Design consultation pays off for commercial property developers
Released on = April 18, 2007, 9:22 am
Press Release Author = Jimwatson
Industry = Real Estate
Press Release Summary = According to recent reports, the commercial property market in the UK is enjoying something of a boom period. The demand for quality commercial premises and office space has both pushed up rents and increased demand in regions that would not at first be obvious choices as commercial property Meccas. A report released last week by officebroker.com revealed that places such as Darlington, Reading and Stockport were seeing record prices being fetched for commercial properties.
Press Release Body = According to recent reports, the commercial property market in the UK is enjoying something of a boom period. The demand for quality commercial premises and office space has both pushed up rents and increased demand in regions that would not at first be obvious choices as commercial property Meccas. A report released last week by officebroker.com revealed that places such as Darlington, Reading and Stockport were seeing record prices being fetched for commercial properties.
However, despite the provincial boom, the centre of the commercial property market in Britain is still London. Prices in the capital outstrip those in any other city of the UK and a prime piece of commercial real estate can go for almost unbelievable amounts of money. The iconic glass tower known as The Gherkin recently sold for £600 million, an impressive price but not a record-setter for the city.
Recently, the HSBC bank announced an intention to sell its Canary Wharf headquarters for around £1 billion. As of the end of March, there were 15 interested bidders, according to the Times. Once the sale is completed, the bank will lease back part of the building - which houses its headquarters - for an estimated £43 million.
Given the lucrative nature of commercial property in the capital, developers might reasonably be expected to be building as much as they can wherever they can. However, this is far from the case according to a spokesman for one industry body, who says that a key part of commercial property development is attending to client needs and desires and building to specification.
Ian Fletcher, director of commercial policy at the British Property Federation, says that, a few developments excepted, most London office space is fully leased before construction, meaning that the tenants are able to specify their needs during the design and construction process.
\"The vast majority of space that is developed is used for pre-order rather than speculative,\" he explains, adding: \"The Gherkin was perhaps a slight novelty in that it was predominantly speculative - it didn\'t have tenants lined up for it - it was iconic in its design which was part of the reason that people put money into it, so it was not as risky a speculation as other buildings as there will always be people who want that space.\"
The consultation process obviously pays off, with a recent report from property consultants Savills revealing that the commercial property sector has seen increased activity and rents, with many premises attracting more than £260 per square metre.
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