Recently in Cardiff Category

Phew for RIFW. That's the Regeneration Investment Fund for Wales, known as RIFW by the Welsh Assembly Government and Jessica to anyone in the EU - are you all still following? It just might get a few regeneration projects off the ground.

As the rest of Europe ponders what to do with with Jessica (or the Joint European Support for the Sustainable Investment in City Areas), Wales have decided to lead the way, giving her a name change, a fresh coat of lipstick and launching RIFW. It will be jangling its wares at Mipim next week and WAG will appoint fund and investment managers to the initative this summer.

The business community seem to have welcomed it and  King Sturge's South Wales property report, released today (and covered in full in the continue reading link), makes a point of highlighting it and the refreshed political scene in Wales.

But wasn't Wales trying to move away from that grant culture? In fact King Sturge's report makes a point of saying how the business community has welcomed in the selection of Carwyn Jones as first minister, applauded for his "business friendly focus"and "pragmatic approach to supporting big business and the gradual transition away from a grants culture".
 
That will be even more important after what King Sturge calls a "tough but interesting year ahead with a price to be paid for the years of excess".

How do Drivers Jonas and Deloitte's match up? UK offices of Deloitte's are in blue. Drivers Jonas are in red.

View Deloitte and Drivers Jonas' offices in the UK in a larger map

Well it certainly stopped conversations about the state of the market dead in its tracks. When the news flash that 285-year old property firm Drivers Jonas was merging with accountancy giant Deloitte appeared first thing Friday morning, tongues immediately started wagging.

Deloitte has comparatively small property team of around 40 but Drivers Jonas will no doubt be keen to capitalise on the global reach it will have come the mergers conclusion in March. The merger will give it a presence in a number of new UK cities such as Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Newcastle. And with Deloitte acting for 99 firms out of the FTSE 100 it also gives the property firm access to a potentially huge client base in its existing markets.

So what does the market think? The Focus desk canvassed opinion in key cities across the UK and over the next few posts talks to agents and Drivers Jonas staff about the implications of the merger in their market. 

For Manchester reaction click here.

For Leeds reaction click here.

For East of England reaction recorded at our reception in Cambridge on Friday click here.

For Birmingham reaction click here.

There are signs the Cardiff investment market is frothing a bit, something that I've explored in this week's EG (there's more info on this below). But is it really a recovery, the cream of the crop as those with cash burning a hole in their pockets decide the market hit its lowest ebb or is that froth masking something more deathly sinister.

Peter Graham, director at Cardiff-based Stephenson Alexander, has been into the Cardiff investment vault and delved around in the figures to see if history can teach us anything, and he's spotted some interesting facts.

You can read the full analysis behind the bullet points below by clicking through on the "continue reading" link below but here are the highlights.  A quick health warning with these numbers. Graham stresses that the figures were put together before the recent, rapid yield compression seen in Cardiff offices market in just the last few weeks.

• Yields and the fall in value are higher today than in 1991, as valuations overheated in 2005-2007

• Property returns were higher in 1991

• Although the base rate was higher in 1991 there was more lending and people took this because proeprty returns were higher.

• Today there's more yield volatily and returns are unlikely to improve

• Invester may have got "scared" by the rapid fall away in the market but they have "short memory" syndrome

• Food store investment still offers a good return for little risk but it can't carry on forever
• Property yields will fall but investors have a resistance to yields and Graham predicts yields going to 5% in the near future. 

In this week's EG we've also looked at Cardiff's new headline offices rent 5 Callaghan Square - Stacey Meadwell asks what it really means for the market.
 
In Swansea, regen chiefs are dipping into the public purse in a hope of kicking off a revival but in Newport Melanie Smith finds there little evidence - bar a couple of car parks, and a refurbished shopping centre - of the city's renaissance launched 6 years ago.

Another grand scheme, St Athans is also hitting the buffers. David Thame analyses the reasons that the areospace park has failed to fly.

It's also Mipim Asia next week so Focus has cast its eye to the Far East. David Thame looks at what delegates can expect from the event as China's economic growth rate heads for double figures and big name Western investors look closely at its property investment market.
 
Picture from Flickr courtesy of Plindberg http://www.flickr.com/photos/plindberg/ / CC BY 2.0

I got a taste of my own medicine at the St David's 2 opening last month when BBC Wales drive time show Good Evening Wales asked me to give them a property industry view of the new shopping centre.

If you'd like to hear what happened when the interviewer turned interviewee there's a link below. My bit's at the end, and there was quite a bit going on around us so I had to shout but hopefully you'll still be able to hear me.

And so December is approaching and the Focus roadshow is coming to end for another year but, before we depart for our Christmas holidays, we like to get the crystal ball out and have a look at what is coming up in the year ahead. (It can't be worse than this year, can it?)

As we will be entering a new decade, we want to look at how the last 10 years has shaped the market in 10 cities around the UK and how that might influence the market.

Dan and Mel have divided up the country between them and are looking at five cities each. Do get in touch with them for more detail about the information and type of  comment they are after.

The 2010 Preview will be published on December 12 and please contact the writers by Monday 23 November.

London, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester & Newcastle:

Daniel Cunningham, senior writer 020 7911 1822, daniel.cunningham@rbi.co.uk

Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow:
Melanie Smith, Focus editorial assistant, 020 7911 1916, melanie.smith@rbi.co.uk

Picture by Francesca Rose on Flickr and used under creative commons

Despite Aviva Investors' rigorous marketing of the "green" credentials of its 3 Assembly Square office building in Cardiff, its BREEAM Excellent rating still wasn't enough in today's market to clinch its first tenant.

Last week, Aviva let 8,000 sq ft at its 66,000 sq ft Cardiff Waterside development to specialist solicitors M&A, but when it said it wanted a green building it meant literally that.

As part of its incentive package, the client demanded a "green roof," possibly with an eye on the green roofs of Shanghai (pictured) so it could look out of its windows at plains of green grass and vegetation, rather than slabs of grey concrete that usually adorn roof terraces.

Aviva has agreed to meet its tenant's demands, even though the building's "green" credentials didn't require it. And yet the cost to install it, according to its agents, will simply go through the roof.

The great and the good of South Wales' property community were out in their droves on Friday for the Focus reception at the Park Plaza in Cardiff.

More than 60 were in attendance and I cornered some of the agents to find out their thoughts on a few topical issues. There were some strong opinions on the recent resignation of first minister Rhodri Morgan and I also asked how they were feeling about office building 3 Assembly Square - or Midtown as its agents are calling it - coming on to a market when demand is thin on the ground. Listen to our podcast to find out what some of the guests had to say.

Our photographer was also snapping away so click the continue reading link below to see pictures of the event.

Cardiff's key business people gathered at the Millennium Stadium for the quarterly Hugh James Exchange last week and I caught up with PMG director and former Welsh Rugby Union International Mike Hall for a quick chat.

PMG completed its development of the Cardiff City Stadium in May and the first football was played in the summer. I asked Mike about current market conditions in Wales, the developer's future projects and why so many ex-Rugby players end up working in property.