the process of announcing a dramatic office upheaval with 15,000 London office jobs to be relocated to other areas.
The initial article discussed Bradford’s bid to secure the London jobs but now Newport, in South Wales, has announced an interest in the relocation.
British Land has recently announced that they have secured lettings on 465,000 square feet of office space since February.
British Land had previously established a significant London based deal with the Macquarie Group, Gill Jennings & Every LLP and Dickson Minto for 256,000 sq-ft of office space.
Now with similar lease agreements, British Land has reached a staggering 92% occupancy rate.
Due to a lack of availability office prices in London are expected to rise by approximately 43%.
The forecast by Knight Frank estate agents predicts that the average cost of renting an office within London will rise from £44 per sq ft to £52.50 per sq ft by the end of 2010.
Although the average price for offices varies across the city, increases are expected within specific London areas.
In the City of London office rent is expected to rise by 19% this year, whereas in the West End this is only an 11.5% increase. However, this means that the cost will be £72.50 per sq ft rather than the current £65 per sq ft.
The government is in the process of announcing a dramatic office upheaval with 15,000 London office jobs to be relocated to other areas.
Bradford is currently being considered as a potential area for relocation of the London government workforce.
Regeneration officers in Bradford have said that offering office space for relocation could be mutually beneficial to Bradford and the government.
Not only is office space in Bradford “great value for money” but it is hoped that the relocation will boost the local economy.