Recently in London Category

Administrations have ripped giant holes through the UK's high streets.  Cushman and Wakefield's recent report A Survey of Prime Retail Locations reveals just how big those holes are.

It says the East of England appears to be the most resilient region to departing retailers (see graph below). The region has the lowest level of availability with 6.5% of units vacant. Outer London meanwhile appears blighted by them and has the highest vacancy rate with 17.4% of units availabile.

Source: Cushman & Wakefield LLP

View Experian business failures by region Jan 2010 in a larger map

Business insolvencies across the UK are falling, in fact they are at the lowest rate since June 2007. That's the good news from Experian today.

Unfortunately for Yorkshire, it is top of the list of failures with nearly double the amount of businesses going under last month compared to virtually every other part of the country. It's closely followed by the North East.


LOSERS
Yorkshire had the highest rate of failures in January
Scotland was the only region to see a year on year increase in insolvency

WINNERS
Wales had the lowest rate of business failures in January
The South West was the most robust, with the best financial strength score in January
The North East lost the ignoble top spot as the region with the highest insolvency rate decreasing 30%

Greater London saw the highest year-on-year improvement in financial health yet had the lowest overall financial strength score of any region.

Midtown offices
Analysis of the market's performance and prospects
Contact: Simon Jack, freelance writer, 01225 444 780, simon@sdjack.freeserve.co.uk

Midtown people & companies
A look at how the agency landscape is shaping up as the market takes tentative steps towards recovery.
Contact: Daniel Cunningham, senior writer, 020 7911 1822, daniel.cunningham@estatesgazette.com

Midtown retail & leisure
Analysis of the market's performance and prospects
Contact: Mark Faithfull, freelance writer, 0560 286 0859 mark.faithfull@btinternet.com


 

One swallow doesn't make a summer. But how about four?

Today Savills announced it thinks London office rents will rise to as much as £56 per sq ft in the City this year and up to £98 per sq ft in the West End next year.

That's a lofty 18% rise in the square mile and 11% in the West End.

That follows the news yesterday that Land Securities is to dust off plans at three speculative developments in London (the EGi story is here). And earlier this week, both Knight Frank and Jones Lang LaSalle issued up-beat statements about how 2009 ended.

Another day, and there's another end of year ranking. This times it's Experian's Insolvency Index. And the North East wins the ignoble top spot registering the highest level of insolvencies last year.

It's bad news for Newcastle landlords who've already had to entice occupiers in with ultra competitive deals, including whispers of a rent free of eight years for Tescos at Grantside's Quorum (EGi subscribers can read the full story here).

Nip across the border and Scotland saw the lowest level of insolvencies this year, although that figure seemed to accelerate in December.

Generally, Experian says the average finanical strengh for business in Great Britain improved steadily this year, after insolvencies peaked in the first half of 2009. Mid-sized businesses bore the brunt of the pain with the very large, and the very small avoid calamity more easily.

In London businesses struggled most financially  but, throughout the year the Greater London region showed the biggest improvement.

An easing of conditions for occupiers has fed through to the property industry. There were 144 property insolvencies in December 2009, down 18.6% on December 2008, but, unlike the all industry average the financial strength of the property sector actually dropped (albeit a fairly small amount) - from 84.79 to 83.63. The all industry strength was 81.37.

Click through on the continue reading link below to see the figures for financial strength by industry and insolvency figures by sector.

Financial regulation
How might new financial regulation affect London's big businesses?
Mike Phillips, finance editor, 020 7911 1807, michael.phillips@estatesgazette.com

Development
Analysis of future office supply
Stacey Meadwell, Focus editor, 020 7911 1819, stacey.meadwell@estatesgazette.com

Occupiers
Where is future demand going to come from?
Adrian Morrison, freelance writer, 0131 556 9378 adrian.morrison@addmor.com

Agency
A look at how the landscape of London's agencies is changing
David Thame, freelance writer, 01544 262 896 dthame@clara.co.uk

Investment
Who is investing in London?
David Thame, freelance writer, 01544 262 896 dthame@clara.co.uk

The snow has got Focus in a festive mood again this week and in the mag we're already pretending its Christmas 2010. 

In the London market pages I've asked the capital's experts to cast their minds forward and tell us how they think they'll be summing up the market come December.

Up for discussion is the possibility of a hung parliament, and expiring planning permissions at Sellar Property's New London Bridge House more commonly known as Baby Shard, as well as phase 2 of Hammersmith Embankment.

Talk of rental growth is always on agents lips and indeed there's plenty of that in the predicitions. But, with the news today that both Australian bank Macquarie and law firm Stephenson Harwood have been shunted from newly occupied City schemes (EGi subscribers can read the story here) it seems some of their forecasts are already coming true.

In the south-west boroughs Battersea Power Station's future hangs on the Northen Line extension. Melanie Smith looks if the sums will add up. And Daniel Cunnigham asks what's next at Elizabeth House in Waterloo after planners rejected initial proposals. The naming of a new developer is long overdue and most are desperate to see its future crystallised.

Picture courtesy of anniemullinsuk on Flickr 

The Focus desk is always hearing stories of agents going the extra mile in these tough times, but agents at King Sturge's Bristol office feel like they might be being taken for a ride.

King Sturge celebrates its 250th birthday this year and to mark the occasion it is holding an Olympic torch style bike ride between all of its UK offices.

However, while divvying up the country into ride-able chunks it seems some agents are going to be considerably more saddle sore than others.

Mark Bourne, head of the City office, seems to have lucked in having been tasked with riding the leg between the City and the West End, a distance of just under 3 miles.

A rather less smug Jeremy Richards seemed shocked to find out his office would be asked to ride between their work in Bristol and the Plymouth office. The distance is a whopping 120 miles away, and completely misses a baton change over at the Exeter office. Ouch!

Is this a literal payback possibly for regional agents boasting they don't see the peaks and troughs of London's market?

Picture from Flickr by D'Arcy Norman

ESTATES GAZETTE LONDON & WEST BOROUGHS FOCUS
 FEBRUARY 6, 2010 ISSUE

The Market
An overview of all the latest stats and forecasts for the London West boroughs offices, retail and industrial market
Nadia Elghamry, deputy Focus editor, 020 7911 1849, nadia.elghamry@rbi.co.uk

Cricklewood and Wembley
An analysis of regeneration of the area.
Melanie Smith, Focus editorial assistant, 020 7911 1916, melanie.smith@rbi.co.uk

Earls Court and White City
A round up of major development plans in the area.
Paul Norman, EGi news editor, 020 79111894, paul.norman@rbi.co.uk

People
A look at the capital's movers and shakers.
Daniel Cunningham, senior writer, 020 7911 1822, daniel.cunningham@rbi.co.uk

Deadline for receipt of editorial information is 12th January

We like a bit of adventure here on the Focus desk. That's why on a blustery Friday morning I found myself up one of the chimneys of south west London's iconic Battersea Power Station.

OK, not literally, but after walking through the derelict grade II listed building I got into a rickety old freight lift which jolted its way to the top of the building where I could admire views of south west London at chimney level.

The building is now owned by Real Estate Opportunities and being developed by Treasury Holdings, but has been rotting and crumbling for over two decades while developers struggle to get regeneration proposals off the ground. It is being reported today that €900m of REO's loans could be transferred to the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) within months.

I was able to explore the art deco surroundings within the Power Station at ground level and from above. Here are some images (vertigo sufferers look away now).