Mark Wilding Editorial
Property Week
Mark Wilding is senior reporter at Property Week and PropertyWeek.com. He writes news and analysis on subjects including regional offices, sheds, auctions and public policy. He also trawls court documents for property scandals. Before joining Property Week his first journalism role was as a news reporter for Planning magazine. He got the job after 18 months working in a local authority planning department, which on reflection was just about worth it. Mark enjoys playing poker but losing less so. On occasion he goes rock climbing and mountain biking, but the North London terrain means this is not as exciting as it sounds. He has recently discovered an ill-advised interest in kickboxing, but his other sporting ambitions have so far gone unrealised. Find Mark on LinkedIn or on Twitter @mark_wilding.
Stories by this contributor.
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No end in sight for investors’ love affair with London
10 May 2013
Overseas equity continues to be attracted; professional services will offset financial occupiers’ retrenchment
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Mayoral rivals concur on need to tackle London housing
10 May 2013
Steven Norris and Ken Livingstone call on government to invest in housebuilding and infrastructure
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Introduction of NPPF has not helped retail through planning
22 March 2013
Housing applications have had increased success rate, but not retail.
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Places for People of all ages
1 March 2013
Group’s purchases in last month span retirement homes and private rented.
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Inside the deal: Sittingbourne gets into the spirit
15 February 2013
Private consortium to work with council on regeneration of Kent town
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Post-haste: Amazon's quest for sheds
15 February 2013
Amazon is on the hunt for 1m sq ft sheds in key locations — ideally by yesterday. Mark Wilding reports
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We shall not be moved
8 February 2013
Lack of alternatives and money worries persuade occupiers to stick around.
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India: the next level
05 October 2012
Overseas developers still face an uphill struggle to realise India’s potential. Mark Wilding reports
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Comply and prosper
05 October 2012
Investing in your industry seems like a no-brainer, but beware of the pitfalls. Mark Wilding reports
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Use class changes up for debate
14 September 2012
Critics argue that new legislation does not do enough to drive growth. Mark Wilding reports
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Westfield sucks in surrounding trade
07 September 2012
A year since Stratford mall opened, neighbouring centres feel pain.
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Co-operative councils forced to backpedal after intervention
6 July 2012
North London Waste Plan rejection highlights need to demonstrate duty. Mark Wilding reports
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Greater London Authority to help accelerate Thames Gateway regeneration
10 February 2012
£34m of schemes in area to receive new round of investment. Mark Wilding reports
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Quill may go back to drawing board
10 February 2012
The Quill was intended as a landmark student accommodation building for the south London borough of Southwark, designed to celebrate the area’s literary heritage.
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Localism Act looms large over property
2 December 2011
Localism Act could turn property industry upside down. Mark Wilding reports
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Fees row cripples planning teams
21 October 2011
Updated regime still no nearer after delays to consultation results. Mark Wilding reports
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Empty ideas that save money
26 August 2011
Charities and landlords can reduce empty rates liabilities through meanwhile uses
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All to pay for
19 August 2011
There are signs that the new planning gain regime may force developers to contribute to much more than just infrastructure
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Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) front runners
19 August 2011
The first local authorities to introduce a community infrastructure levy
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No magic pill for Pfizer closure headache
10 June 2011
Myriad options being discussed for pharmaceutical company’s Sandwich site
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JJB Sports announces CVA plans
11 February 2011
JJB Sports has confirmed plans to enter into a company voluntary arrangement. The retailer intends to close up to 45 stores, and has placed 50 more under review.
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Tideway regeneration approved by Wandsworth
11 February 2011
A regeneration scheme at the Tideway Industrial Estate in Nine Elms has been approved by the London Borough of Wandsworth.
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Threadneedle to buy New York portfolio
11 February 2011
Threadneedle has placed under offer the New York portfolio of 156 high street banks and offices for around £90m, representing a yield of around 6.6%.
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Glasshouse Group secures £7.5m Barclays loan
11 February 2011
Barclays Corporate has provided a £7.5m to property investor Glasshouse Group.
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Richard Powers to leave Goldman Sachs
11 February 2011
Richard Powers, Goldman Sachs’ co-head of its Real Estate Principal Investment Area (REPIA) in the Americas is leaving. He will retire at the end of March.
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Battersea Power Station architects appointed
11 February 2011
Treasury Holdings has appointed Ian Simpson Architects and de Rijke Marsh Morgan as architects for the first phase of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment.
