EG’s must reads: 16-20 September

Here’s a wrap-up of some of the top stories on EG from the past week. The government has suggested that it may relax rules around energy performance certificates. Under proposals brought in by the previous Conservative government, commercial buildings would have needed a minimum rating of EPC C by 2028 and B by 2030 if they were to be sold or let, even to existing tenants. But a spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero told EG that it is planning a review of all aspects of the regulations, including the timelines, to ensure regulations are “fair and proportionate for landlords and tenants.”Government moots EPC rule relaxation London office lettings for education-based occupiers reached 351,091 sq ft over the 12 months to the end of June. According to data from Knight Frank, those lettings are 8.6% above the 10-year average, although down by 12.5% compared to the preceding 12-month period. The agency found that occupiers focused on the east of the capital, with almost three-quarters of lettings in the City and Docklands.London education office take-up tops 350,000 sq ft Nearly a third of UK office stock faces obsolescence over the next 10 years, as long-term structural shifts reshape the market. According to property consultancy Montagu Evans’ Future Shock: The Coming Wave of Office Obsolescence report, the growing concentration of offices in city centres, increasingly stringent environmental requirements in buildings and hybrid working patterns have all played a part.A third of UK offices face obsolescence in next decade Capital & Centric is about to test itself for the first time as the masterplanner of a £3bn new-build town in Cambridgeshire. EG caught up with founder Tim Heatley to hear more about the vision.Capital & Centric’s £3bn blank canvas with Homes EnglandCapital & Centric eyes £60m expansion at Eyewitness Works The chief executive of e-commerce giant Amazon has told staff they must work in the office “the way we were before the onset of Covid”, with a five-days-a-week mandate from the start of next year. “Before the pandemic, it was not a given that folks could work remotely two days a week, and that will also be true moving forward,” Andy Jassy said. “Our expectation is that people will be in the office outside of extenuating circumstances.”Amazon primes workers for return to the office Other stories you mustn’t miss: Is it time for a Landsec/Hammerson merger? Patron buys back Cala Homes in £1.3bn deal Maples Teesdale expands all-female real estate finance team Reef and UBS jv cleared for Oxford’s Hythe Bridge Street makeover Henry Boot boss: Planning delays are a drag on us – and Britain Olympic bounce to push Paris ahead of London TGI Fridays’ UK owner enters administration Car dealer group revs up plans for Mayfair Lamborghini showroom