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Office Shortage Drives Surge In Rents and Refurbishment

Cities across the UK are experiencing a shortage in supply of office space which threatens to drive up costs for businesses as rents inevitably increase. The shortage in office space has led to a surge in demand for office refurbishment in efforts to increase supply in some of the UK cities including London Cardiff and Bristol.

The statistics were revealed in Savills’ Regional Office Market Review & Outlook report which also says that there is less than one year’s supply of grade ‘A’ space available. The national shortage is driving up demand at a time when space in crowded city centres has become limited as many older buildings have been converted into residential housing.

In London, there is now a particular problem as commercial and residential developers fight it out for space in the city. This has pushed up office rents in locations such as Canary Wharf.

Bristol and Cardiff were two cities highlighted as having the biggest potential for rent rises this year. Bristol office rents are set to increase by 12% while nearby Cardiff is expecting to see rents rise 9%.

Across the UK availability of office space is down 18 percent on 2007 levels.

New Google Offices In London Shrouded In Secrecy

March 3, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

There are reports that Google is planning to have developers build several new offices in London, notably in Kings Cross where an 11-storey office building has received planning permission.

The new building only received the go-ahead last month from Camden Council and in typical Google style it is unlikely to be the run of the mill kind of office development. Plans include a large roof terrace overlooking the city and there are certain to be many other features you would expect from Google’s office designers.

According to Joe Borrett, Google’s director of real estate and construction, the new office building will cement Google’s expansion in Kings Cross as well as make the area its new home in London. The tech giant has already revealed plans to spend 1 billion on its UK HQ according to reports, but it is not clear if this new building will be part of it even though the firm has been buying up additional plots in the Kings Cross area.

The planned regeneration of areas of Kings Cross have not gone down well with everyone. Architect Peter Cook has allegedly branded some designs as boring while Google’s Larry Page himself has allegedly considered scrapping one scheme because he too labelled it as boring.
Google’s current London offices feature anything from allotments to grow veg to dodgem cars and beach huts.

US and Chinese Investing Record Sums City Offices In Record Numbers

February 20, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

United States and Chinese investors are swooping in on London office stock to take advantage of fast rising rents in areas such as Canary Wharf.

Investment from US and Chinese investors made up 53% of investment in offices in central London in 2015. £8.2bn was invested in office space in Central London in 2015 with investment from the US and China making up 4.5bn of that figure according to a survey by global real estate advisors, CBRE.

London remains the hub of business activity in the UK and with the economy posting positive growth, the appetite for office space in the city remains undimmed. One again the economic recovery is being driven by service sector industries with the tech sector in particular growing rapidly and accounting for much of the increase in demand for office space.

Stephen Pearson, Executive Director Central London Capital Markets, said: “The City of London remains a hugely attractive prospect for international buyers, with last year’s total office investment easily surpassing the record set in 2007.”

The increase in investment in the office real estate sector is likely to stimulate demand for office refurbishments as investors look to update offices and attract new business tenants.

Canary Wharf Offices Best For Rental Growth In 2016

February 9, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

If you happen to own offices in Canary Wharf, London, this year will be one of the best years yet for rental growth.

Canary Wharf in Central London is London has become a magnet for service sector businesses in recent years. So much so that it will have the best rental growth in the city this year at 12.8% which puts it ahead of nearest rivals Shoreditch 10% and Midtown 9.6%.

Despite the increase in demand for offices in Canary Wharf, it still remains an affordable alternative to Central London. Excellent connections to the city centre via Crossrail have raised its appeal even further.

The increasing number of tech and creative firms setting up in the capital will be the key drivers of growth in 2016 according to the Knight Frank report. In fact the technology sector has been the largest source of demand for office space in the capital for the past 5 years.

While rising rents and increased demand will be good news for owners who let office space, those seeking more affordable offices may be forced to move further out. Vacancy rates are currently at their lowest level for nearly 14 years. In the West End of London, the vacancy rate is at its lowest level since 1989.

The 3 Big Office Design Trends For 2016

January 25, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

If you want to project your company as ahead of the curve of office design, now is the time to start thinking about changing things around so that spaces are more collaborative as well as being compatible with wireless technology.

The End Of Permanence
Having a rigid office layout that never changes is rapidly becoming old fashioned in today’s forward thinking technology conscious offices. A trend this year will be towards offices with modular components which can be moved around or combined when the need for collaboration arises.

Embracing nature
Rapid advances in technology have pushed us further and further away from nature. The trend this year will be to bring nature back in with natural materials incorporated into office design. Letting in as much natural light as possible will always be fashionable in offices that are lucky enough to have it. Also expect lots more plant life coming to an office space near you. Plants help to keep the air clean and add some character to what can be dull soulless spaces.

The rise and rise of multipurpose workspaces
The thought of having your staff leaving their desks to collaborate over large oval tables would have been the stuff of nightmares for bosses until fairly recently. Now collaboration is actively encouraged and non-assigned seating is replacing the traditional rows of desks as people are becoming unshackled from sockets thanks to the continuing development of wireless office technology.