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Alternative plans sought for Aldgate Place
11 February 2011
Savills has been appointed by Tishman Speyer and HSH Nordbank to review alternatives for Aldgate Place, where an 850,000 sq ft office scheme was due to be developed.
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Back In The Zone: the return of enterprise zones
11 February 2011
How can the coalition government shift the focus from cost cutting to growth through property?
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Merchant Navy scuttles portfolio sale
11 February 2011
Pension fund abandons planned £150m exit from real estate
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Berlin pulls $4bn property sale to UK fund
9 February 2011
Berlin city council has pulled out of talks to sell its real estate management firm, Berliner Immobilien Holdings GmbH, to a UK fund.
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Allsop raises £48.5m but sales drop to 67%
9 February 2011
Allsop raised £48.5m, with a sale rate of 67%, at its first commercial auction of the year yesterday.
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Grainger secures £100m debt facility from Prudential arm
9 February 2011
Grainger has secured a £100m debt facility from M&G, an arm of insurance giant Prudential
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Lloyds banks on CBRE to release offices
04 February 2011
Property services firm helps kickstart disposal of 500,000 sq ft of redundant space
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Garbe rescued by heavenly host in Milton Keynes
04 February 2011
Waitrose takes space at German fund’s long-vacant Celestia shed
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ProLogis and AMB agree merger
31 January 2011
ProLogis and AMB Property Corporation have agreed an all-stock merger. The combined total market capitalisation of the two companies will be more than $24bn, with more than $46bn of gross assets under management.
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Helios teams up with Danish soccer star
28 January 2011
Helios Europe to back Dutch developer led by Dane Jan Heintze
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McGarry mortgage fraud was ‘avoidable’
28 January 2011
Banks and building societies failed to carry out adequate checks, court hears
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“Tesco Tax” voted down by Scottish MPs
26 January 2011
Plans for an extra business rates levy on large retailers, dubbed the “Tesco Tax”, have been voted down by Scottish MPs.
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Businesses to take lead role in neighbourhood forums
26 January 2011
Business-led neighbourhood forums are to be piloted by the British Property Federation as part of the government’s proposed localism reforms.
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McGarry and Afzal plead guilty to involvement in £50m mortgage fraud
25 January 2011
Former Dunlop Haywards head of valuations Ian McGarry and Birmingham businessman Saghir Afzal have pleaded quilty to involvement in a £50m commercial mortgage fraud.
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Alumno gets consent for student flats in Camberwell
24 January 2011
Alumno Developments, a specialist student accommodation provider, has been granted planning consent to refurbish buildings on Peckham Road, Camberwell in London.
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Birch Coppice agents instructed
24 January 2011
IM Properties has instructed Colliers International and CB Richard Ellis as agents on Birch Coppice Business Park, in Dordon, North Warwickshire.
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Property insolvencies fall by 32%
24 January 2011
Property company insolvencies fell by 32.3% in 2010 compared to the previous year, according to research by Experian.
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London leads European office market recovery
24 January 2011
London, Paris and Moscow are leading the way in rental growth across Europe, according to King Sturge’s quarterly report European Property Indicators.
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Ordnance Survey reveals changed state of high street
21 January 2011
The number of estate agents, building societies and auction houses on the high street has fallen significantly since the onset of the recession, according to Ordnance Survey.
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Bailey Hodge lets Atlantic House East to Capital Law
21 January 2011
Bailey Hodge Investments has let the 20,000 sq ft Atlantic House East in Cardiff to Capital Law LLP.
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Rockspring strengthens fund management team
21 January 2011
Rockspring Property Investment has appointed Mischa Davis as fund manager of the Rockspring Hanover Property Unit Trust.Charles Baigler has been appointed as assistant fund manager of the Rockspring PanEuropean Property Limited Partnership.
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Segro agrees pre-let with Selig in Slough
21 January 2011
Segro has pre-let a 75,445 sq ft warehouse at Slough Trading Estate to Selig UK on a 15-year term.
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Tesco signs with Gazeley for £20m Enfield shed
21 January 2011
Tesco has signed a deal with Gazeley to pre-lease a 152,000 sq ft distribution centre in north London, in a deal worth £20m.
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Prime rents stable says CBRE
21 January 2011
Prime rents for UK commercial property were stable in the final quarter of 2010, with growth of 0.1%, according to research by CB Richard Ellis.
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Segro secures Farnborough expansion green light
20 January 2011
Segro has secured planning permission for the expansion of its IQ Farnborough development.
