Commercial property giant British Land is selling the freehold to 52 Poland Street in Soho to Amazon Property, the investment and development group, having now exchanged contracts. The site garnered significant interest when marketed, in part as a result of the vacant possession being offered of certain parts of the building as of the middle of 2015, when some leases in the building expire. 

The ‘circle of blame’ is a vicious circle which recognises four main stakeholder groups: investors, occupiers, developers and constructors and could be the reason for commercial property not being retrofitted as much as it should be, despite the need to reduce carbon emissions from existing building stock.

Rightmove, the UK property website, has indicated that asking prices for residential property may have not only stopped increasing, but appear to have decreased. The website has shown that property prices fell in August by 2.9% compared with last month. The prices are, as has been the case for some time, heavily influenced by London, where interest rates hikes would have a significant impact given the price of houses and related high mortgages. 

Last week Morgan Pryce completed, on behalf of a Real Estate Investment Trust, a lease of 2,000 square feet unit on Cornhill just a few minutes’ walk from Bank, in the City Core. The client was previously based St James’s and when they met Morgan Pryce they were looking to expand out of their serviced office into a larger West End office in Mayfair or St James’s. 

It has been demonstrated over recent years that start-up companies practically inhabit a sector of their own.  They have been a major part of London and the UK’s increasing economic success, which in turn has led to more start-ups. The TMT sector is an example of a market in which start-ups have been particularly successful. 

The Crown Estate is a diverse portfolio of UK buildings, shoreline, seabed, forestry, agriculture and common land that generates valuable revenue for the government each year – and it has recently made one of its biggest purchases to date. 2013 saw the Crown Estate bank £267.1 million to the treasury from its portfolio with a capital value of £9.9 billion, and a property value of £9.4 billion. 

Parties interested in registering their interest to purchase one of London’s most iconic landmarks have just until the 16th August to do so, on the dedicated website. London’s iconic and uniquely shaped office building, the Gherkin, is currently up for sale, with Deloitte and Savills jointly acting as agents, as Deloitte has been instructed as receiver.  

As London’s construction continues in line with the property market confidence in the capital, supply is yet to satisfy demand in part as a result of the economic crash that put many projects and plans on hold. 

Recent reports have emerged that Thailand’s largest energy company, PTT, is considering opening an oil-trading office in London. The move would further the company’s expansion into overseas markets and allowing greater round-the-clock trading.  No timescales have been provided by PTT, which has its expansion already underway in Singapore and Dubai, where it has trading companies, and China and Indonesia, where it has offices. 

There are signs that the heady prices of London’s commercial property market are starting – or some would argue, continuing – to take their toll on young start-up businesses who simply don’t have the capital to set up in the capital.