24 February 2012
Property Week
View all stories from this issue.
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Novel achievement
24 February 2012
Staring through the wet train window makes many of us dream of holidays or new jobs.
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£270m Woolgate Exchange put into receivership to help sale
24 February 2012
Woolgate Exchange in the City of London was put into receivership yesterday to help the sale of the building, propertyweek.com can reveal.
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2m sq ft of West End offices turn to resi
24 February 2012
Around 2m sq ft of offices in London’s West End have been given planning consent for conversion to homes, as developers continue to take advantage of the area’s soaring residential market.
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Amazon Properties buys £47m Park Crescent London terrace
20 February 2012
The Great Capital Partnership, the joint venture between Capital & Counties Properties and Great Portland Estates has sold its long leasehold interest at Park Crescent East in London to Amazon Properties for £47m.
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Asos doubles in size
23 February 2012
Online fashion retailer Asos is to more than double the floorspace it occupies in London, having agreed with publishing group Emap to take over its 70,000 sq ft HQ in Mornington Crescent.
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Axa raises a further €2bn for pan-European debt strategy
27 February 2012
AXA Real Estate Investment Managers has raised a further €2bn on behalf of its pan-European debt strategy.
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Banks call time on Balls
24 February 2012
The banks that own Balls Brothers’ wine bars and other bars and nightclubs in London have put the business up for sale for more than £120m.
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Banks’ new £40bn capital bombshell
24 February 2012
Industry feels Financial Services Authority’s June rule change will make debt even more scarce
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BGC buys struggling Grubb & Ellis
21 February 2012
BGC Partners, the acquisitive financial services firm which acquired Newmark Knight Frank last October, has expanded its property services platform by buying struggling US firm Grubb & Ellis.
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BGC Partners tucks into Grubb & Ellis
24 February 2012
BGC Partners, the acquisitive financial services firm that bought Newmark Knight Frank last October, has expanded its property services platform by buying Grubb & Ellis.
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Birmingham Conservatoire move ahead of Paradise Circus development
23 February 2012
Birmingham City University is working with developer Argent and the city council to review the location of Birmingham Conservatoire in light of the proposed redevelopment plans for Paradise Circus, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.
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Brooks Macdonald's ground rents fund makes first buy of 2012
23 February 2012
Brooks Macdonald Funds has made its first purchase of 2012 for its ground rents funds in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
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Bruton Knowles recruits BNP Paribas Real Estate Cardiff team
27 February 2012
Property consultancy firm Bruton Knowles has expanded its Cardiff office with the recruitment of the five-strong team from the Cardiff office of BNP Paribas Real Estate.
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Bulletin: Why is Hammerson exiting offices?
24 February 2012
Hammerson is hoping its decision to sell its £600m offices portfolio and focus on retail will boost performance, and a 3.7% boost to share price today would suggest its investors agree.
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Burberry bags 127,000 sq ft Victoria prelet
23 February 2012
Rapidly expanding fashion brand and retailer Burberry has prelet the whole of 1 Page Street in London’s Victoria, a building bought by Derwent London in March 2011, as Property Week revealed in December.
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Carlyle Group buys St. James block from Crown Estate
24 February 2012
The Carlyle Group has bought 88 St. James’s Street from The Crown Estate for £36.5m.
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CBRE’s Teesside pension dividend
24 February 2012
CBRE’s real estate finance team has won a non-discretionary mandate to manage the expansion of Teesside Pension Fund’s £107m property portfolio.
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Cisco powers up lease exit strategy at Green Park
24 February 2012
Tech company begins withdrawal by exercising breaks at two properties. Sarah Stewart reports
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City offices boom could falter
21 February 2012
The 34 million sq ft of office development proposed for the City of London before 2016 is at risk of faltering due to the euro crisis, diminishing tenant optimism, and ever tighter funding markets, according to EC Harris research published today.
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Colin Wilson named new UK head of DTZ
24 February 2012
Colin Wilson has been named the new head of UK and Ireland for DTZ.
