Giles Barrie Editorial
Property Week
Giles Barrie has been editor of Property Week since 2003. Before working for Property Week he was news editor and deputy editor of the title’s sister magazine Building. Prior to that he was news editor at the architects’ newspaper Building Design. Giles started as a reporter at Property Week’s forerunner Estates Times in 1989, having graduated in English & History from Leeds University. He led Property Week to the PPA Weekly Magazine of the Year title in 2007 and 2009, and was named PPA Editor of the Year in 2009, too. He was short listed for the BSME Business Editor of the Year category in 2006 and 2007, and Highly Commended in 2008. He is married with a daughter (11) and son (8) and lives in Charlton, south-east London. Follow @GilesBarrie
Stories by this contributor.
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Compulsory resolution to Croydon face-off
25 May 2012
Embarrassment continues to spread in the property industry over the antics of the freeholder and leaseholder of Croydon’s Whitgift Centre — the big shopping destination in the 1970s for anyone growing up in the south-east.
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BCO 2012: Parris says London 'too successful'
24 May 2012
Times columnist and former MP Matthew Parris set the cat among the pigeons at Manchester’s British Council for Offices conference today by saying London is ‘too successful’.
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Debt-bound banks: better to give than to receive
18 May 2012
Property Week was among the loudest voices speaking out against soaring bank lending to real estate in the mid-2000s.
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Midweek Bulletin: LandSecs outperforms market expectations
16 May 2012
Land Securities, the UK’s largest property company, today revealed positive annual results despite the gloomy economic outlook.
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Crisis on cards for landlords as Clinton caves
11 May 2012
“Clinton Cards was renowned in the 1980s and the late 1990s for making the market. You could rely on Clinton to break the record rent and attempt to obliterate the opposition in towns where there was surplus supply.
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GVA quashes doubt with debt deal
10 May 2012
GVA this week announced a debt-for-equity swap with loan note holder Lloyds Development Capital which will see the investor own 30% of the agency by 2014.
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GVA quashes doubt with debt deal
10 May 2012
GVA this week announced a debt-for-equity swap with loan note holder Lloyds Development Capital which will see the investor own 30% of the agency by 2014.
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Climbdown on Lord's development ban
2 May 2012
Marylebone Cricket Club this afternoon withdrew a controversial motion to ban residential development at the home of cricket.
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Midweek Bulletin: "Developers should consider resi for business parks"
2 May 2012
Developers should consider knocking down vacant or underperforming business park buildings and developing residential instead, members of the property industry heard at the Knight Frank M25 research breakfast this morning.
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Women are integral to UK property's future success
27 April 2012
Why create a Women’s Power List? First, to compare with our Property’s Top 100 Women that we published in 2006.
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UK market shrinks says DTZ
24 April 2012
DTZ’s influential Money into Property report today revealed that the UK property investment market shrank by 1% in 2011, and predicted further pain to come from bank deleveraging.
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UK investment markets shrinks, "Money into Property " says
24 April 2012
DTZ’s influential Money into Property report today revealed that the UK property investment market shrank by 1% in 2011, and predicted further pain to come from bank deleveraging.
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Tech boom lights up flat first quarter for property
13 April 2012
Quarter one 2012 is over. How has UK property fared?
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Prepack predictions for LSH are premature
05 April 2012
Lambert Smith Hampton was the name on everyone’s lips this week when the question: “Which agency will be next to attempt a prepack administration?” was raised.
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Colliers prepack ensures mid-table security
30 March 2012
First DTZ, now Colliers International. One by one agency’s quoted names are collapsing into insolvency — the victims of debts incurred during ill-advised expansion in the boom (finance).
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Midweek Bulletin: Inside the Colliers UK pre-pack
28 March 2012
Property Week’s Giles Barrie and James Whitmore discuss the pre-pack sale of Colliers International UK at 3:30am today, what it means for the business and the morality of opting for the administration route.
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Myners slates Bank of England and regulation
27 March 2012
Lord Myners today called for a radical overhaul of the way the Bank of England operates and said that increased regulation of the financial services industry risked driving banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered out of the UK.
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Property’s head should rule its heart at Heathrow
23 March 2012
Heathrow third runway or Thames Estuary airport?
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Cushman’s Europe chief says arrivederci
23 March 2012
Carlo Sant’Albano to take charge of European arm
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ECOBUILD: Cost of carbon zero is too high, says Barratt chief
22 March 2012
Building sustainable homes is still too expensive, Mark Clare, chief executive of Barratt Homes, has said at bthe EcoBuild conference.
