Russia’s invasion of Ukraine signalled a new era for commercial real estate, as the end of the low interest rate environment means investors no longer treat commercial real estate as a bond proxy, according to MSCI. Chart shows basis-point spread and office yields to 10-year government bonds Source: RCA Hedonic Series office yields MSCI’s report, Global Markets One Year After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, noted that the Ukraine war coincided with the end of the post-2008 global financial crisis boom brought about by the low-rate, low-return environment that pushed trillions of dollars into global real estate, depressing yields and driving prices up to record levels. “Russia’s invasion now appears to have signalled the end of that expansion and the start of a transition to a new world of higher rates and higher returns,” explained Tom Leahy, MSCI’s head of EMEA real assets research. According to Leahy, the rapid rise in swap rates meant debt costs surged above property [...]

Following the mass adoption of hybrid work, there's a potential new change to the way companies work and the amount of time they will be in the office for the real estate industry to get its head around — the four-day working week. The vast majority of companies taking part in the world’s largest trial of a four-day week have chosen to retain the new working pattern, The Guardian reported. Of the 61 companies that entered the six-month trial, 56 have extended the four-day week, including 18 that have made it permanent. The result has been hailed by researchers as evidence that it could work across the UK economy and the findings were presented to MPs on 21 February as part of a push urging politicians to give workers a 32-hour week. The UK pilot, which started in June 2022, has been promoted by New Zealand-based not-for-profit organisation 4 Day Week Global and overseen by the thinktank Autonomy and a [...]

A combination of beds and sheds has long been the investment strategy of choice for investors who want a share in what have been the two best-performing property sectors of the past five years. Now London developers are delivering a literal merger of beds and sheds, co-locating residential and industrial use to create 30,000 new homes and as much as 3.8M SF of new logistics floorspace in London, new analysis showed. Turley, the planning consultancy, calculated that 22,622 new homes in co-location schemes have been approved by local planners since 2019, with a further 7,749 currently in the pipeline. Almost 39% of the units approved count as affordable housing. Co-location overwhelmingly means that London beds are stacked on top of London sheds, rather than side by side. Turley said that 81% of co-location schemes integrated residential and industrial space vertically, rather than horizontally. With co-location schemes now in progress across at least 13 of London’s boroughs, the research indicated that a significant number of Londoners may soon live in co-location developments that combine both [...]

UK and US Meeting and Event Venues Business Was Bought by Convene Earlier This Month Etc.venues, a provider of urban event venues in the UK and New York City, is investing £4.3 million in doubling the size of its venue at 155 Bishopsgate in London. It is adding 20,000 square feet of conference space on the second floor with escalator access from the existing event space on the first floor, to create a 40,000-square-foot venue, one of the largest in the City of London. The main room on the new floor will house up to 475 theatre-style seats and is supported by a galleria and lounge that can accommodate up to 51 exhibition stands. Earlier this month, Convene, a hospitality company that designs and manages premium meeting, event, and flexible office spaces, bought Etc.venues, in a move that added 16 new venues to the Convene portfolio, making it the largest single provider of dedicated premium meeting and event [...]

Fashion Publisher of Vogue and Tatler Is Taking Space to 75,000 Square Feet at Adelphi Building Spanish investment giant Pontegadea has secured fashion bible publisher Condé Nast for 75,000 square feet of offices, a near doubling of its space, at the Adelphi Building in Covent Garden. Condé Nast is the owner of upmarket fashion magazines including Vogue, Glamour and Tatler. Blackstone completed the sale of the 327,000-square-foot Adelphi building to Zara founder Amancio Ortega's Pontegadea for around £550 million, a 4.4% net initial yield, in 2017. Condé Nast first moved into 41,000 square feet on the basement and eighth and ninth floor, relocating from its long-term home at Vogue House in Mayfair, in 2018. RX London advised Pontegadea and Knight Frank advised Condé Nast on the latest letting. Mark Stansfield, UK head of analytics at CoStar, said leasing activity has rebounded in recent quarters as employees have returned to offices in greater numbers. He says Covent Garden has been a [...]

Carter Jonas Says Land Values Are Still Nearly 24% Ahead of Where They Were Three Years Ago Industrial land values have fallen 29.3% on average across the UK since mid-2022 but the decline has stabilised, according to the Carter Jonas Industrial Index. Carter Jonas explains that as developers have retreated recently, the development land market has struggled, which has precipitated a readjustment in industrial land values over the last few months, and that has only been accentuated by the recent rise in industrial yields. Its figures are presented as an index based on land value data from transactions it has tracked. But Dan Francis, head of research, Carter Jonas, pointed out that while the fall sounds significant, it is not as large a correction as some have anticipated. "It should be remembered that values are still nearly 24% higher than their level three years ago.” Take-up in the UK industrial market reduced in 2022 compared with 2021, with [...]

The British Council for Offices Has Updated its Office Specification Guidance Early in Response to the Pandemic and UK Net Zero Targets The British Council for Offices has released an early update to its flagship "Guide to Specification", the industry "design bible" for offices, as it responds to developments in the sector driven by the pandemic and the UK’s net zero ambitions. The update advises developers and designers on how to "future-proof" offices and create buildings that support changing working patterns and employee wellbeing, while reducing carbon emissions. The Guide to Specification was last published in 2019 and is usually updated every five years, but since 2019 the sector has been subject to "unprecedented influences affecting building design", the BCO says. Standout recommendations include: an allocation of 10 square metres of space per person; increased levels of outdoor air supply and recommending smaller structural spans to open up the use of timber The BCO also now recommends a [...]

CoStar News First Revealed £45.8 Million Purchase By Real Estate and Shipping Group Unity Real Estate, the shipping and real estate group recently rebranded from Dao, has completed the £45.8 million purchase of Byron House on St James’s Street in central London. CoStar News revealed the acquisition as one of two disposals M&G is closing in London's West End at the beginning of 2023. Byron House is Unity’s largest acquisition to date and marks a significant milestone in the growth of its portfolio, the company said. It comprises more than 36,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space across lower ground, ground and six upper floors. The building is home to the bootmaker John Lobb on the ground floor, which held Royal Warrants for supplying boots to the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the King when he was Prince of Wales. John Lobb, which was established in 1849, has been in the building for more than 60 years. The [...]