Good morning,
Britain’s cities could become unliveable within the next decade without urgent policy reform across planning, development and business rates, Landsec has warned. The grave prognosis was issued on the back of new research carried out in collaboration with consultancy the Future Laboratory. Landsec boss Mark Allan said: “We are at a crossroads when it comes to the future of our cities… Put simply, we need to act now – starting with urgently needed policy reform – to achieve a more prosperous and positive future for all.”
Landsec’s dystopian prediction is terrifying, writes EG’s editor, but it is the worst-case scenario. Landsec says a more probable future is one where the industry expands beyond its original purposes and builds social value instead of just chasing income. But without fundamental change, dystopia does feel more “probable”, doesn’t it?
Home REIT has admitted that its biggest tenant is one of those in arrears. Lotus Sanctuary, which accounts for 12.2% of its rent roll, has not paid any rent for the quarter to November.
Michael Gove has promised that levelling up is alive and well, and guided by the “spirit” of Margaret Thatcher. In a speech to the Convention of the North in Manchester yesterday, the levelling up secretary said he wanted his version of investment zones – now completely unrecognisable from the policy conjured up by former PM Liz Truss – to emulate the success of the London Docklands Development Corporation.
But Urban Strategy director Jackie Sadek fears that, without proper decentralisation, levelling up could be washed up.
Investors are losing interest in UK commercial real estate, according to new numbers from the RICS. Declining occupier demand and rising interest rates have lead to investor enquiries falling to a net balance of -30%, with nearly half of surveyors saying the worst is yet to come.
Just £7.3bn of commercial real estate changed hands during Q4 2022, according to Lambert Smith Hampton. Investment volumes for the whole year totalled £54.1bn, inspiring LSH to call 2022 a “game of two halves”, due to the mid-year shift in financial conditions.
Meanwhile, thousands of planned homes have been put up for sale by receivers as the sector is hit by an inflation triple whammy. Among them is an 811-home scheme on the site of a former Shredded Wheat factory in Hertfordshire.
And Wetherspoons is still struggling to find buyers for 27 pubs it put up for sale in the aftermath of the disastrous mini-Budget. It currently has 35 pubs looking for buyers.
An Australian battery company has made a preliminary bid for Britishvolt, which collapsed last week.
But the government will miss its target to roll out 300,000 EV chargers by 20 years, says Labour.
Allianz Insurance is looking to sell its 122,515 sq ft head office in Guildford, Surrey, as part of a £15m+ sale-and-leaseback deal, ahead of moving its headquarters.
Saxo Bank has re-committed to Canary Wharf, signing a fresh seven-year deal on the estate.
The bank has taken 10,000 sq ft on the 26th floor at 40 Bank Street, E14.
Silbury Finance has invested £500m in the UK living sector in two years, after providing a £64.3m loan to an Elysian Residences and Senior Living Investment Partners joint venture.
The latest EG Radius On-Demand Rankings are out. But which agents transacted the most space in your region during the final quarter of 2022?
And the winners of the Chartered Institute of Building’s annual Art of Building competition have been revealed.
