Cushman’s future is currently up in the air as its majority stake holder, the Agnelli family and its investment arm Exor put their 81% in the business up for sale. The company is expected to be worth £1.3 billion and a decision could be made on its future by the end of May 2015. There are a number of options for Cushman’s to decide between – the bids will be looked at and reviewed by the board, the owners and advisers Goldman & Sachs and Morgan Stanley. 

The first 3 months of 2015 has seen a record amount of space being developed in the square mile, a seven year high for a quarter and more in the first quarter than in 2013 and 2014. After a lull dating back to 2008, City development is on the up. Large scale developments such as the Scalpel and London Wall Place account for 1.4m sq. ft. of new space, whilst groundworks have begun at 100 Bishopsgate. These have boosted development numbers significantly; however there is still a vast lack of available space in the current market.

It’s no secret that green is the new black, you can see it everywhere; the recycling bins added onto the standard bins on the street, the encouragement not to take a plastic bag at supermarkets and with the mass advertising of anything bio-degradable. We are even seeing it creep into the office market. How? Firstly, the prerequisite to bike storage and showers so staff can decrease there carbon foot print by cycling to work and more recently the demand of a “green lease” from sustainability savvy landlords. 

The Mitsubishi Estate Company (MEC) are a Japanese investor who became established in the UK in 1986 and are known for engaging in the leasing and development of real estate, dealing mainly with office buildings in the City and West End in central London. The MEC held a public consultation earlier this week over the plans for its new development, a £900 million skyscraper built in place of 6-8 Bishopsgate EC2 and 150 Leadenhall Street EC3.

Office take up across the UK has hit record levels, not seen since 2001. Economic recovery and growing confidence nationwide has led to more companies taking up space, especially in Central London where there has been an 11% year on year rise, the most since 2000. Similarly, large Canary Wharf deals drove take up in the Docklands up to record levels. However, it is not just in prime London areas where take up has increased.

15-17 Broadwick Street in Soho changed ownership from CBRE GI’s Pan Europe Core Fund to clients of the Deerbrook Group, and Charlotte House, 11-14 Windmill Street in Fitzrovia has changed ownership from Deerbrook to CBRE GI. 

The city continues to rise pass everybody’s expectations with new building plans for more tower buildings and rents continuously hitting new heights. During this current office vacancy crisis, the City has been the area which has been least effect and had the highest vacancy rates across the board (still critically low, but slightly better than the other boroughs of London).

A study by property firm Cluttons has shown the competitive nature of the London commercial property market; with Southbank new build rents hitting peaks of £62.50 per square ft., closing in on those achieved by West-End new builds (£65 psf). A lack of availability, cheaper rents on offer during the financial crisis and a more eclectic mix of food and drink establishments in surrounding areas, are a few reasons as to why there has been a rise in rents in SE1 – many companies are also attracted to the transport links on offer in Waterloo and London Bridge.

We all remember the days when no one wanted to work in Shoreditch or Clerkenwell because why would you want an office with stripped floors, exposed brick and ceiling? These days, all the trend and converted warehouses are getting snapped up like a dime in a dozen. The move in trends towards converted warehouses is just one example of how tenants have changed what they are looking for. Even in a market with the demand we have tenants aren’t satisfied with a plain old suspended ceiling and blue or grey carpet interior, they want more.