Recently in Liverpool Category

The North West is "leading the UK out of recession," and "intervention at a regional level has protected the region from the ravages of recession." That was the bullish claim of one speaker at this morning's Smith Institute seminar at the House of Lords this morning I went to this morning.

The institute used the seminar, which featured among others North West minister Phil Woolas, to unveil its latest publication,The Future of the North West.pdf

The report states that the North WEst now has a £120bn economy and urges that the region be granted greater economic powers in order that its economic priorities be met.

The Chatham House rule prevents me from dishing the dirt on who exactly said what, but the flavour was a generally positive - vehemently at times - overview of how the North West is faring this downturn.

I remember one of my first trips to Liverpool after it had been announced it had won the European capital of culture. There, in a subway by the train station, was a man bent over throwing up on the capital of culture banner. Many have since poured equal scorn on the title.

The shortlist for the inagural City of Culture in 2013 was announced yesterday, with Sheffield, Norwich, Birmingham and Londonderry making the grade.
Yet column inches have been filled debating if the honour is worth it and if the Capital of Culture really spurred on regeneration in Liverpool or if the fixed timeline just added another headache. So what do the locals make of it?

In Yorkshire although there was mourning for Hull and Barnsley which didn't make the list, the Yorkshire Post rolls out Sheffield-born actor Sean Bean, and says the city will become a  magnet for the arts...."hosting events such as the Turner Prize and the Brit Awards."

Quite what the highbrow arts community might make of the Brit Award winner Lily Allen flying the flag for cultrure is another thing.

Readers who are partial to watching 22 grown men kick a ball around a rectangular pitch will be intently watching the financial crisis which is enveloping football, from both a supporters' and a property perspective.

Especially with the news this week that sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has shown football the yellow card by calling for the sport to be better regulated, particularly when it comes to clubs' spending habits.

Indeed, across the country, the financial problems faced by football clubs are highlighting property's role in the sport.

Here's what the press have to say about it.

Crystal Palace: Last Friday, EG's Mike Phillips revealed how the sale of beleagured Crystal Palace FC's stadium is likely to prove crucial in the hunt for a buyer for the club. EGi subsribers can read the story here.

The Croydon Advertiser reports that the complicated ownership of Palace's ground has been a major stumbling block in the club's search for a buyer, but that talks are progressing.

Portsmouth: As it faces the possibility of liquidation, Portsmouth FC has dominated sporting headlines of late. Portsmouth Today reports that the hunt for a buyer is on, but of particular interest to property people is the fact that property giant Grosvenor was one of the parties persuing the winding-up order against the club, as reported in The Telegraph. The petition was subsequently withdrawn.

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.

Barely 24 hours since Jim Gill announced he was to hang up his gloves as chief executive of Liverpool Vision (EGi subscribers can read more here) and already there's plenty of market chatter about who is likely to be in the frame, or at least, who should be in the frame.

Vision's chairman, Mike Parker, is already on the hunt for Gill's replacement, but one unofficial name to crop up at this early stage is Vision's investment director, Mike Taylor, who used to head up Business Liverpool before it was incorporated into Vision in 2008. 

In general, Liverpool agents are full of praise for Gill, the man who oversaw Vision during a period of significant growth for Liverpool as a city and a property market.

ESTATES GAZETTE LIVERPOOL FOCUS
 FEBRUARY 20, 2010 ISSUE

Offices
Analysis of the local market and a look at prospects for the year ahead
Daniel Cunningham, senior features writer, 020 7911 1822, daniel.cunningham@estatesgazette.com

Regeneration                       
A look at major projects in Liverpool, and what is happening at those that have stalled?
David Quinn, freelance writer, 07841 115601, david@wordsdept.co.uk

Development
An overview of schemes getting underway in the city.
Daniel Cunningham, senior features writer, 020 7911 1822, daniel.cunningham@estatesgazette.com

Deadline for receipt of editorial information is 25th January

Regeneration big wigs from around the region are off to Wembley today to put forward their case for hosting the 2018 World Cup.

Whether they'll be bombing down the motorways in a team bus, their city colours proudly flying out of the back window is debatable but only one can hit the back of the net and score not just the honour of bringing footie home but the economic boost of 100,000s of visitors.

It was all smiles and rip-roaring speeches today but debates behind the scenes about stadium development have been a little more complex. Clearly many had hoped to have venues already coming out of the ground as part of larger grand regeneration plans which have since hit the buffers.

Amongst the hubris today, little was said about the money to fund them or the developer appetite to deliver them. Below we assess each city in turn and take a look what the local press is saying:

Birmingham: Plans for a City of Birmingham stadium had seemed to wither on the vine. The Birmingham Post reports that these may now be being reignited. It follows a long on, then off again, proposal to build a Super Casino as part of a new stadium. This was eventually abandoned by the council which opted for the NEC as a Super Casino site. before the government kicked all Super Casino plans into the long grass.
 
London: the Olympic Legacy Company was still debating last week whether to retain the Olympic Stadium's 80,000-seat capacity. Paul Norman's Olympics blog says a decision would need to be made shortly.

Tesco Bank has signed for a whopping 103,000 sq ft at Quorum Business Park near Newcastle, but in our North East Focus I ask what rent and incentives are landlords agreeing to in order to get deals like this done?

The North East's office market is in danger of turning into a bargain basement for occupiers, and ask what all this means for developers with prime stock on their hands in core Newcastle city centre locations.

Liz Morrell looks at the North East's retail market, and specifically Capital Shopping Centres' extension to its Eldon Square in Newcastle. CSC is on target to open the 410,000 sq ft extension fully let next February, but what is the cost to the rest of the city's retail scene.

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

Last week I took myself off to the North West for a few days to catch up with agents and developers as part of my new role as EG's north west news hound.

What emerged was a startling and somewhat worrying statistic about the Salford Quays office market (there's a cool flythrough the scheme here).

Apparantly, unofficial take-up in the first three quarters of this year was a miniscule 25,000 sq ft. Last year, as a whole, the total was nearly ten times that at 254,000 sq ft, according to King Sturge although that does includes a few deals in Old Trafford and Eccles as well.

Picture: MediacityUK taken in June by EGFocus