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Colliers extends deadline for takeover bid
21 February 2012
Colliers International this morning said it had extended the deadline for its majority shareholder Firstservice Corporation to make an offer for the company.
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Connells buys 25% stake in resi fund manager Hearthstone
27 February 2012
Estate agency and services provider Connells Group has bought a 25% stake in residential fund manager Hearthstone Investments ahead of the launch of its first fund.
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Co-op poised to give developer what it Asks for
24 February 2012
Ask Developments is in advanced talks with its lender, Co-operative Banking Group, over the refinancing of £42m debt that matures by October.
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Coventry Arena extension begins
24 February 2012
A joint venture between Aviva Investors and Tesco is undertaking a 60,000 sq ft extension to the Coventry Arena Shopping Park after signing two prelets.
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Coveted Heron Tower leasing mandate up for grabs
24 February 2012
Rival agents will try to muscle in as incumbent Cushman repitches for prestigious role
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CSC marginal NAV rise in "transformational" Trafford Centre year
23 February 2012
Capital Shopping Centres experienced a marginal increase in net asset value over 2011 as increases in the value of its property portfolio and its earnings were offset by dividend payments.
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Cutting to the Core of the matter
24 February 2012
Occupier summit speakers offer their take on rationalisation. Rachel Hunter reports
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Debt refinancing helps REIT back to Primary Health
24 February 2012
Primary Health Properties has agreed to refinance the bulk of its debt that was due to expire in January 2013.
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Decathlon gets set for first ‘sports village’
24 February 2012
Parent Oxylane to debut leisure and retail concept at site near Nottingham
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Derwent London secures Westminster planning consent
22 February 2012
Derwent London has secured planning consent to redevelop a disused cinema in London’s Westbourne Grove into a residential scheme.
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Ditch the five-year fix, it’s in your interest
24 February 2012
I have just seen interesting research by MFL Finance, which considers comparative costs of financing over the period of November 1990 to March 2007.
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Don’t use derivatives as a crystal ball
24 February 2012
For some reason, many still see property derivatives as a forecasting tool.
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Dransfield recommended for Royton revamp
20 February 2012
Oldham Council is set to consider new proposals that could lead to the regeneration of Royton district centre, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.
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Drivers Jonas' senior retail poach from DTZ
22 February 2012
Drivers Jonas Deloitte has poached a new retail agency head from DTZ.
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DTZ name set to stay
22 February 2012
Australian services firm UGL is set to rebrand its entire property services arm as DTZ, meaning the 230 year old name will not disappear from the property map.
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DTZ survives UGL rebranding
24 February 2012
Australian services firm UGL is preparing to rebrand its services arm as DTZ, which means the 230-year-old name will not disappear from the property map.
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Edinburgh Woollen Mill buys Peacocks out of administration
22 February 2012
Edinburgh Woollen Mill has bought high street retailer, Peacocks from administrators at KPMG.
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Elephant estate revamp trumpeted
24 February 2012
Lend Lease on Wednesday opened a four-day public exhibition of its plans to regenerate the Heygate Estate in London’s Elephant and Castle.
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Energy act could force upgrades
24 February 2012
Almost half the UK’s commercial buildings are in danger of failing new energy efficiency standards, a report by DTZ warns.
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Erect barricades and you might just spark controversy
24 February 2012
The message A lawful user of an easement cannot be punished for other users’ unlawful use.
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Euston HS2 plan would be ‘serious failure’, says City Hall
24 February 2012
London mayor’s staff claim extra passengers would place too much pressure on existing Tube system
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Foreign affair endures with £600m City trio
24 February 2012
South-east Asian and Qatari buyers could take foreign investment past £2bn
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Fulham Town Hall to become “lifestyle emporium”
23 February 2012
Dory Ventures, the US owner of Maclaren pushchairs, has agreed to buy the Grade II-listed Fulham Town Hall from the local authority and turn it into an upmarket shopping destination.
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Generali to manage Unicredit Pension Fund
24 February 2012
Generali Immobiliare Italia SGR has been appointed to manage the real estate assets of the Unicredit Pension Fund.