An Office With No Walls Or Doors?

January 14, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

How would you like to be sitting in an office where you can see everything the boss is doing? This is the case with US banking giant Citigroup which is not just opening the doors to a new HQ but removing them altogether!

The bank is about to take the open office a stage further with its no-door design according to the Wall Street Journal. While open offices are more in line with what you might expect from the likes of Google and other trendy creative firms, this marks a significant departure for the more sober world of banking (though some might argue that creativity is alive and well in banking for better or for worse).

CEO of Citigroup, Michael Corbat, will swap his current 600-square-foot office for a 360-square-foot office which doesn’t have walls or a door. How is this possible? Well the walls are replaced with 7ft glass panels.

Desks in the office won’t be assigned either which might freak out anyone who likes to make desk space their own.

With the current trend now moving towards a mix of spaces which people can make their own and also areas to collaborate, this extreme open-plan idea is pushing things in the wrong direction but maybe bankers will be happier keeping an eye on each other through the working day.

Why Going To Work Will Never Be Boring In These Offices

December 23, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

An interesting article published in the Guardian newspaper the other day about the world’s coolest offices revealed some of the weird and wonderful ways business owners fit out their offices.

Whether you agree with the Guardian’s coolest offices or not, there are several companies out there whose aim is to turn the idea of the traditional office on its head and create the kind of environments that wouldn’t look out of place in a kids’ play barn.

Jimmy’s Iced Coffee in London for example features trampolines, and even skate ramps and a place to go and drink a cold beer at the end of a hard day. This would more than satisfy the teenager that may be lurking inside each of your staff members but what about Ticket Master with their suspended toy airplanes – and a slide? One thing is for sure, if you ever bring the children to work and work happens to be Ticketmaster’s London offices, then they will feel right at home.

Perhaps not surprisingly Innocent, the natural ingredient smoothie firm has gone back to nature for inspiration with fake grass flooring, wooden picnic benches and fruit baskets for its health conscious employees.

Like them or loathe them, all of these offices are here in the UK and a trend that began in America could become the office of the future in a town near you!

Central London Office Conversions More Likely To Be For Housing

December 2, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

Commercial landlords are growing increasingly alarmed at the number of offices being converted to residential housing. Many have attacked the government’s policy on housing in Central London, which appears to be at odds with the need for more rather than less office space in the capital.

Apparently large areas of central London are being turned over to the housing sector as property prices continue to soar and residential property becomes more lucrative for developers.

Westminster for example has lost a total of 4.4 million sq ft of commercial office space in recent years. Commercial landlords fear that the lack of office space could put a lid on economic growth in the capital with businesses forced to look outside central areas for available space.

If the mass conversion of offices into residential property continues, it is almost certain to put the government on a collision course with business groups while in the longer term it will do little to solve the housing shortage in the capital.

The UK population and that of London continues to rise and this will only put further pressure on the availability of land for development. There are calls for central London to be treated differently to the rest of the country when it comes to planning to ensure that the correct balance is struck between commercial and residential buildings.

Is Having A Stuffy Office Bad For Your Brain?

November 4, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

Research into the effects of bad air quality in offices says so. Poor air quality is said to be responsible not only for poor cognitive performance but also health.

Researchers have reported in Environmental Health Perspectives that working in stuffy offices can halve cognitive scores. The news that half of office staff could be performing at half their normal mental capacity is unlikely to be well received by business owners.

Research found that simply opening a window or two to let in some fresh air can bring positive benefits, however this may not be possible in the depths of winter when staff may complain about the cold instead.

Yet if productivity levels are to reach their maximum it is clear that offices should be designed to expose people to at least some fresh air during the day. A fresh breeze might be all staff need to increase their production levels and brain functioning.

The study was limited to just 24 professionals, but it did include architects, designers and engineers. The study was conducted over 2 weeks in what was laid out as a typical office space. The study examined Co2 a VOC levels and how the gas impacts on performance.

Scores in tests were over 60% higher when conditions were set for these gases to be reduced indoors.

Is Office Furniture As We Know It About To Change Forever?

October 22, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

The introduction of computers into the office as well as tablets, and mobile phones in some cases has helped to change the way everyone works, making work more efficient and easier. What hasn’t changed too much is the traditional office layout but this could soon be transformed as we all get used to not being chained to the desk by the wires that once powered various devices.

Change hasn’t happened yet of course. The average office worker will still be turning up for work at 9am grabbing a coffee and then sitting static at a desk for the best part of eight hours. Yet when you look at how technology has advanced, then it is a mystery why we still stick to the old habits.

The standard office furniture consists of desks, chairs, maybe a sofa or two and a large meeting table. This could however soon be replaced with ‘smart furniture’ which allows you to plug in and charge up mobiles, and tablets or areas that allow us to move around and be more mobile. Furniture for collaborative workspaces is likely to be far more radically designed in the not too distant future.

What will remain however is the office as a place to meet face to face. While technically the need for an office no longer really exists there is still no technological substitute for real human interaction in the workplace.