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Office industry news portal Choregus has suggested that the cost of office interior space has fallen by 40 per cent on average since June 2007; however, prices have now stabilised - falling just 1.6 per cent last month.

The website noted that as the market begins to level out attention from investors will rise, bringing about a recovery in prices due to increased levels of interest.

Ed Stansfield, property economist at Capital Economics, recently said that businesses looking to get the best value for money on their commercial office interior space should look to relocate to London.

He noted that at present, office interior space in the capital currently offers some great deals for those looking to move and take advantage of the present dip in prices due to the economic downturn.


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Crain's Manchester Business reported that the office space was previously run by MLS; however, Forsyth has now secured a deal to control office lettings at the 31,000 sq ft building.

Tenants at the Triangle currently include Memplex, ADCS, Financial Claims Bureau, Thomson Reuters, Symatrix and Engage.

David Harrop, finance director at Forsyth Business Centres, said: "The win underlines our undoubted track record as an operator and our ability to deliver effective solutions for landlords and occupiers facing uncertainty over their buildings."

Elsewhere in London's City district, Union Real Estate has placed the headquarters of Standard Life - 10 Gresham Street - up for sale for an estimated £150 million.

The building offers in excess of 200,000 sq ft of modern, grade A office interior space and is being advertised as available to let.


]]> Morgan Lovell office interior space in order to cut down on costs and improve environmental performance, the Audit Commission has recommended.

The organisation noted that at present, up to a third of council offices do not share their workspace with any other institutions and therefore there is room to improve efficiency through sustainable office design and uptake.

Bharat Shah, deputy chair of the Audit Commission, states: "The recession is a good time for councils to plan how to use the property they own more efficiently and possibly even to acquire assets for the future."

Therefore, local councils are being advocated to share their facilities.

Lucy Pedler, director of the Green Register, recently noted that green building practices need to be increased in the future if the government is to meet its own targets for reducing carbon emissions in the UK.

She argued that while the uptake of sustainable office design has increased in recent years, this growth is still not taking place at a fast enough rate.


]]> Morgan Lovell office interior space at London's Gherkin.

Launched in 2006, the business centre is currently at 90 per cent capacity; however, this latest move has seen the business expand its office interior space by almost half its present square footage.

The company had already secured 28,000 sq ft of office space on floors 28 and 29 of the building; with this latest capture taking the serviced office providers overall capacity up to 45,000 sq ft.

Julie Calder, managing director of Abbey, commented: "I am delighted that our existing floors enjoy very high occupancy levels and the addition of the 15th floor opens up more opportunities for businesses to take flexible office space in what is arguably the city's most prestigious building."

Meanwhile, Ed Stansfield, property economist at Capital Economics, recently said that commercial property in the capital offers a fair deal to firms and is one of the only locations in Europe to do so.

He argued that London office interior space presents a good deal to anyone wishing to relocate there.


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Ed Stansfield, property economist at Capital Economics, said that while it may be a little strong to say it is the only city in the world to do so, London office interior space currently offers a great deal to those wishing to relocate there.

And to back this up, the firm reported that it has witnessed a dramatic growth in investment in the City in recent months.

He commented: "The correction that we have seen has come through very rapidly in London and particularly in terms of the City."

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the number of surveyors reporting a rise in commercial property prices in the UK during the last quarter increased from -50 to -66 in its most recent set of figures.

Furthermore, the number of surveyors reporting growth in investment demand stood at -56 - up from -77 in the previous quarter.


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The Yorkshire Evening Post reported that if successful, the new government office could create up to 2,500 jobs in the city, with the Ministry of Justice alone needing a building which can accommodate 1,000 staff.

Councillor Andrew Carter, deputy leader of Leeds city council, told the newspaper that it is commonly known that a major government department is seeking to relocate out of London.

"I can confirm that Leeds is very proactively seeking to promote itself as a preferred location," he added.

Meanwhile, food manufacturer Dr Oetker recently announced plans to carry out a major office relocation of its headquarters to Leeds.

Property Executive reported that the company is to move into the Centrum building, which has been refurbished for the business, with modern office design features such as additional lighting, air conditioning, data cabling and audiovisual equipment.


