Good morning. Here is your AM bulletin, with the latest news and views from EG, along with a few of the best bits from the morning papers.
Microsoft will invest £2.5bn in Britain over the next three years to double its data centre capacity. The commitment has been hailed by the prime minister as “a turning point for the future of AI infrastructure and development in the UK”. Under the plans the software giant will expand sites in London and Cardiff, and ‘potentially’ venture into the North.
Meanwhile, Brookfield has raised a record $28bn (£22.1bn) for its latest infrastructure fund – 40% larger than the last one and £3bn more than it hoped for.
Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties has completed its £230m acquisition of London Square.
And something is changing on Oxford Street, W1. Footfall is up, spending is up, and demand for space is up – vacancy rates on east Oxford Street fell from 16% in Q2 to an expected 1.1% by the end of this year. London’s high street appears to be recovering.
And EG talks to the Property Litigation Association’s new chair, Mishcon de Reya partner Mark Reading, about his journey from impostor syndrome to poster boy.
Meanwhile, a clash is brewing between Michael Gove and Sadiq Khan over MSG’s Stratford Sphere.
And with COP28 under way, the risk is that it is seen as just a global event for global issues, writes Quintain’s head of sustainability Clare Masters. So how do we translate that into something that impacts us at an individual level?
In other news –
Green light for British Land’s multi-storey last-mile hub
Lloyds to close a further 45 branches
Mulberry blames ‘tourist tax’ for Bond Street closure