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Give us some band aid
24 February 2012
Suggestions continue to flood in for artists and songs for a three-day festival at Battersea Power Station later this summer.
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Gourmet Burger Kitchen relishes rollout
24 February 2012
Gourmet Burger Kitchen has launched an expansion drive after being bought by Nando’s owner, venture capitalist Capricorn Ventures.
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Great Portland and CapCo to sell Park Crescent West
24 February 2012
Great Portland Estates and Capital & Counties are considering a disposal of another portion of London’s John Nash-designed Park Crescent in central London.
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Hammerson to sell entire office portfolio
24 February 2012
Hammerson is to sell its entire £600m London office portfolio in order to focus on its retail businesses in the UK and France.
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Henderson plans Birmingham apartment tower
21 February 2012
Henderson Global Investors is planning to redevelop its 140,000 sq ft No 1 Hagley Road office tower in Birmingham into an apartment block, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.
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Hermes chief joins NewRiver Retail board
21 February 2012
NewRiver Retail has appointed two non-executive directors to its board, including Chris Taylor, the chief executive of Hermes Real Estate.
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Historic London town halls find new occupants
24 February 2012
Local authorities Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham are close to leasing two historic town halls, including the building where Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Liam Gallagher were married.
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Hotdesks: A burning issue
24 February 2012
Our management guru, Alan Froggatt, answers your workplace dilemmas. This week: do we all need desks, how do we best spend our retirement and can you slice off too much salami?
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House of Lords drills down to details of underground bill
24 February 2012
Legislation would require subterranean planning application. Sarah Townsend reports
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I predict a riot: Lessons from London's unrest
24 February 2012
Six months on, developer Sir Stuart Lipton, the Prince of Wales and mayor of London Boris Johnson are all stepping up efforts to learn lessons from the Tottenham riots. Patrick Gower investigates
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IVG lets floor at No. 1 Leeds
22 February 2012
An advertising agency has agreed to become the first fully-fledged occupier at a building owned by IVG that has largely lain vacant since completion in 2009.
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Knight in shining limo
24 February 2012
A PDF that lists key Knight Frank contacts at MIPIM pops into the inbox.
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Kwik Fit Landlord nails down £39m RBS loan
21 February 2012
GE Prem KF has agreed a £39m funding facility from the RBS Real Estate Finance team in Scotland.
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Lancashire Enterprise Partnership £13m boost for regeneration schemes
23 February 2012
Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has announced that it is to invest £13m in a series of regeneration projects around the county, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.
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LaSalle and Bell Hammer win consent for Staines office building
22 February 2012
LaSalle Investment Management and development partner Bell Hammer have obtained planning consent for an 86,500 sq ft office building to replace Ashby House in Staines town centre.
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LaSalle seals 65,000 sq ft of Farringdon deals
20 February 2012
LaSalle Investment Management has today completed two lettings of more than 65,000 sq ft at Farringdon Place, 20 Farringdon Road in London.
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Legal & General buys £115.4m Tesco shed
24 February 2012
Legal & General has completed a forward funding deal for of a 932,000 sq ft shed in Reading, as revealed by Property Week.
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Lend Lease unveils Elephant & Castle plans
22 February 2012
Lend Lease today opened a four-day public exhibition of its plans to regenerate the Heygate Estate in London’s Elephant & Castle.
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Lloyds sheds £13.5bn of property and nearly halves property losses
24 February 2012
Lloyds Banking Group today revealed that it had reduced its property exposure by £13.5bn in 2011, and managed to cut its losses on bad property loans from £2.4bn to £1.3bn in the process.
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London & Continental on track for Department for Transport assets
24 February 2012
Channel Tunnel builder pursues property joint ventures across UK. Sarah Townsend reports
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London and New York go head to head
24 February 2012
London mayor Boris Johnson went up against his Big Apple counterparts to debate the best 21st-century city for business. Patrick Gower reports. Photographs by Matt Leete
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London tops hit list for non-EU investors
20 February 2012
London is the target for 41% of non-European money flowing into Europe’s sector, according to new research by CBRE.
