Serviced Office Space News

Planning consent acquired for Mayfair office building

Planning consent for a six-storey office building in Mayfair has been approved.

Providing 22,500 square feet of office space, the scheme at 49-51 Conduit Street and 24 Savile Row is a joint venture between developer Terrace Hill and real estate fund manager Aerium.

The plans include the demolition of the two 1960s office blocks that are currently on site and the creation of a single mixed used tower that combines office and retail space. The basement and ground floors will be retail based and the remaining floors will comprise of office space.

Aerium’s UK Fund Manager Robin Carr said: “This is one of three Central London schemes we are currently undergoing as part of more opportunistic strategy.

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Construction on the Pinnacle tower stalled

Construction work has stalled on the Pinnacle office tower development in London because of funding issues.

The building is supposed to comprise of 64-storeys when complete, which will make it the tallest skyscraper in the financial district. However, Brookfield Construction has stopped the building work because developer Arab Investments has failed to secure a sufficient number of pre-lets.

The funding for the build so far has come from a Saudi Arabian consortium called Sedco and a £500 million debt facility acquired from bank lenders including HSH Nordbank and HSBC. This flow of capital was dependent on Arab Investments taking on a number of pre-lets on a section of the tower, according to Reuters.

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Government spends millions on office recruitment fees

Government departments are spending about £10 million a month on hiring temporary office staff through recruitment agencies despite implementing strategies to make savings elsewhere.

Thousands of civil servants have been made redundant over the last 12 months to help the government reduce its debt levels. However, between last September and November almost £30 million was paid to job agencies. The Ministry of Justice spent £15.7 million alone.

Jon Trickett, Labour’s spokesman for the Cabinet Office, who asked for information on recruitment spending to be revealed, said: “These figures reveal a shocking false economy; it is quite clear that the Government’s left hand doesn’t know what its right hand is doing.

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Three bids shortlisted for Olympic Media Centre

A leisure village, sports hub and innovation centre have been shortlisted as possible uses for the Olympic Media and Press Centre offices after the sporting tournament ends.

The five-storey Press Centre comprises of 317,000 square feet of offices, which will be used by hundreds of journalists from around the world during the championships. A further 575,000 square feet of studio space and 95,000 square feet of offices will be available in the Broadcast Centre.

It is hoped the transformation of the site will bring new jobs, training opportunities and economic growth to East London.

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New Watford business centre to be launched by i2 Office

Plans to open a new business centre at Meridien House in London have been announced by i2 Office in light of its second deal with leading European property group IVG.

Following the office space provider’s initial deal with IVG to take space in its No 1 Leeds property, the firm has taken 13,154 square feet of space in the newly refurbished Grade A  building on Clarendon Road.

Fit out of the new centre, which is located in the preferred business location for Watford and adjacent to Watford Junction Station, is already underway.

Philip Grace, CEO of i2 Office, said: “Watford is an important business centre for the North of London and our new business centre will be perfectly located for rail and road access. We are pleased to be working with IVG once again and look forward to creating a successful business centre in Meridien House in 2012.”

Jones Lang LaSalle acted for i2 Office and IVG acted for themselves.

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Entrepreneurs to use vacant government buildings

Entrepreneurs and small firms will be offered the use of empty government offices for low rents under a new initiative set to be revealed by David Cameron.

Start up enterprises will be able to use the vacant space for a year to establish their profile.

Mr Cameron will announce the plans to a group of entrepreneurs in the North East and is expected to say: “The British Government has a huge stock of buildings at our disposal. The first priority for the ones we aren’t using is to sell them off, but in the meantime many are going to be sitting idle.”

“So let’s match the capacity we’ve got with the need that’s out there. Let’s provide office space where we can to those who can use it.”

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Grade B office space to rise in Derby

Relocating Derby council workers from a selection of offices into a single building will flood the commercial market with a Grade B office space supply, according to property agency Innes England.

Derby council is planning to make the move in November as part of a £34 million project to bring together its existing staff.

Up to 150,000 square feet of Grade B space will come to market with two thirds of this figure coming solely from three buildings at office complex Heritage Gate.

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Canary Wharf outlines plans for new development

Plans to build offices, residential blocks and a hotel adjacent to the Canary Wharf business district in London have been revealed by the Canary Wharf Group.

The developer has paid over £90 million for derelict land close to the ‘mini-city’ and hopes to transform the area into a community called Wood Wharf, combining commercial and residential interests.

Office space for 20,000 workers and 1,600 homes could be built on the 5 million square foot site in the form of three office blocks and six residential towers. The plans also include an open air market and health centre.

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