Recently in West End Category

West End offices
A look at trends in the marketplace.
James Buckley, deputy news editor, 020 7911 1810, james.buckley@estatesgazette.com

West End investment
Analysis of the market and forecasts
Adrian Morrison, freelance writer, 07818 013 233, adrian.morrison@addmor.com 

West End retail
What changes have there been in the UK's most famous shopping district
Mark Faithfull, freelance writer, 0560 286 0859, mark.faithfull@btinternet.com

Agency
Analysis of the agency landscape
David Thame, freelance writer 01544 262 896, dthame@clara.co.uk

Market health check
Covers offices, industrial and retail. Contact: Nadia Elghamry, deputy regional editor nadia.elghamry@estatesgazette.com
Feature will include a West End offices vox pop. Please send a head and shoulders picture and a comment of no more than a 60word giving: a figure predicting take up for West End offices by the end of the year and why you think it will be at that level.


 

For general Focus information please go to the About Focus page on our blog: www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/focus or contact: Stacey Meadwell, Regional editor, 020 7911 1819

 
 

Barely have we got our over-indulged bodies back behind our desks and it is time to face what the year might bring the property industry.

King Sturge, as usual, is the first to put its marker down treating its holiday-lagged clients to a breakfast presentation of its predictions yesterday.

But before we take a peak at what they reckon will happen this year, let's have a look at what they said last year and whether or not it proved true.

Well, for 2010 the Docklands was highlighted as a hotspot in the London market and, based on take up alone, that seemed to prove the case. According to BNP Paribas Real Estate's figures that we'll be publishing in this Saturday's edition of the mag, office lettings were up by an incredible 450%, albeit from a low base.

King Sturge also correctly predicted rental growth in London and a widening gap between London and the regions' office rents.

Birmingham and Leeds were top of the list of cities causing concern for the firm. Year end figures aren't available just yet but by the end of Q3, according to Drivers Jonas Deloitte, supply in Birmingham was on the increase and rents had fallen back by £1 per sq ft. Similar figures for Leeds supplied by Colliers International show supply rising, weak take up and a small drop in rents.

So what of 2011? King Sturge's head of research Angus McIntosh said the overriding feature of this year would be 'stagflation' with the market bounce-back over, albeit with some exceptions.

We are live blogging from EG's 7th annual London development summit so this post is prone to inaccuracy, omissions and typos

Graham King, Head of Strategic Planning & Transportation, City Planning, Built Environment, City of Westminster

Westminster in focus

Graham talked about the challenges of Westminster and a bit about their key projects at the moment:

Centre of town is our place and Peter's(Rees's) place and includes Lambeth, Camden, Kensington & Chelsea. Central London is a place that has problems but also generates a lot of wealth. Its GDP is the same as whole of Wales.

Westminster facts:
 
* 250,000 residents spanning both ends of the economic scale (Sultan of Brunei has, I think, three properties in Westminster.)
* Children at our schools speak 120 languages as their first language. 
* 47,000 VATregistered businesses
* 9m sq ft of office space which is far more than Canary Wharf will ever have.
* 40% of all the hotels in London
* 14% London jobs.

Key issue is retrofitting historic buildings so that they are still historic buildings. It can be done, it's a matter of approach. Got to get back to refurbishment.

Everyone's got their own personal barometer to show whether the recession's waning.

Whether it's the growing number of suits taking wallet busting £1,000 breakfasts at Boyd's Brasserie (for the uninitiated that's the full English washed down with 3 bottles of Cristal champagne), or the queues for the new iPhone outside almost every O2 shop in London yesterday.

But I've just heard a great one being used by at least one regional property player that will answer the biggest property question of the moment: When will the banks start releasing the properties on their books?

He claims that you could tell things were much worse in the eighties because all his meeting switched almost overnight from the West End to the City. At present, he's still making the monthly pilgrimage from regions to Mayfair. If that changes to Bank, that's when he might panic.

Picture by Bixentro from Flickr, used under the Creative Commons license

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.

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 

It is easy to get wrapped up in the trials and tribulations of the property industry without thinking too much about the occupiers themselves.

The West End rates time bomb, for example, is ticking and could see businesses facing sharp increases which potentially price them out of core West End. Dan talks to occupiers and advisors in tomorrow's West End Focus to find out if it is giving some firms itchy feet.

Nadia talks to Rio Tinto which undertook a large prelet at the top of the market. Find out if it would repeat that search today and what it and other occupiers think about "bagging a bargain" in the current market. It might not be quite as good a news for take up figures as agents think.

Meanwhile Melanie discovers a time bomb of a different sort. She learnt of a developer who wanted more power for its West End building but was told only a new sub station could supply it. At £5m a piece the large costs of building one would fall to already cash-strapped landlords raising the question of whether green buildings are the answer?

Just a few of the topics up for discussion together with the latest market analysis, for more see tomorrows mag.

Photo by 96dpi from Flickr used under the Creative Commons license

Now here's a story that's completely bananas. Apparently a certain US technology firm, which sounds like something you'd find in a fruit bowl, is fitting out in Chapelfield shopping centre in Norwich.

It's great news for the four-year-old centre which has taken some time to bed down in the city, and it should be the Apple of their eye. But talk to owners CSC and they flatly deny all knowledge of the juicy letting. What makes this story completely bonkers is if you were to take a walk along the upper mall of the centre you'd see the fruity retailer's signs proudly proclaiming their debut in the city.

Do a job search on the occupier's website and look what pops up on the right hand side under "new stores, new opportunities". This sign announcing the project is fairly conclusive too.

CSC say client confidentiality forbids them from saying anything. In fact, they can't even talk about the opening date for "security reasons".

In fairness to them they clearly find the whole thing slightly ridiculous, but isn't this just red tape gone mad?

It's a shame they can't shout it from the rooftops because according to City AM a certain US technology firm on Regent Street in London is taking a big bite out of the retail market.

Photo from Flickr by 1Happysnapper( is catching up slowly) used the Creative Commons license

At Strutt & Parker's summer soiree last night on the terrace of its Mayfair office, it was like the credit crunch never happened.

The event was held to welcome new senior partner, Andy Martin, to his role. An orchestral duo provided live background music, a seemingly never ending supply of canapés did the rounds and champagne flowed freely.

But then talk turned to the West End office market and the recent letting at D2's 23 Savile Row provided a bit of a reality check for the evening. 

The building has been hailed the best office space in the West End and was regarded as an important indicator for the market. Back in 2008, it was thought that rents at the development would set a new West End headline and fetch up to an eye-watering £140 per sq ft.

However, reality bites and the developer let the first 8,500 sq ft two weeks ago to a start up company for £93 per sq ft and, as indicators go, that's quite a harsh one for the West End office market, particularly as that letting may quickly turn into a sub-letting (EG news 4th July).

But agents, refusing to be despondent, took a top up of bubbly and enjoyed the canapés that came around one last time, and I dipped into the bowl of chocolate dipped strawberries...

Photo by Bethany L King used under Creative Commons from Flickr