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ECOBUILD: Property needs to "up the pace" to hit carbon targets says Salway
22 March 2012
Different levels of business rates should be introduceed to encourage the property industry to hit ambitious carbon reduction targets, outgoing Land Securities chief executive Francis Salway has said.
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Cushman's Euro chief Bacon to leave
21 March 2012
Cushman & Wakefield this evening announced changes to its global top team, with European chief Paul Bacon due to step down on July 1.
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BUDGET BULLETIN: The impact on property explained
21 March 2012
Join Property Week’s Giles Barrie and Patrick Gower as they explore the key points affecting the property sector from today’s Budget announcement.
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BUDGET 2012: Candy - 'Banker-bashing replaced by property-bashing'
21 March 2012
Candy & Candy co-founder Nick Candy today slated chancellor George Osborne’s sharp increases in stamp duty on homes worth more than £2m in today’s Budget.
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MIPIM 2012: Cushman EMEA chief Bacon on fees, financing and Flower
9 March 2012
Cushman & Wakefield’s EMEA chief executive Paul Bacon joined Property Week’s Giles Barrie this morning on the beach in Cannes to wrap up this year’s MIPIM conference.
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MIPIM Blog: Why Strutt & Parker won’t be sold
9 March 2012
I challenged Strutt & Parker senior partner Andy Martin yesterday over whether the £80m a year outfit would be sold – and he gave me six reasons why it won’t.
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Home and away: British buzz and MIPIM murmurs
09 March 2012
Chilly Cannes played host to 19,000 property people this week. The UK contingent was marginally up, but public sector attendance was markedly down on previous years.While obscure overseas regions trumpeted their success, it was down to big cities such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh — and not the smaller towns — to fly the flag for Britain. And rightly so.So, what were the top 10 talking points among the hard core who were left behind?Chelsea
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MIPIM 2012: Birmingham leader warns "those Londoners trapped in a time-warp"
8 March 2012
Councillor Mike Whitby has criticsed the nay-sayers in London who think there is no-life in the regions, saying his city is grabbing international interest as a top city to visit.
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MIPIM 2012: London not in danger of "housing bubble" says Cowell
7 March 2012
London should not fear a housing bubble as in-flows of international money are not likely to dry up, Nicholas Cowell, managing partner of the Cowell Group of Companies, said last night.
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MIPIM 2012: Finance expert joins KPMG
6 March 2012
Stephen Barter, one of property’s best known financiers, has joined Big Four accountant KPMG.
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MIPIM BLOG: My most memorable MIPIMs
5 March 2012
Here are my five most memorable MIPIMs. This is my 20th - having started in 1992 and missed only one year when a new dad - so it will be fascinating to make comparisons with the past.
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Leader: “There has been bitchiness about Irvine Sellar’s Shard in London”
02 March 2012
With Property Week readers following news from MIPIM on iPhone, iPad and laptops over the next week, today we revert to a magazine, rather than newspaper style, for our first international special of 2012.
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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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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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Midweek Bulletin: Why is Westfield selling out of smaller schemes?
15 February 2012
Following the news revealed by Property Week last night that Westfield has sold out of three regional shopping centres, the Midweek Bulletin looks at what this means for Westfield’s strategy.
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Midweek Bulletin: Salway's rollercoaster ride and Noel at the helm
24 January 2012
Property Week’s editor-in-chief Giles Barrie and executive editor James Whitmore discuss the news today that Rob Noel will take over from Francis Salway as chief executive of Land Securities at the end of March.
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Red Book overhaul is long overdue
13 January 2012
Valuers have had a tough downturn, berated by banks and fund managers disillusioned with the advice they received and the shadow of litigation still looming large.
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It’s a grind ahead in 2012, but no calamity
06 January 2012
“We predict increased investment volumes of £35bn, but reduced returns of 7%-9%,” was how we kicked off 2011 in this column last year.
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Shapps announces another private rented review
23 December 2011
Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced the latest in a string of reviews designed to kickstart institutional investment in the Private Rented Sector.
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Blackstone takes year end industrial deals close to £1bn
23 December 2011
US private equity giant Blackstone has exchanged contracts to £479m of industrial property - bringing to a close a bumper week for the sector.
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Tchenguiz wins battle during Serious Fraud Office war
23 December 2011
Enterpreneur Vincent Tchenguiz has won a significant battle in his war with the Serious Fraud Office - but continues to be under investigation by authorities.