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ProLogis buys two warehouses in France
18 January 2011
ProLogis has bought two logistics warehouses in France from the Simply Market supermarket chain for €30m on behalf of ProLogis European Properties Fund II.Simply Market has signed a ten-year lease with ProLogis to continue occupying both buildings, located in Brétigny-sur-Orge, southern Paris, and Amiens, northern France.The two facilities total 765,000 sq ft.Logan Smith, head of European acquisitions at ProLogis, said: “These two strategically positioned buildings are an
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Brum deal for Salmon Harvester
18 January 2011
Salmon Harvester Opportunity Fund has bought 1 Victoria Square in Birmingham from Serviced Office UK for £17.5m, as tipped by Property Week.
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CBRE appoints head of planning for the regions
18 January 2011
CB Richard Ellis has appointed Philip Scott as head of planning for the regions.
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Mannings leaves Colliers International
18 January 2011
Colliers International head of national offices Jonathan Mannings has left the company.
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Corestate appoints former Terra Firma man as chief executive
18 January 2011
Private equity real estate investor Corestate Group has appointed Phillip Burns as chief executive.
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Burson-Marsteller signs at Central Saint Giles
18 January 2011
Burson-Marsteller has signed a lease at Legal & General Property and Mitsubishi Estate Company’s Central Saint Giles scheme in London’s West End.
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Exton in institutional funding double
14 January 2011 upload
Company secures funding for Taplow scheme and completes Weybridge deal
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Private investor buys South Mundells estate
11 January 2011
A private investor has bought South Mundells business park in Welwyn Garden City for £3.44m, reflecting a net initial yield of 9.92%.
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Threadneedle buys in Avonmouth
11 January 2011
Threadneedle has bought the IO Centre, Bristol from the Church Commissioners for £7.1m, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.4%.
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BCSC warns against funding nimbyism
11 January 2011
The retail property sector has warned that government funding for communities to engage with planning must not be used to fund ‘nimby’ groups.
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Madejski sells Station Hill to Benson Elliot and Stanhope
11 January 2011
The £400m Station Hill development in Reading has been bought by a joint venture between private equity firm Benson Elliot and Stanhope, whose involvement was tipped by Property Week.
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Lime Property Fund bags £114m of deals
10 January 2011
Aviva Investors’ Lime Property Fund has completed four investment transactions totalling £114m.
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Chiswick spark: Blackstone to buy £480m office park
7 January 2011
Blackstone beats London & Stamford to buy west London business park for £480m
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Landid buys former Sun spot in Surrey
07 January 2011
Former Akeler man bullish for south-east with Sun Microsystems site purchase
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Three new members for Rockspring fund committee
5 January 2011
Three members have been appointed to the investment advisory comittee of the Rockspring-managed €1billion open-ended PanEuropean Property Limited Partnership fund.
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Winfield and Leach quit Cushman & Wakefield
5 January 2011
Two senior investment agents at Cushman & Wakefield, Peter Winfield and James Leach, have left the firm.
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Reading's Adelphi House bought by F&C Reit
5 January 2011
F&C Reit has bought Adelphi House in Reading for its UK Property Fund. The 29,792 sq ft office building was bought for £7.29m at a net initial yield of 7.65%.
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Parkside Place preferred bidder announced
5 January 2011
Grosvenor Developments has chosen Willmott Dixon as preferred bidder for the £17.5m Parkside Place project in Cambridge.
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AEW and Tristan buy Polish shopping centre for £78m
22 December 2010
European Property Investors Special Opportunities Fund has bought the Jantar Shopping Centre in Poland for around €92m (£78.3m). The fund is co-advised by AEW Europe and Tristan Capital Partners.
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Vaskronan buys £400m property in Stockholm
22 December 2010
Vasakronan has bought Blåmannen 20 in Stockholm, also known as “Klara Zenit”, for SEK 4.35bn (£414m) from HausInvest, in Sweden’s largest ever single-asset property deal.
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Henderson to develop Silver Hill after Thornfield purchase
22 December 2010
A 600,000 sq ft stalled development in Winchester will be brought back to life after Henderson Global Investors bought the project’s owning companies. The scheme could now be completed in 2015.
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Broadcasting House redevelopment completed
22 December 2010
Construction work on Broadcasting House has been completed and the building handed to the BBC by developer Land Securities and building contractor Bovis Lend Lease.
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British Land and Oxford Properties agree Cheesegrater JV
22 December 2010
British Land and Oxford Properties have agreed a 50/50 joint venture to develop the 610,000 sq ft Leadenhall Building, nicknamed “The Cheesegrater”, in the City of London.
