UK regions: The highs, lows and game changers in 2016 – part 2

The second of a two-part look at major developments and big names that made an impact in 2016. Lisa Piilkington and Stacey Meadwell round up the developments and personalities that have set the agenda in the second part of the year

SEPTEMBER

Greater Bristol After prime minister Theresa May put a temporary stop to the Chinese-funded development of a nuclear power station at Hinckley C (above) comes the news that the massive civil engineering project will go ahead after all.

Edinburgh M&G sells Edinburgh’s 205,000 sq ft Waverley Gate building for £63m to TRIUVA.

Birmingham Self-styled “proud Brummie”, John Lewis managing director and local LEP chair Andy Street (right), quits his days jobs to run as Tory mayoral candidate in the May 2017 elections. He will go head to head with Labour favourite Siôn Simon to be West Midlands Mayor.

Bristol HMRC in talks to prelet 110,000 sq ft 3 Glass Wharf building in the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. By October, Legal & General is in talks to forward-purchase the building for £70m, while the council and Skanska work up plans for a 250,000 sq ft office scheme, also in Temple Quarter.

Surrey Spelthorne Borough Council buys the BP campus in Sudbury on Thames for £350m.

OCTOBER

Edinburgh Dutch pension fund APG agrees £1bn funding deal with TH Real Estate for the redevelopment of the 850,000 sq ft retail-led St James Centre (above). It is the Scottish capital’s largest ever development.

Birmingham HSBC Alternative Investments in advanced talks to buy buildings at the iconic Brindleyplace for £260m – a 6% yield.

Leeds The shutters go up for the first time at Hammerson’s £165m, 381,000 sq ft Victoria Gate (abo ve), three-and-a-half years after Land Securities opened its 1m sq ft Trinity Leeds scheme.

Bromley Intu sells its 63.5% stake in the shopping centre formerly known as The Glades, to Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation for £178m – a 5.7% yield. APFC also acquired Aviva’s 21.5% stake in the 464,000 sq ft mall for an undisclosed price, thought to be circa £60m.

Cambridge Aviva Investors agrees an £87m forward-funding deal at Brookgate’s CB1 scheme. Aviva will acquire the site and fund construction of 163,000 sq ft offices at 50 & 60 Station Road. Aviva also commits to 192,000 sq ft of further office space at CB1, to be built in response to occupational demand.

Salford Swinton Insurance takes the whole 165,000 sq ft at 101 Embankment, being built out by a consortium of developers, making it Greater Manchester’s biggest letting of the year.

Camberley Surrey Heath council purchases The Mall shopping centre from Captial & Regional for £86m – a 5.9% yield. It is one of a number of council-led shopping purchases this year as local authorities look for income-generating opportunities to cover funding shortfalls from central government.

Leeds Grainger signs a £40m deal which will see the first PRS scheme delivered in the city. The 18-storey, 242-home block will be part of a residential scheme on the former Yorkshire Post site.

NOVEMBER

Transport The government announces the preferred route for the second phase of HS2, linking Birmingham (and London) with branches to Leeds and Manchester. A single parkway station will serve both Nottingham and Derby and, subject to consultation, Sheffield gets a direct connection, after the previously planned station at Meadowhall is dropped.

Bristol AXA submits a masterplan for its 300,000 sq ft Assembly regeneration scheme, which could see three office buildings emerge in the Temple Quarter.

Sheffield British Land submits plans for a £300m, 330,000 sq ft leisure extension to its jointly owned Meadowhall shopping centre, where a £60m refurbishment is due to complete by the end of 2017. A decision is expected next spring.

Liverpool HMRC picks the India Buildings (above) as its preferred option for a 300,000 sq ft hub. Meanwhile Lone Star pulls off Liverpool’s biggest investment deal of the year, selling it’s 360,000 sq ft Exchange Flags office complex to Shelborn Asset Management for £42m.

DECEMBER

Southampton WestQuay Watermark, Hammerson’s £80m leisure extension to the neighbouring WestQuay shopping scheme, begins a phased opening.

watermark-570px — WestQuay Watermark, Southampton

Themes that defined 2016

More money was invested in the UK outside London than ever before, with record levels of overseas investment in the regions.

It was also the year the world fell in love with logistics. “Sheds are bringing sexy back,” says Savills’ Mat Oakley, as the rise of e-commerce, chronic lack of supply, attractive income yields and low void rates mean industrial assets are finally having their day in the sun.

Brexit. Need we say more? One of the biggest shocks of 2016, which will be continued to be felt in all parts of the country for years to come

And as a result of Brexit, there’s now the possibility of a second referendum on independence hanging like a cloud over the Scottish property market

The government’s ongoing commitment, post-Brexit, to the High Speed 2 rail network. Royal Assent is due by the end of 2016.

The rise of local authorities as buyers across the UK. Able to borrow money cheaply, retail warehouses and offices have been particularly popular.

HMRC ramped up its strategy to create a network of 13 regional centres across the UK. Plans for Croydon, Liverpool and Cardiff were announced, with other cities expected imminently.