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`No Value' to Blacks Leisure shares
23 December 2011
Millets owner Blacks Leisure today warned that it is `most unlikely’ that any value will be attributed to its shares as it undergoes a rescue sale process.
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Safe haven Britain is shelter from global storm
2 December 2011
“There is no point being the richest man in a poor street” was the view of one top developer when confronted by the deepening economic gloom this week.
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Midweek Bulletin: What does the Autumn Statement mean for property?
29 November 2011
In a gloomy economic environment, the ramifications of Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement today for the property industry have the potential to be huge.
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“Mortgage REITs” can come to the rescue
25 November 2011
Monday’s Association of Property Bankers conference, held in association with Property Week, was among the most sombre events of this year.
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MAPIC 2011: Outlet malls and why they're hot property
17 November 2011
One sub-sector has been lavished more praise than any other at this year’s MAPIC, the humble outlet mall.
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MAPIC 2011: Shopping centres are not being over-valued says Land Securities' Akers
17 November 2011
Shopping centres are not being over-valued, Richard Akers, managing director of Land Securities’ retail portfolio, said at MAPIC, although he conceded that rental valuations “haven’t changed as fast as they should.”
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MAPIC 2011 BLOG: Ten hot topics from Cannes
17 November 2011
MAPIC’s mood is better than in late 2008 but gloomier than at any time since.
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MAPIC 2011: Marks & Spencer plans aggressive international expansion
16 November 2011
Marks & Spencer international director Jan Heere told a MAPIC audience today that the retailer was planning to expand overseas by 50-60 stores a year – a total of 100,000-120,000 sq m of space.
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Australians should leave DTZ to rebuild alone
11 November 2011
What a week for DTZ. On Monday it hit rock bottom, and many staff were among shareholders who saw their investment wiped out
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Midweek Bulletin: What would UGL's DTZ takeover mean for UK business?
8 November 2011
DTZ’s announcement today that it has picked Australian facilities management company UGL as preferred bidder for the company creates an unusual cultural partnership.
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Make or break for retail property’s middle men
4 November 2011
Manchester’s September BCSC conference was buzzing. Only one top retail agent wasn’t happy.
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New Crown chief prepares for battle over the border
28 October 2011
The government has pledged to respond to the consultation to its draft National Planning Policy Framework by March, but is likely to make concessions before then
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Recession lessons from a former ‘junk bond king’
28 October 2011
Britain’s best-known developer, Gerald Ronson, and American superstar financier Michael Milken have a lot in common.
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DTZ’s descent after it turned its back on deals
21 October 2011
How did an anonymous chairman in Tim Melville-Ross come to replace true-blue property man Lay at the helm
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PWTV: Bob Neill - objectors to NPPF "have misread the document"
18 October 2011
Those objecting to the National Planning Policy Framework “don’t give the impression of having read the document”, Bob Neill, the under secretary of state for Communities and Local Government told Property Week today.
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Internet can be saviour of retail property
14 October 2011
Dixons chief John Browett used Accessible Retail’s annual conference, held in association with Property Week, to defy received wisdom about the internet’s impact on retail property.
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Midweek Bulletin: Treasury plans improve REIT access?
13 October 2011
The Treasury is planning changes to real estate investment trusts (REITs) which could see greater access to the structure and private investment in the social housing market.
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Lessons from punk era shed light on Greek crisis
7 October 2011
The “punk years” is how one top property banker described the global lending picture to us this week
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BCSC reveals retail’s uphill progress
23 September 2011
Sober, but not sombre was the mood among 2,500 delegates at annual shopping centre extravaganza BCSC in Manchester this week
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BCSC: Phil "the Power" Taylor launches Marks & Spencer Stoke anchor plans
21 September 2011
Marks & Spencer has agreed heads of terms to open a 100,000 sq ft anchor store in Realis Estates’ City Sentral scheme in Stoke.
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RESI 2011 Blog: 'Capital preservation should be the main focus of any investment decision’
15 September 2011
This would have been music to the ears of the 1050 delegates at today’s RESI 2011 after a sombre presentation from HSBC Global head of asset allocation Fredrik Nerbrand
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RESI 2011: Pickles backs Property Week's planning campaign
15 September 2011
Communities secretary Eric Pickles today welcomed Property Week’s Campaign for Sustainable Development in a keynote speech to delegates at the RESI conference in south Wales
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Westfield shows development is force for good
15 September 2011
2,000 local unemployed in work; 14,000 new jobs on the opening day; 75% of electrical power from on–site combined cooling, heat and power; 50% retail waste recycled; 58 trains an hour connecting with central London
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RESI 2011: Property Week launches pro-development campaign
15 September 2011
Property Week today launches a “Campaign for Sustainable Development”, calling for readers’ support for development that will help revive the UK.
