London’s office market is “highly overvalued” and set for a correction, ratings agency Fitch says October 20, 2017 A leading ratings agency has said London’s overvalued office market is set for a correction next year due to Brexit uncertainty. Fitch Ratings said the core London office market had cooled since the Brexit vote last year, but it remains “highly overvalued”. “Tight office supply has supported prices to some extent, while sterling’s weakness has [...]
Co-working space startup Huckletree raises £4.5m in second fundraising round October 11, 2017 Co-working space startup Huckletree has announced a funding round of £4.5m with investment manager Meyer Bergman. Huckletree joins the London-based real estate investment group's portfolio alongside retail space marketplace Appear Here and app company POQ Commerce. The latest round of investment follows a £2.4m Series A fundraising in 2015, and will support the London based [...]
Businesses wasting $1.5 trillion on office space rent costs, says Philips Lighting during World Green Building Week September 25, 2017 Businesses around the world could save a total of $1.5 trillion (£1.11 trillion) in reduced office costs by using space more efficiently, according to analysis by Philips Lighting. Philips is calling for the renovation rate of offices in developed countries to double to three per cent a year. Refurbishing buildings to optimum standards would reduce [...]
The Shard skyscraper has won a new letting as Mitie moves offices September 12, 2017 The Shard, one of London's most iconic skyscrapers, today confirmed office lettings totaling 39,967 square feet. Outsourcing services firm Mitie Group will become the 31st business to move into the 310-metre-high Shard in the first quarter of 2018. The company has agreed a 15-year lease to take the entirety of level 12, which is 29,824 [...]
Airbnb isn’t monopolising the homestay market, it’s popularised it for a new generation of business travellers July 27, 2017 A recent report by PWC found that hotel companies and peer-to-peer home swapping platforms account for the second largest share, in terms of volume of activity, of the UK’s sharing economy. With the meteoric growth of Airbnb in particular, most people assume that traditional rental and aparthotel operators, like myself, are concerned about the impact [...]
WeWork snaps up 280,000 square feet of space in South Bank for setting up the largest co-working space in the world June 7, 2017 US shared office group WeWork has agreed to lease 280,000 square feet near Waterloo station to set up the world's largest co-working space. Owned by property giant Almacantar, the space at Two Southbank Place was let as part of London's largest leasing agreement this year so far. WeWork has 12 locations in the capital and [...]
Google’s new £1bn King’s Cross HQ: 11-storey building will boast a swimming pool, gym, games area and a rooftop cafe June 1, 2017 Google has submitted planning permission for its £1bn King’s Cross HQ that will boast jazzy features including swimming pools and sleep pods. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and Bjarke Ingels Group, construction on the 11-storey building will commence in 2018. Spread across more than 1m square feet of space, the campus will house 7,000 employees. This [...]
NHS IT systems attacked: Hospitals across the UK have been hacked – reports May 12, 2017 A number of hospitals from 16 different NHS trusts across the UK have been hacked, according to reports. NHS Digital confirmed the attack, and said a number of NHS organisation have reported to NHS Digital that they have been affected by a ransomware attack. Some hospitals are having to turn patients away as they struggle [...]
Sedentary office lifestyles are as bad for you as smoking, so why do we all do it? April 19, 2017 “Sitting is the smoking of our generation,” you may have heard. It’s a maxim touted by health experts and the press alike, borne from our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. But why is it that, especially in London offices, many of us remain so inactive for hours at a time? A new report commissioned by Lendlease and [...]
London has attracted a tech fund led by Saudi Aramco, BP and other oil majors looking to collaborate and innovate March 15, 2017 A $1bn (£818.8m) energy fund backed by Saudi Aramco, BP and eight other global oil majors will make London its home in a new vote of confidence for the City post-Brexit. Oil and Gas Climate Initiative's (OGCI) Climate Investments fund aims to invest in and accelerate the commercial development of new emissions-reducing technology. It first announced its plan to push £1bn over [...]