All articles by Lucy Benyon
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Markets
One for the road
The hospitality industry has taken to the road. Lucy Benyon reports on the hotel and restaurant companies springing up from Lands End to John O'Groats
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Insight
Access all areas
Self-storage is finally taking off as an investment sector in the UK, as entrepreneurs like Nick Leslau and Nigel Wray pile in. Leading the charge is Security Capital-financed Access, with £105m to spend on new sites.
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Insight
Breaking the mould
Britain s leading developers and architects have thrown their weight behind Property Week s campaign to rewrite planning guidelines for historic areas. This week we reveal how architects Lord Rogers and Richard MacCormac and lobbyist Richard Coleman want the government to change the rules.
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Insight
Hit the north
The government s annual survey of regional trends has revealed a huge difference between the prosperity of the north and south. In the second part of our feature on the RDAs strategies, Lucy Benyon asks whether the northern agencies will succeed in addressing the disparity
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News
DETR’s delay on rating enrages occupiers
Occupiers have slammed the government for its failure to make a swift decision over the transitional phasing of rating bills, which has now been delayed for two months. The DETR was expected to make an announcement on the relief the system of phasing in rises and ...
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Insight
Deals on wheels?
Multi-dealership auto parks are the latest way of bringing customers and cars together, but can developers sell the idea to institutional investors?
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Insight
In a rich man’s world
As boardroom members return from their long summer break, the DTI s attempts to stamp out the excesses of executive pay are back on the agenda. Lucy Benyon reports
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Insight
Working on the chain gang
A year from now and a new power will take control in the capital. In the second of our features on lobbying,this reportdiscovers whether the property industry is ready for the Mayor of London
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Insight
Questions in the house
The property industry's record on lobbying government is poor. Now it must survive in a new political climate, influencing both national and regional government. In the first of two features on lobbying
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Insight
Weighing up the net gains
Not content with building concrete malls, one US real estate company is investing in a virtual mall. Friend or foe, landlords ignore the internet at their peril.
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News
Chamber slams VO's internet assessment
The British Chamber of Commerce has hit out at Valuation Office proposals to put rating estimates solely on the Internet, claiming that this could lead to delays and confusion. The concern stems from a working party which was set up by the Valuation Office to examine ways of distributing rating ...
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News
Rating bill forecast to bring flood of appeals
The Lands Tribunal will be bombarded by appeals from disgruntled landlords if the Rating Valuation Bill becomes law, rating experts have warned. The bill, which passed through the House of Commons last week and is expected to get the thumbs up from the Lords, could lead to substantial business ...
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News
BAA Lynton to lose 50 as company refocuses
Fifty staff at BAA Lynton are expected to leave the company within the next four weeks as part of a dramatic downsizing operation. Sources close to the company revealed that staff numbers will drop from 75 to 25, as around two-thirds of the workforce prepares to leave ...
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News
Ballymore plans tower for rebuilt South Quay
Ballymore plans to increase its foothold in the London Docklands market by developing a speculative 37-storey office and retail tower in South Quay. The Irish developer is due to submit a planning application to Tower Hamlets Council next week for the site at One Millharbour where Builder House ...
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News
Alconbury's rail plans scuppered by council
Alconbury Developments' plan to create the UK's largest railfreight distribution park was thrown into jeopardy last week after it was refused outline planning consent. The developer, a joint venture between BAA Lynton and ProLogis Kingspark, had planned to build a 650,315 sq m (7m sq ft) high-bay warehouse scheme ...
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News
Gooch Webster quick to fill directors’ jobs
Gooch Webster has moved swiftly to replace the three directors who left the firm last fortnight by poaching four members of Nelson Bakewell s investment team. Directors Huw Davies and Ben Chambers, associate Clive Wood and graduate surveyor Jonathan Ray will all leave Nelson Bakewell at the start of ...
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News
NatWest sells lots to refocus its portfolio
NatWest Group Property is to dispose of 2.2m sq ft of property as part of a programme to rationalise its entire portfolio. Most of the properties will be sold over a three-year period and will include high-profile central London offices as well as processing centres and branches. The list of ...
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News
Law change to prompt German fund buying
German open-ended funds could start buying property companies and special purpose property vehicles under new laws coming into force in April. The Reichstag legislation will allow German funds to take a 51% stake in companies through which they wish to buy property. Funds are, however, prohibited from investing in REITs ...
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News
Firms lock horns over SmithKline office site
Development Securities and Heron International are believed to be in a head-to-head bidding war for SmithKline Beecham s £250m office development site in Brentford. The 72,461 sq m (779,970 sq ft) scheme came to market at the end of last year after SmithKline gained planning consent for the ...
