Tag Archives: network
UK regional office market recovery strong with take up highest for four years
The recovery in the UK’s key regional office markets is proceeding apace with take up in the third quarter of 2014 at its highest in four years and 40% above the five year quarterly average. The latest research report from Knight Frank shows that the majority of the 10 cities covered in its regional report saw take up ahead of their averages, although Aberdeen and Glasgow were the standout performers despite the uncertainty surrounding the recent referendum. Glasgow saw 219,241 square feet of take up underpinned by a flurry of key deals including Network Rail at 151 St Vincent Street and Clydesdale Bank at Granite House while Aberdeen saw a record 647,874 square feet of take up which included two substantial pre-lets. Collectively, 2014 is set to be the most active year for the regional markets since 2008, the report says, adding that for the majority of markets, 2014 take up to date is already above or close to the annual average for each of the previous five years. Aberdeen has already achieved a record year while Manchester is certain to break the one million square feet mark for 2014. Birmingham, while arguably the one underachiever thus far in 2014, saw a substantial 80% rise in demand in the third quarter of the year. Leeds is also expected to end 2014 strongly. ‘Developers are responding cautiously to the growing shortage of Grade A supply which characterises the majority UK’s key regional markets. Collectively, speculative development activity climbed to a six year high of 2.2 million square feet by the end of the third quarter,’ the report says. It also shows that prime headline rents remain under upward pressure. Two markets saw headline rents increase during the third quarter, with Glasgow rising to £29.50 per square foot and Leeds to £26.00 per square foot. Rental growth is expected to take place across the majority of markets over the next 18 months, with new development completions securing higher prime rental levels in Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester. The report describes investment activity in the regional office markets as ‘exceptional’ in the third quarter with £1.3 billion of assets changing hands, the highest seen in a single quarter since the third quarter of 2007. Total volume for 2014 to date now stands at £3.1 billion, already eclipsing the annual total for each of the last six years. ‘The third quarter’s impressive turnover reflects an increase in buying opportunities since summer, as some investors have sought to capitalise on significant price increases over the past 12 months,’ the report explained. ‘While major lot sizes were key to turnover with the largest 10 deals accounting for 75% of turnover, the quarter saw 40% more transactions than the five year quarterly average and this is indicative of the ongoing depth of investment demand,’ it adds. Despite a substantial weight of money continuing to target regional office stock, evidence in the market suggests that pricing was broadly stable in the third quarter. Across the 10 key regional markets,… Continue reading
Kids go for professional networking websites
Kids go for professional networking websites Dhanusha Gokulan / 23 March 2014 In August 2013, LinkedIn launched a push to recruit career-minded youngsters by lowering its minimum age requirements and targeted users as young as 13. Career-oriented, passionate, driven, well-networked, hard working … these are the kind of buzz words used in the ‘About Me’ description column of most professional networking websites like LinkedIn so that they can connect with a like-minded task force, or in the words of Zainab Zulfi: “… so that it helps my career.” Zulfi spends an average of one-two hours every few days on LinkedIn. She is an ‘all-star’ member on the networking website. Oh, and she is a 15-year-old student at a school in Dubai. Linkedin users Nearly three-quarters of the UAE’s high net worth individuals using social media are LinkedIn members and 92 per cent of them use the website several times a week. About 74 per cent of them access the site through a smartphone and 77 per cent through a tablet. Of all of the UAE’s high net worth individuals who use social media, 78 per cent will use them for at least one financial purpose. “You don’t need to be in your early 20s to be career-driven. I know a lot of parents think that students only chat and waste time on social networking websites, but so many students use it for professional reasons,” says Zainab. In August 2013, LinkedIn launched a push to recruit career-minded youngsters by lowering its minimum age requirements and targeted users as young as 13. The business-oriented social networking site registered a flood of users belonging to the age group of 14-19. Khaleej Times looks into the trend of students using professional networking websites like LinkedIn.com and Nabbesh.com to establish themselves as career-oriented youngsters. Why social media? After LinkedIn lowered the age limit to 13 across most countries, including the UAE and the rest of the Middle East, they rolled out their ‘University Pages’, which provided a new outlet for students, faculty and alumni to connect and share their insights. “Students today are ambitious and forward t hinking. Before they complete high school, they are already looking up universities, courses and weighing their career options,” said Ali Matar, head – Talent Solutions, LinkedIn Middle East and North Africa (Mena). Students, according to website owners, remain one of the fastest growing demographics on their portals. “They represent the future of the Mena region and are a priority for us at LinkedIn — in part because those (aged) between 15-24 represent 30 per cent of the population.” It comes as no surprise for most professional networking website