In the wake of government cuts, councils are finding themselves being ever more cautious with expenditure, and even searching for alternative means of generating capital. This has led to many councils managing their property assets more efficiently, refurbishing, increasing rents, attracting new tenants and making use of unoccupied sites. Assets worth £10.6 billion have been sold off, between 2010 and 2015 alone, by the councils in London. Improvements in energy performance have also been high on the list in a bid to reduce the running costs of properties.

It is not widely known that companies are able to appeal business rates; as it’s a government tax it’s not unreasonable to assume that what they say goes.

Australian gym provider F45 Training has set its sights on acquiring an impressive 50 locations across the UK within the next year. The company – which was set up with the unique selling point of offering high-intensity training sessions – has its maiden studio in London Bridge, and has recruited an agent to search for single-level units, of between 1,650 sq ft and 3,300 sq ft, in high-footfall locations within the Greater London area.

The Manchester office market has continued to show its strength as the UK’s second city, with multiple large deals being completed in recent months.

Japanese Knotweed is a very topical issue at the moment, with it making quite the name for itself across the UK. But what is it, you ask? It is an invasive plant that can seriously damage hard surfaces such as foundations and tarmac, and is causing great concern for property owners, because it is very likely that you will be refused a loan for buildings infested with the notorious weed.

The RICS have doled out a handful of fines over the last few years relating to breaches of code, dishonesty and bribery. The largest fine to date – £125,000 plus £4,590 in costs) – was imposed on Sweett Group in February 2016, whose subsidiary company, Cyril Sweett International Ltd., bribed a Middle Eastern client in order to win a hotel contract. This is in addition to criminal fines of £2.3 million and a confiscation order ruled by Southward Crown Court.

Retirement rental homes are a new concept to the UK; it has long been thought that people in retirement prefer to own their homes. Therefore, PegasusLife, a retirement homebuilder who traditionally construct homes for sale off plan, is rather stepping into the unknown with their plans to build 133 Cotswold farmstead flats by August 2017.

Two Far Eastern investors have taken timely advantage of the post-Brexit fallout, by making a series of acquisitions throughout SW1.

At the beginning of 2016, the new measurement standards – outlined in the RICS Property Measurement (1st Edition) May 2015 – came into effect. For the first time they incorporated International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS), marking a determined shift towards the globalisation of measuring standards, in order to cement consistency and transparency in measurements worldwide.