It’s no secret that residential space is fighting back – and winning – against commercial office space when it comes to value, reflected in the revised planning application submitted by British Land in respect of its Clarges Estate site. The land, bought by British Land last year, in an earlier planning permission had 63,000 square feet of residential space allocated, but the recent plans increased this to 94,000 square feet.

Rental growth in any of the property sectors is driven by the relationship between demand and supply of which student accommodation is no exception. The main characteristic of property is that in the short term it is relatively fixed in supply whereas other economic variables such as, in this case, a hike in student fees could result in a sudden drop in demand and in consequence negative rental growth.

Morgan Pryce has previously noted that foreign investment in offices in the City and West End has been increasing over the years, and is now at its highest, with almost all foreign investment in the UK realty equaling to approximately two thirds of the total.

The commercial property market is intrinsically tied up with the condition of the UK economy as a whole; it plays its own part in it and, working well, can provide a boost to the employment figures and a tax income for the country. On the other hand, it is also on the receiving end of a slow economy which dips in and out of recession.

JP Morgan is in advanced talks with Berkley to sell their riverside plot of land. In November 2008, JP Morgan purchased from the Canary Wharf Group a large riverside plot of land for £237 million with the idea to develop a £1.5 billion office scheme. JP Morgan saw the site as a perfect opportunity to consolidate their existing 2 million sq. ft. presence into one scheme housed on the riverside of the docklands. This unfortunately was before the global economic downturn which has meant the scheme has had to be shelved.

As spring still appears (at the time of writing!) reluctant to arrive, there seems to be no similar delay in the government’s proposed legislation on planning changes. The potential for radical change in London’s commercial property market remains a topic for discussion across the capital.

There’s the one about the gentleman stepping out of his Club in St James’s into the rain. Unable to wave down a cab the concierge recommends a bus. “But I have never been on one of those things before” says the member. “They are really good” says the Concierge. As the member boards the next bus he calls out to the driver, “31a Carlton Terrace please”.  

The residential developer, London Square has bought half an acre of office space in Putney at the building of 113 Upper Richmond Road, which is located close to East Putney tube station. They have now received planning permission to proceed with a mixed-use scheme incorporating 76 residential apartments above 19,000 sq. ft. of retail and office space. The work for this major development is ready to start now and the completion is set for 2015.

The London property market continues to keep investors satisfied as 2013 progresses. With the first quarter behind us, we can see that a total value of £2.75 billion in transactions took place in Central London during that time, with 71% of the buyers originating from overseas investment.

In the past few years, offices in Shoreditch have become the home of media, fashion and ‘creative’ clients. Its warehouse-‘esque’ buildings with their exposed brickwork and wooden flooring have attracted a number of large tech companies from across the world as well as from different parts of London to the area. Rents in the district have shot through the roof in recent months, with some office spaces being quoted close to £40 a square foot.