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Office industry news portal Choregus has reported that Union Real Estate is believed to have placed the headquarters of Standard Life - 10 Gresham Street - on sale for £150 million, while Evans Randall is set to purchase the Milton Gate development from UBS Global Development for approximately £135 million.

Each of the buildings currently offer in excess of 200,000 sq ft of modern office interior space, with half of the space at Gresham Street previously being offered on a rental basis earlier this year.

Elsewhere in the capital, Choregus recently reported that planning permission for a new office development has been submitted for the construction of a 250,000 sq ft building - which will incorporate modern office design features and be one of the largest new builds in the Docklands area.


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LDP Business has reported that letting agent Hitchcock, Wright & Partners (HWP) has announced this credit crunch-inspired gambit in a bid to stimulate the take up of office interior space at Strand House.

Situated on Liverpool's waterfront, the building contains 20,991 sq ft of grade A office interior space spread over three floors. Anyone interested in a short-term letting - between six and 12 months - have been urged to get in touch with HWP.

Brian Ricketts, partner at agent HWP, said: "We have three floors of space available. We don't have a basement but we do have 30 onsite secure car parking spaces available at ground floor level."

In other market-related news, enquiries by businesses looking to take on space at Liverpool's 20 Chapel Street have risen considerably in recent months, the newspaper recently reported.


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Worth a combined £190,000, the two new deals will create a boost in revenue for the firm, which beat off the challenge of eight other software developers to secure these contracts.

The company recently won a competition with NE Business for its founder John Bartlett to spend a day with the founder of Sage - the FTSE 100 software firm - Graham Wylie.

At the meeting, the pair worked on OnePoint's forward-thinking strategies and Mr Wylie was instrumental in helping the business achieve this recent coup.

Elsewhere in the region, NE Business recently reported that Newcastle-based Nigel Wright has announced plans to open a new office in Paris.

The recruitment company has set up a number of overseas offices in recent months as it looks to expand its influence across Europe.


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The council will take on 140,000 sq ft of office interior space at the development from January 2010 until December 2012 while office refurbishment work is carried out on the main council buildings.

The refurbishment of the town hall is expected to cost £175 million and will take approximately three years to complete.

John Hughes, director at Ask Developments, said: "We are delighted with this decision, which is extremely positive news for First Street. The Number One building is the first phase of this major redevelopment which is set to transform this important area of the city centre."

Meanwhile, the Co-op recently announced it is to build a new 16-storey headquarters in Manchester which will benefit from a number of modern office and sustainable design features.


]]> Morgan Lovell office interior accommodation needs when preparing future business plans.

Howard Cooke, a director in the corporate consulting team at GVA Grimley, said that businesses should carry out more detailed plans of where they will perform their operations in order to make better use of office space and to understand the need for expansion or downsizing.

Mr Cooke commented: "In the good times it's very much a focus on, 'things are going strong, we need more space, let's get on with it'."

However, he warned that these plans should have flexibility and firms should not be looking to take office interior leases which are significantly longer than their business plan.

According to figures compiled by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in May, the proportion of surveyors reporting a rise in occupier enquiries compared to the number reporting a fall stood at -38 in the first quarter of 2009 - this figure was -63 in the fourth quarter of 2008.


]]> Morgan Lovell office interior space in order to maximise their business during the recession.

Howard Cooke, a director in the corporate consulting team at GVA Grimley, said that property upkeep costs and the efficient use of space should be considered by firms looking to maximise their revenues during the economic downturn.

Mr Cooke urged business to consider: "What's the cost of the use of that space? Am I doing what I should be doing with that space and maximising the value? Am I paying what I should be paying?"

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, activity in the UK commercial property market continued to decline in the first quarter of the year.

However, the deterioration appeared to be slowing, with 40 per cent of the group's members reporting a downturn in business, compared to 71 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008.


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Christopher Bell, managing director for Europe at Knight Frank, said that individuals are once again looking to invest in office interior space as the worst appears to be past for the commercial property market.

He commented: "The UK is getting closer to the bottom in terms of value, where people are beginning to feel more comfortable that tomorrow is not going to be demonstrably cheaper than today."

Mr Bell added that the UK appears to be slightly ahead of the rest of Europe, with further declines predicted in overseas markets for the foreseeable future.

According to the Investment Property Databank report from May this year, UK commercial property capital values fell by 8.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2009.

