The First Day of Spring, as defined by the vernal equinox, was 20th March. However, after one of the longest coldest winters on record most of us would consider Sunday 14th April, almost a month later as being the First Spring Day. It is known that warmth and sunlight as well as causing nature to burst forth in growth and bloom also gives us humans a feeling of well-being and optimism encouraging us once again to get up and go.

The proportion of overseas investment in the London commercial property market has been a topic of discussion over recent years. Big players in particular are the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

UK Commercial Property Trust has recently published that there has been a decline in its year-end net asset value (also known as NAV) due to a decrease in its property portfolio value, as well as a decrease in the value of its industrial portfolio alongside its working capital outgoings.

While the general consensus is that the first quarter of 2013 has largely met the hopes of anyone involved in the property market – directly or indirectly – looking deeper, it seems that the pattern which has emerged is different from other years, and is a result of London’s current commercial property predicament, whereby demand is not being met by supply.

Minefields were laid extensively in The First World War by both German and allied forces as a deadly line of defence. In The Second World War The Eighth Army’s celebrated victory at El Alamein in 1942 was dependant firstly upon breaking through enemy mine fields. One of the fundamental principles of laying fields of these ghastly weapons is to plot and retain a detailed record of where you have laid them so at least to avoid self destruction if you need to move through them or remove them at a later date. 

Trends, more often than not, have a life of their own. Not least in property. Trends are contrary, wandering off in another direction when someone is trying to usher them elsewhere.

We have had floating jails, there are floating hotels, so why not floating offices? The London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has recently announced plans for a floating village on the Thames, and one logical step further would be floating offices.

Investment is all about predictability and the last five years have not been conducive to that. The latest casualty (or casualties if you count the individuals concerned) is the private equity firm, Apax Partners.

The offices in Shoreditch has taken off in recent months, with top rents reaching £42.50 in certain parts and the iconic Tea Building reaching £36.50. If you compare this with two years ago, when the Tea Building could only command rents in the low £20s, you can really start to see how the market has stepped up. 

We have reported recently on the proposed government plans to allow building owners to convert their properties from commercial to residential use without requiring permission from the relevant planning authority. Many councils have applied for an exemption through fear that too much office space will be lost in their borough as a result of the plans, driving up the cost of what space does remain.