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PWTV: Westfield chairman Frank Lowy on the Olympics, the recession and Westfield Stratford City
13 September 2011
Frank Lowy, chairman and co-founder of property development giant Westfield, gave a rare interview to Property Week at the opening of Westfield Stratford City this afternoon.
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Rebuilding America from Ground Zero up
9 September 2011
According to Bloomberg, if the US Federal Government were a family, it would earn $58,000 a year and spend $75,000
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Property Finance 2012: a guide for troubled times
2 September 2011
Stock markets continued their volatile passage through the summer this week, with prices on Wednesday for once on the ascent
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Midweek Bulletin: Why is Cushman lagging behind CBRE and JLL?
1 September 2011
Cushman & Wakefield this week reported a half year loss of $22.4m - a potentially worrying sign considering the strong profits being achieved at its rivals Jones Lang LaSalle and CB Richard Ellis.
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Property cannot rehabilitate rioting hordes
26 August 2011
“I am visiting from London. My 10-year-old son and I really want tickets for tonight’s game. Can you help?” “Well, we are sold out, but I figure anything is better than being at home in your riots – so we will find a way.”The helpful telephonist therefore helped this columnist and son Daniel to enjoy a great evening on Tuesday 9 August, watching the New York Yankees suffer a surprise 4-6 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels.Returning from 17 days in north America, the story shows the huge
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Property needs pioneers like Cutts
26 August 2011
John Cutts is one of property’s last true buccaneers, writes Giles Barrie
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Midweek Bulletin: Parkridge's collapse
25 August 2011
The placing of Parkridge Holdings and Parkridge Gate Developments into administration today has seen the banking sector move on one of the most dynamic property companies work within the European property scene.
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Property slavery brings shame on sector
5 August 2011
August is the time when many property businesses accommodate young people wanting to learn about the world of work as interns
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Midweek Bulletin: Capital Shopping Centres and Hammerson go head-to-head
3 August 2011
Property Week’s editor-in-chief Giles Barrie and executive editor James Whitmore compare the latest results announcements from Hammerson and Capital Shopping Centres.
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It’s the end of localism as we know it
29 July 2011
“Tories’ idealism would quickly turn to realism” was the future we forecast for the localism agenda that seized Conservative voters in the lead-up to the election last year (leader, 16.04.10).
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Treasury knights can save property unit’s crusade
22 July 2011
John Prescott, the 7/7 bombings, regional assemblies, phone hacking – Property Week has an early-2000s feel today. We investigate how the former deputy prime minister’s dream of devolved regional fire control, fuelled by the London blasts, ended in disaster, while you can have your say on Rupert Murdoch in our weekly poll.We will report your views on the media tycoon next week, but today let’s examine how Prescott’s department is likely to burn through £431m on a failed property
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Friday Bulletin: Olympics 2012 Extravaganza
15 July 2011
Property Week’s editor-in-chief Giles Barrie and group production director Samantha Warrington guide you through the Olympics 2012 special being launched today.
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Two men who formed an Olympic-sized vision
15 July 2011
This is the tale of two outsiders. The first, Reg Ward, died in January. He was celebrated by 200 regeneration veterans at Canary Wharf last Monday night.The memories were of the days when the fog used to close in on the Isle of Dogs, locals pining for the return of the docks declared a unilateral declaration of independence and the obvious property play was low-grade sheds.But Ward had a bigger vision than that: to ensure dock walls and cranes were listed to preserve the past b
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Portas: admit some high streets need to shrink
8 July 2011
What do you think of the government’s choice of Mary Portas to review the future of the high street?
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Midweek Bulletin: DTZ - the latest on the takeover and financial results
7 July 2011
Join Property Week’s editor-in-chief Giles Barrie and executive editor James Whitmore on the day DTZ released its annual financial results to take a lot at how the business is doing and the latest on its takeover plan.