However, the fall was smaller than the 14.3 per cent decline in the fourth quarter of 2008.


]]> Morgan Lovell office interior lettings has picked up in recent months, property advisory consultancy GVA Grimley has revealed.

Research carried out by the organisation in its corporate real estate survey showed that nine per cent of businesses have increased their office space lettings in the last six months.

Dan Hodges, head of office agency in Leeds for GVA Grimley, said: "In terms of office markets it's slowly but surely getting better. Speculatively, development has stopped altogether in Leeds, . . . [while] with small 5,000 to 10,000 sq ft lettings there's still continual interest."

He added that this hopefully points to a "turning of the corner" for the office market, with the downturn not quite over but there now appears light at the end of the tunnel.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the proportion of surveyors reporting a rise in available space compared to the number reporting a fall stood at 65 in the first quarter of 2009 - up from 57 in the fourth quarter of 2008.


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The deal saw the 103,682 sq ft office interior building sell for a reported £13.6 million and it has now been let on a 20-year lease to Guardian Assurance.

It is believed that annual rental income from the property could top £1 million.

Mark Rawstron, capital markets director at GVA Grimley - which advised Landmarq on the deal - told Crain's Manchester Business: "This is ideal stock for the current market, offering bond-like security of income, with guaranteed performance. Landmarq views this type of asset as excellent wealth preservation stock."

Elsewhere in the region, the newspaper recently reported that One First Street in Manchester has been awarded a BREEAM rating of Excellent.

Ask Developments - the owner of the office interior building - installed a number of sustainable design features at the development, including a green roof and walls and a water-cooled VRF air conditioning system.


]]> Morgan Lovell Office interior space in Liverpool is continuing to be snapped up despite the effects of the recession, a new report has shown.

Office letting agent DTZ has revealed that demand for commercial property in the north-west city is outstripping that of its rivals in the wider market, with take up for a number of high profile office developments spurring others to move to the city.

The company noted that 130,000 sq ft was pre-let to Mersey Travel at Mann Island and there remains available space at a number of other Liverpool developments, including 20 Chapel Street and St Paul's Square.

Ken Bishop, director of the national office agency team at DTZ, said: "At a time when the economy is suffering from the impact of the recession, it is good to see that there are so many positives in the Liverpool office market which can be drawn upon."

Meanwhile, LDP Business reported that Stonebridge Park on East Lancs Road in Liverpool yesterday (May 13th) held an open day to attract prospective tenants to the recently refurbished development.


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NE Business has reported that Newcastle-based Nigel Wright is looking to set up a new regional overseas office in Paris following the successful opening of its Copenhagen, Denmark office interior in January last year.

The firm is also considering further plans for European expansion.

Ian Scott Bell, Nigel Wright's head of marketing, said: "Our core consumer market has held strong in the face of the downturn, which has allowed us to push forward with our international expansion plans."

Elsewhere in the north of England, plans to create a 700,000 sq ft office interior park in Manchester have been given the go-ahead by local council officials.

Nicknamed the "Whitehall of the north", the development is being created to attract government departments out of the capital to set up regional offices in the north-west city.


]]> Morgan Lovell office interior units to an unnamed firm.

Property Executive has reported that the 1970s development recently underwent a modernising office refurbishment and demand for space at the site has now grown significantly following its completion.

In total, the estate offers 140,000 sq ft of office interior space, with unit sizes ranging from 2,500 to 18,000 sq ft.

Tim Bottrill, partner at the Sheffield office of Knight Frank, commented: "The intention is to feed the demand for quality, commercial property at a price that businesses can afford. We understand the financial challenges that small companies are facing at present."

Meanwhile, the magazine recently reported that commercial office interior building Leeds Gateway has completed its second phase of construction at a cost of £150 million, with available space at the site doubling to more than 50,000 sq ft.


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LDP Business has reported that Helmsley paid £1.37 million for the accommodation, which in total offers six office units ranging in size from 6,750 to 22,500 sq ft.

Robin Jones, a surveyor on the CBRE North West team, told the paper: "The unit has already been let to Corus Steel on a ten-year lease, illustrating that the Easter Developments product is attractive to both occupiers and investors."

In the last 12 months, CBRE has let or sold in excess of 3.5 million sq ft of commercial office and retail space across the UK.