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London’s resi hat-trick
24 February 2012
Three large residential-led schemes in London received planning consent late last week. Plans by Westfield, Capital & Counties and Ballymore all got the go-ahead, as demand for residential property in London continues to soar.
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MAPIC 2012: Places to go in Cannes
29 October 2012
Whether you're looking for a restaurant for a quick bite to eat before a conference, or a shop because you’ve forgotten your toothbrush, you'll find everything you need at MAPIC handily mapped out here for you.Simply pick one of the categories to filter the venues and click on each pointer to find out more information about each of the listed locations.
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Mayor must up his game after shambolic debate
24 February 2012
“Unprofessional, poorly managed, poorly constructed and rude” is how one industry grandee described mayor of London Boris Johnson’s performance at LandAid’s London versus New York “Battle of the Giants” debate.
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MEPC books in £140m Granta Park sale
24 February 2012
Sale of Cambridge business park would be one of largest ever of a single asset outside London
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Message hammered home
24 February 2012
Ping! An email on the Blackberry from property analyst Harm Meijer contains the subject line “flagging Hammerson”.
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MIPIM 2012: Plan Your Way Around Cannes
23 February 2012
Property Week, in partnership with the MIPIM Tough Guide, has brought you an easy way to plan your days at this year’s MIPIM.
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MIPIM 2013: Places to go in Cannes
20 February 2012
Whether you're looking for a restaurant for a quick bite to eat before a conference, or a shop because you’ve forgotten your toothbrush, you'll find everything you need at MIPIM handily mapped out here for you.
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MORNING AFTER: MIPIM 2011
1 January 2012
Despite being a more “business-focused” affair, MIPIM 2011 was a packed event - from parties to presentations.
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Morrisons transfers 28 lease liabilities to Surplus Property Solutions
27 February 2012
Morrisons has transferred the responsibility for 28 unused retail and commercial properties around the UK to Surplus Property Solutions in a multi million pound deal.
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Mortgage lending up on this time last year
20 February 2012
Mortgage lending in January was 10% higher than in the same month last year – but fell compared to December 2011.
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Mucklow’s NAV falls in half year
22 February 2012
A&J Mucklow suffered a 3% drop in its net asset value in the six months to 31 December.
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NAMA beats other lenders to distressed asset vehicles
24 February 2012
Irish “bad bank” sets up funds to attract investment to some assets. Mike Phillips reports
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Native Land and Grosvenor complete £50m Alpha Place deal
24 February 2012
Native Land and Grosvenor have completed the purchase of Alpha Place for £50m.
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Need to know: Hammerson mulls Oracle flotation
24 February 2012
Unable to extend the Oracle Shopping Centre on flood-prone land by conventional methods, Hammerson is considering a plan to enlarge the Reading centre by introducing floating trading space.
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Need to know: monthly rent payments
24 February 2012
The rent payment regime is likely to become a hot topic this year. In the last month, large tenants such as Monsoon and Clinton Cards — as well as struggling retailers such as TJ Hughes and Peacocks — have asked to pay their rent on a monthly basis.
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Nestlé gives two fingers to Croydon
24 February 2012
Weary of town’s tired buildings, Swiss food company is off to Crawley. Patrick Gower reports
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People moves: London Square, Indigo Planning, CBRE and more...
24 February 2012
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Pidgley hires bigwigs to government panel
23 February 2012
Two house-building heavyweights, including a former Barratt Developments chief, have been recruited by Berkeley chairman Tony Pidgley to investigate how public sector land can be better used to tackle the UK housing crisis.
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Pontiff struck by property tax bill
24 February 2012
The Catholic Church could be hit with a hefty bill after the Italian government announced plans this week to end a tax exemption on Church-owned commercial properties, as it wrestles with its sovereign debt problems.
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Portas plan is flying flag for high streets at heart of communities
24 February 2012
Mary Portas’s review had a lot of ideas — but were they sufficiently radical to solve the crisis of the high street?