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Retail landlords still sceptical over monthly rents
22 December 2010
The number of retail landlords switching from quarterly to monthly payments has stalled in the past year, according to the British Retail Consortium.
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Knight Frank recruits retail investment head from CBRE
21 December 2010
Knight Frank has recruited Bruce Nutman as partner to head up its retail investment business.
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Demand for secondary retail grows says DTZ
21 December 2010
Investors’ appetite for good secondary retail assets has grown in the last quarter, according to research from DTZ.
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High Speed rail route published
21 December 2010
The proposed route for a high speed rail network linking London to the West Midlands, Manchester and Leeds has been published by the government.
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CBRE poaches Colliers South East office head
21 December 2010
CB Richard Ellis has appointed Mark Emburey as director of office agency in its business space offices team.
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HCA Midlands head Spooner to retire in 2011
20 December 2010
Homes and Communities Agency Midlands executive director Paul Spooner is leaving the organisation next year.
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Savills closes commercial auction team
20 December 2010
Savills is closing its commercial auction team at the end of the year, resulting in the loss of three jobs.
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London medical research institute gets go-ahead
17 December 2010
Plans to build a £500m world-leading medical research institute at St Pancras in London have been approved by the London Borough of Camden.
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Fife mega-shed on Amazon wish list
17 December 2010
Graftongate to develop 1m sq ft distribution centre for retailer in Dunfermline
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Localism bill leaves more question marks
17 December 2010
Property industry awaits details on planning and development process
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Sadek leaves CBRE for top UK Regeneration post
16 December 2010
Jackie Sadek, head of regeneration at CB Richard Ellis, is leaving to become chief executive of UK Regeneration.
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Neill drops £400m empty rates bombshell on small businesses
14 December 2010
Empty rates relief for small properties has been scrapped in a move likely to cost businesses £400m a year.
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Targetfollow assets sell at Acuitus auction
10 December 2010
Three out of four assets from the Targetfollow portfolio sold at the Acuitus commercial auction yesterday.
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Acuitus auction sees strong UK interest
10 December 2010
Acuitus raised £25.9m from 24 lots yesterday, with a sale rate of 55%.
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Property poised for planning turmoil from localism bill
10 December 2010
High Court action and neighbourhood plan problems characterise progress of coalition’s key policy
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PWC cracks Bristol’s £160m Glass Wharf
10 December 2010
Administrator to stalled scheme attracts investors for next two phases
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20-30-40-50: Colliers International associate director Sarah Banfield
10 December 2010
Every week, we meet a property person from a different age group. This week, Mark Wilding talks to 30-year-old Sarah Banfield, fitness freak, chef, and associate director of research and forecasting at Colliers International
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Green light for leisure complex at Edgbaston Mill
8 December 2010
Calthorpe Estates and Wylam Investments have been granted planning permission for a leisure complex which will complete their Edgbaston Mill scheme.
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BNP Paribas Real Estate poaches Knight Frank head of research
8 December 2010
BNP Paribas Real Estate has appointed Claire Higgins as head of UK research. Higgins joins from Knight Frank where she has been head of research for five years.
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Praxis sells £26m portfolio
8 December 2010
Praxis Holdings has sold a portfolio of five UK offices to an overseas investor for around £26m.
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Floating hotel at former coal jetty touted by auctioneer
8 December 2010
A former London coal jetty is being marketed as a berth for a floating hotel to help meet the shortage of hotel beds ahead of the 2012 Olympics.
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Allsop hits 80% sale rate at December auction
8 December 2010
Cash-rich foreign buyers and new Far Eastern investors helped Allsop drive its sale rate back to 80% at its last commercial auction of the year yesterday.
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Hermes buys Westcore from Segro
8 December 2010
Hermes has bought the Westcore portfolio from Segro for £79.6m at a yield of 7.35%, as tipped by Property Week.
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King Sturge expands industrial team
6 December 2010
King Sturge has appointed Melinda Cross and David Peck as partners in its industrial and logistics agency team.
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Liverpool Plaza office refurbishment completed
6 December 2010
Bruntwood has recently finished refurbishing 23,000 sq ft of office space on a single floor at The Plaza in Liverpool.
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Gazeley sells Strood site to Royal Mail
6 December 2010
Gazeley has sold G Park Strood, a 13.5 acre industrial site, to Royal Mail for the construction of a distribution warehouse.