Elsewhere in the region, the paper also recently reported that Stonebridge Park on East Lancs Road in Liverpool is to hold an open day for prospective tenants on May 13th.

The free open day has been organised to celebrate the completion of the first phase of development at the 57,000 sq ft office interior park.


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The office interior building is owned and let by local agents Colliers CRE and offers work areas spread over 12 floors ranging in size from 3,714 sq ft to 4,443 sq ft.

James Preece, associate director at Colliers CRE's Bristol office, told the Swindon Advertiser: "Signal Point is in a very prominent position close to the town centre and has fantastic transport links."

He added that it is also situated close to a national cycle route, in news that could be of interest to those with sustainable design aspirations.

Elsewhere in the city, electronics business Electrical Control Point recently announced that it is to undergo an office relocation to Bizspace's business centre in Cheney Manor.

Office industry news source Choregus reported that the firm felt the time was right to pursue larger office interior space in order to provide greater opportunities for expansion in the future.


]]> Morgan Lovell UK's commercial property market has reacted positively to the economic downturn and stabilised faster than the rest of mainland Europe, it has been claimed.

Michael Rhydderch, head of the cross border capital market team at Cushman & Wakefield, has said that the UK commercial property market has been through the wringer in recent months but has emerged stronger than its European counterparts.

He commented: "The UK corrected first and fastest and if you look at the numbers and break them down, the UK numbers are not good, but they are not disastrous. The continental numbers reflect the fact that the continent has been slower to adjust pricing."

According to figures compiled by Jones Lang LaSalle, investment in European commercial property has fallen dramatically in the last year, down 70 per cent between the first quarters of 2008 and 2009.

However, investment in UK commercial property during the last quarter increased by four per cent to £3.9 billion.


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The business currently employs approximately 175 members of staff and is to take on an additional 5,400 sq ft of office interior space, as the firm is predicting 50 per cent employee growth in the next two years.

Mike Daniel, co-founder and operations director of Subocean, told the Scotsman: "Our contracts in marine renewables continue to increase and we will shortly be able to announce some new major contract wins for 2010 and 2011."

At present, the company is paying £25 per sq ft per month for its office space, as demand for premises in the area remains strong.

Elsewhere north of the border, the Edinburgh Evening News recently reported that Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has finished work on three new office interiors in the Scottish capital.

In total, the development offers an additional 210,000 sq ft of office interior space for firms looking to relocate to the area.


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Figures compiled by the Essential Information Group (EIG) have revealed that there were 3,159 lots offered in February 2009, compared to 3,982 in February 2008 - down by 20.7 per cent year-on-year.

Simon Parker, head of commercial auctions at Savills, said: "There's not quite as much as we would like to see and the reason for the [increased] prices is there is actually not enough stock to meet the demand from these cash-rich buyers."

He added that sellers are, however, receiving a good return on investment and are receiving a premium for what property is on sale.

According to EIG, the percentage of commercial properties which sold at auction actually increased in February - up to 74 per cent in comparison to 68 per cent in January.


]]> Morgan Lovell London for a consideration of £115 million.

In total, the building offers 200,000 sq ft of grade A office interior space and is currently let in its entirety to building and property developer Abbey.

The firm holds a lease on the property until 2022 and at present pays an annual rent of £8.68 million.

Tim Roberts, director of British Land and head of offices, said: "We remain committed to Regent's Place and will complete our latest, high-class office developments - Regent's Place One and Regent's Place Two - later this year."

Elsewhere in the capital, Middle East-based real estate company Landmark Properties has announced that it is to open a new UK office.

The firm noted that the fall in the value of sterling has led to a number of opportunities for overseas investment and the company is setting up this London office to take advantage of that fact.


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During the last six months sterling has lost a quarter of its value against the dirham, leading to a rise in the number of foreign investors looking to purchase property in the UK, according to AMEInfo.com.

Therefore, the firm has set up this new office in order to take full advantage of this growing trend.

John Michael, manager of Landmark Properties UK, told the website: "The London office has been set up as our clients in the United Arab Emirates and neighbouring countries have shown great interest in investing in the UK."

Across the capital, Byrne Bros has secured a £50 million contract to begin erection of the steel framework for London's Shard development.

Once completed, the structure will offer 1.4 million sq ft of office space and will be one of Europe's tallest mixed-use office developments.


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