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Profits up at BNP Paribas Real Estate
24 February 2012
BNP Paribas Real Estate, the development to transactional agency arm of the French bank, lifted operating profit by 11% to €156m in 2011.
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Public sector should heed Portas and offer vacant schemes to others
24 February 2012
Public sector bodies across the country want to rationalise their property portfolios in response to financial pressures.
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QIA completes Credit Suisse HQ buy
20 February 2012
The Qatar Investment Authority today confirmed that it bought the London headquarters of Credit Suisse, as revealed by Property Week (27 January 2012).
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RBS reduces property loans and losses – but little lending for new customers
23 February 2012
Royal Bank of Scotland today revealed that it had reduced its commercial property loan portfolio by 14% in 2011 and its losses on bad property loans dropped by 21%, but will provide little lending to new customers.
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Reading’s Station Hill developers take different tracks
24 February 2012
Sackville Developments and LaSalle produce separate but complementary planning applications for adjoining schemes. Sarah Stewart reports
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Red Book overhaul is long overdue, 13.01.12
24 February 2012
Sir, I’m glad that the valuation debate is opening up.
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Redrow half yearly results show positive performance
23 February 2012
House builder Redrow enjoyed a strong first six months of its financial year, with increases in revenue and pre-tax profit, the company said today.
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Regional Growth Fund gets £1bn boost
23 February 2012
From today, an additional £1bn will be available to businesses seeking support from then Regional Growth Fund.
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Retail vacancy drops to 12.7%
27 February 2012
Vacant retail units and floorspace have continued to fall for 18 months according to research by Colliers International.
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Retailers and landlords demand government rethinks business rate hike
27 February 2012
Leading retailers and landlords have written to Chancellor George Osborne demanding he reconsider the government’s 5.6% hike in business rates – the highest rise in more than 20 years.
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Ritchie and Orf primed for rentals in ‘golden postcodes’
24 February 2012
Apollo and Residential Land plot £1bn fund of prime London postcodes. Nick Johnstone reports
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Rough sleepers’ resi returns
24 February 2012
Duncan Smith calls for investors in unprecedented £100m private-rented fund for homeless
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Safestore optimistic as revenues grow
21 February 2012
Self-storage company Safestore has reported an uptick in its occupancy and revenue levels for the first quarter of 2012, compared with the same period in 2011.
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Savills director to join BC Commercial
23 February 2012
Retail director Erol Ezen is to leave Savills to join BC Commercial as director and equity partner.
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Segro reports 10% NAV decline but achieves letting progress
21 February 2012
Segro suffered a 9.6% decline in its net asset value last year after a bigger-than-forecast writedown of its portfolio.
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Segro slumps by nearly 10%
24 February 2012
Fall of 13% in non-core assets drags REIT’s value down, but profits and earnings rise
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Segro to provide high-tech support at Slough Trading Estate
24 February 2012
Developer plans 1.3m sq ft of offices for data companies and online retailers. Sarah Stewart reports
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Seven dives into Shoreditch
24 February 2012
Seven Capital has submitted plans this month for a 125-bed hotel at a site in east London’s Shoreditch.
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SF Group signs for Gas Street space
21 February 2012
Recruitment consultancy SF Group has signed a 10 year lease for 2,322 sq ft of offices at Cube Real Estate’s 22 Gas Street in Birmingham.
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Sleath’s slow-and-steady strategy will win race for Segro
24 February 2012
I can’t remember a time when Segro wasn’t restructuring its finances, its people, its assets or its geographical exposure.
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Slough's Queensmere Observatory to take on new identity
24 February 2012
The upsizing of a TK Maxx store is the start of a new era for the Queensmere Observatory shopping centre in Slough.
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Snow forecast for Oasis
24 February 2012
Swindon Borough Council has approved plans to transfer the development of the Oasis Leisure Centre to Moirai Capital Investments.
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South African lands £100m NAMA scheme in Lewes
24 February 2012
Investor that bought Edinburgh’s Caltongate backs Santon in second UK investment
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St Modwen’s Somerset homes
24 February 2012
St Modwen has bought a 12 acre residential development site to the east of Bridgwater in Somerset.