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A glass half-full — but only just
1 July 2011
The first half of 2011 ended yesterday. What is the prognosis for property in the second half?Let’s start with what is needed for a healthy market:An end to the banking crisisLess red tape and new regulationRents growing at, say, 3%Choice of new development for retailers, corporates and manufacturers.What have we got? None of the above.The year started strongly. PropertyData recorded a total of £10bn of transactions in January,
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Midweek Bulletin: Minerva out of its misery?
29 June 2011
Property Week’s Giles Barrie and James Whitmore discuss the news today that Area and Delancey have this morning revealed a £202.6m recommended cash offer for Minerva - bringing the long-running take-over saga near to conclusion.
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Friday Bulletin: How localism is damaging development
24 June 2011
Following the news today that councils have sent a resounding message to the government that its localism agenda will drastically cut UK housebuilding, Property Week’s bulletin looks in depth at the policy and its impact.
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Bribery Act: nothing to fear if you act with integrity
24 June 2011
For years Americans, Germans and French have called Britain the corrupt man of Europe
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DTZ takeover can work — at the right price
17 June 2011
A new era for DTZ looks set to start as early as next week with confirmation of an offer that will ultimately lead to a merger with BNP Paribas Real Estate
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Prudence and variety key to Agency 2011 success
3 June 2011
“I don’t know why, but the past 12 months have been the hardest yet,” a head of commercial at a top agency told us a couple of months ago. Here is why: the UK’s top 58 agencies generated £218m more UK revenue than the previous year, which added up to a total of £2.3bn for our Agency 2011 survey.At the same time, they employed only 207 more staff – 21,460 in total, compared with 21,153 in 2010 – so a few more people generated almost 10% more cash. Fee earners shouldn’t complain too much
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Friday Bulletin: Internal documents reveal the detail of the JLL-King Sturge merger
27 May 2011
In this week’s bulletin Property Week’s Giles Barrie and James Whitmore give you the details behind the Jones Lang Lasalle/King Sturge merger from internal documents obtained by the magazine.
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Eight-point plan for Portas’s high street rescue
27 May 2011
Ed Miliband started it, criticising the “Tesco-isation” of Britain’s high streets on the BBC Politics Show on 1 May
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JLL-King Sturge merger imminent
25 May 2011
Jones Lang LaSalle and King Sturge are close to announcing their merger deal.
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Midweek Bulletin: Land Securities' mega results - and what they mean for the market
18 May 2011
Giles Barrie and James Whitmore discuss Land Securities’ impressive annual results and what they mean for the wider property market.
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Jones Lang LaSalle and King Sturge in merger talks
17 May 2011
Two of the giants of the agency field, Jones Lang LaSalle and King Sturge, are in merger talks.
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BCO 2011: `Broadgate cannot be static'
13 May 2011
British Land leasing director Paul Burgess told the British Council for Offices conference in Geneva today that the City of London’s Broadgate needs to keep being developed despite calls for it be listed by conservation groups.
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Do not expect banks to pursue logic and sell
13 May 2011
Barry Gilbertson, former RICS president, ex-PWC recovery specialist and now consultant to Knight Frank, called for “Phase IV” of the property crash on Tuesday this week
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BCO Conference: Howard highlights global risks
12 May 2011
Former Conservative leader Michael Howard this morning highlighted a shaky Eurozone as a key risk to the UK economy at the BCO conference in Geneva.
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Only one route to redemption for valuers
06 May 2011
Surveyors sat expectantly at the newly rebuilt national venue, the occasion was the biggest in their profession for a decade
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Midweek Bulletin: Inside the CB Richard Ellis and Jones Lang LaSalle Q1 figures
27 April 2011
In this week’s Midweek Bulletin Giles Barrie and James Whitmore turn their attention to the first quarter results released today by the two largest global property consultancies - CB Richard Ellis and Jones Lang LaSalle.
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Awards Bulletin: Inside the judging process
8 April 2011
Property Week’s Giles Barrie and James Whitmore take you inside the judging process for the Property Awards 2011, explaining the rationale behind some of this year’s big winners.
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Midweek Bulletin: Q1 Round-Up
31 March 2011
Property Week editor-in-chief Giles Barrie and executive editor James Whitmore deliver a Q1 special discussing the mood across the property market at a range of events this week.
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Bright to step down at Crown Estate
25 March 2011
Roger Bright is to retire as chief executive of the Crown Estate at the end of the year.
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Midweek Budget Bulletin: Everything you need to know from this year's Budget
23 March 2011
Property Week’s editor-in-chief Giles Barrie and assistant editor (professional) Richard Heap take you through the top five key points from this year’s Budget.
