Latest letters
Workspace market goes mainstream
Editor: The news that Selfridges has signed a management deal with workspace provider Fora is evidence of the growing and evolving appetite for flexible working.
Small flex space firms drive sector
Editor: Despite wobbles in the market, the flexible workspace ‘Goliaths’ armed with buckets of cash and asset-backed finance continue to take up swathes of commercial space.
WeWork changed the office market for the better
Editor: The sad saga of WeWork is a shame.
Retail-to-resi PDR: devil is in detail
Editor: I am writing in response to the Conservatives’ recent election pledge to relax shops-to-homes planning laws.
Big landlords can succeed in the flexible market
Editor: In his recent interview with Property Week, IWG founder Mark Dixon argued that large landlords should not set up their own flexible workspace operations but should instead partner with established flexible workspace providers.
Not all tall buildings are created equal
Editor: I was pleased to hear a rallying cry from Johnny Ronan for tall buildings and the need to build cities higher, especially with the current emphasis on low-rise successes such as the RIBA Stirling Prize-winning Goldsmith Street scheme in Norwich.
Regtech can help mitigate risk in the property sector
Editor: In September, Purplebricks warned shareholders that it was in discussion with HMRC over its anti-money laundering procedures and that there could be a potential cost.
Flexible office model is here to stay
Editor: The further we dig into the sorry story of WeWork, the clearer it becomes that the factors that led to its incredible expansion worldwide are the same factors that have fuelled its demise.
Q-Park sale-and-leaseback strategy will pay off
Editor: It has been reported that parking operator Q-Park has completed 14 sale-and-leasebacks across the UK since March this year. Investors are more interested in the market than ever before – but why?
The WeWork story is not all negative
Editor: Your article ‘The Rise and Fall of WeWork’ rightly outlined some of the irresponsible and frankly bizarre business practices employed by WeWork prior to its recent woes: damaging corporate governance, an unsustainable financial model, strange management practices and too many spin-off ventures held loosely together under the We Company ...
McVey’s vision for modular housing is spot on
Editor: The news that housing minister Esther McVey has called for the UK to become a ‘centre of excellence’ for modular housing, with the north of England as the ‘construction hub’, couldn’t come soon enough.
National Design Guide much needed
Editor: Housing secretary Robert Jenrick’s warning to developers about poor homes is a timely reminder of the need for quality design, and the value of the recently released National Design Guide.