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Strong year for BNP Paribas Real Estate
21 February 2012
BNP Paribas Real Estate - the development to transactional agency arm of the giant French bank – lifted operating profit by 11% to €156m in 2011.
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Supreme Court rulings on contracts consider fairness, as well as words
24 February 2012
Contracts might not be the most exciting part of doing business, but at least once it is done, it is done.
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Swindon’s Regent Circus recruits acts
24 February 2012
Cineworld, Nando’s and Prezzo prelets enable first phase to begin. Sarah Stewart reports
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Tchenguiz brothers granted judicial review over SFO raid
22 February 2012
Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz have been granted a judicial review of the circumstances surrounding their arrest following the Serious Fraud Office investigation into the collapse of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing.
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Tchenguizes granted review
24 February 2012
Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz were granted a judicial review of the circumstances surrounding their arrest this week as details of the allegations levelled at Vincent emerged for the first time.
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Tesco floats in Thailand
24 February 2012
Tesco this week began the flotation of 17 supermarkets in Thailand, in a strategy designed to raise up to £370m and fund further expansion there.
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The number’s up for Britain’s housing shortage
24 February 2012
A mantra could be defined as a phrase of religious or mythical script repeated to the extent that adherents develop an unquestioning belief in its veracity. Housebuilders and politicians have been repeating their own incantation for more than two decades, to the extent that just about everyone has elevated to almost Holy Writ the existence of a shortage of new homes.
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Traffic jam impedes Ikea’s Calcot store plans
24 February 2012
Ikea’s revised plan to create a 140,000 sq ft store in Calcot will be scrutinised at a special committee hearing on 4 April, after a previous planning application was rejected last February.
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Travelodge hedge fund takeover is wake-up call for landlords
24 February 2012
The property industry will be watching with interest the financial restructuring of Travelodge — one of the hotel brands to have taken multiple prelets that helped start the development of dozens of new schemes in the last year.
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Treasury Holdings “insolvent”, NAMA claims
22 February 2012
The Treasury Holdings Group of companies is insolvent and past the point of commercial rescue, the National Asset Management Agency said today.
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Twitter is for life — not just for MIPIM
24 February 2012
This column is directed at those readers who still roll their eyes when Twitter is mentioned and can’t see how social media can benefit their businesses.
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UGL counts cost of DTZ buy
24 February 2012
Net profit for half-year down by 15% but full-year profits expected to rise; UGL could rebrand as DTZ
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UPDATE: SFO allegations against Vincent Tchenguiz emerge in court for the first time
22 February 2012
The reasons for the arrest of Vincent Tchenguiz were spelled out in court for the first time today PropertyWeek.com can reveal, as alongside his brother Robert, he was granted a judicial review.
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Valuation's true value lies in communities
24 February 2012
Sir, Although it is understandable that banks, insurance companies and other property investors wish to retain high values of their asset bases by artificially maintaining unachievable rental values on their books, it is difficult to understand why they cannot learn from their past mistakes and move towards more realistic methods of valuation.
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Victoria to undergo retail therapy
24 February 2012
Plans have been submitted for an upmarket retail and leisure project in the heart of London’s Victoria.
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Virgin Media offloads lease liabilities to Legacy Portfolio
24 February 2012
Virgin Media has transferred the lease liabilities and the responsibility for managing its surplus property portfolio to lease liability specialist Legacy Portfolio.
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Wainbridge’s resi wealth division
24 February 2012
Wainbridge has launched a high-end residential development and investment arm aimed at wealthy individuals in the world’s most affluent cities.
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Westminster won't go public
24 February 2012
Why is Westminster so coy about the departure of investment portfolio manager Alastair Rudd last year?
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Who needs Cannes? Blighty hosts indie MIPIM
24 February 2012
Forced into a horrible choice between four days of blistering French sunshine and a four-course lunch at 23 Ludgate Place in Birmingham on Wednesday 7 March, Ludgate naturally picked the lunch. Sadly, one of the events is already sold out.