owners that students as young as 15 are using these professional websites. “It is vital that our youth are educated at a young age about the significance of having a career and the necessary skills they need to acquire to get that first job,” said Rima Al Sheikh, co-founder and Techy Owl at Nabbesh.com. Nabbesh is a Dubai-based online skill market place aimed at the Mena region. “Social media has become an integral part of our youth, so it comes as no surprise that they are now using this channel to research firms and follow brands online, build opinions about certain brands and find information to better their career prospects. Furthermore, the race to find a job and the limited opportunities are becoming a challenge that the graduating class is facing, where the survival of the fittest is identified as the one who stands out the most,” Al Sheikh said. Social media, she said, is accessible through all connected devices at anytime and almost all youth have access to WiFi-enabled devices that connect them with companies and potential employers around the world. “For that very reason, solutions such as Nabbesh.com aim to be the online platform that provides these youth with exposure and connects them with virtual work opportunities from across the globe.” Biggest attraction Souief M, 17, a student, said: “Even though I am not very active on LinkedIn, I know it works wonders. I used it to get in touch with some university students in the UK and it worked out very well for me.” The biggest draw for younger members on LinkedIn remains University Pages. Loulou Khazen Baz, founder and Chief Owl at Nabbesh.com, said: “We currently have over 23,000 University Pages. Across the Mena region, our top universities are: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KSA), American University of Sharjah (UAE), American University of Beirut (Lebanon), University of Karachi (Pakistan) and Cairo University (Egypt).” Several private organisations are now hiring youngsters based on their user profiles on networking websites. “Everything that is online is prone to be looked upon by organisations. They look to hire talent — from high school party photos on Facebook to the type of hobbies and interests the person has. We know that on Nabbesh.com clients seek to hire people with 100 per cent profile completion — meaning each person has to include a photo, a biography, skills, work history, education and a sample of their work.” The type of work offered via Nabbesh.com is project-based, which means that the youth can potentially secure work on some projects that do not require a great deal of work experience. “For example, working on illustrations if they are talented artists, using their skills in photography, music and arts, blogging, social media, event planning, teaching fellow students a new language, or even dog walking. The idea is to start thinking about gaining experience, having the discipline to finish a task and get paid for it from an early age.” dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com How to do it > Complete your profile: Add your full name and a professional photo. Craft a strong summary that gives people a concise and memorable way to understand who you are in a professional context. > Show off your education and skills > Engage your network: Once you have your profile in place, don’t forget to engage with your network and actively participate in groups. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
European Energy Policy and the EU Road Map till 2050
Fabrizio Barbaso 03/11/2013 BRUSSELS – Today, energy security is more complex than ever before. Europe imports more than a half (54% in 2010) of its energy. It is very vulnerable to the global security situation. At the heart of European energy policy is the EU Energy 2020 strategy. This requires the EU to reduce its GHG emissions by 20% by 2020, compared to 1990; to increase the share of renewable energy sources in our energy use to 20% – almost double what it is now (currently 13% of its final energy consumption comes from renewables); and to increase energy efficiency by one fifth, over the same period. The 2020 agenda has been a broad success. Member States, local authorities and individuals have embraced it. Renewable energy has boomed, even at a period of economic slowdown, renewable energy investment is growing and the majority of new power plants in the EU are now renewables based. Energy Efficiency has taken a major step forward. More and more domestic items are subject to energy design and labelling requirements. The new Energy Efficiency Directive makes new obligations for local authorities, builders and energy suppliers to improve the use of energy both in homes and businesses. The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan has helped technology development. Offshore wind, fuel cells, second generation biomass, solar and PV, geothermal, smart grids, Carbon dioxide capture and storage – these are just some of technologies given priority in EU initiatives and funding. The challenge is to keep this up, despite the economic and financial crises. On renewables, we are working hard to push the network links to integrate new renewable resources into existing grids. We have also to prevent subsidy schemes from overcompensation at a high cost by society. On energy efficiency, which traditionally gets less attention, we will have to take care that new economic growth does not lead to a rise in energy use. On greenhouse gas emissions, there are additional difficulties as low coal prices and low carbon prices are making the task of reducing emissions more challenging. But the target of 2020 will be reached. The EU has already achieved GHG reduction by more than 18% below 1990 levels. Even so, the low-carbon, or “green”, economy will not be complete by 2020. Nor even by 2030. It will take us at least another three decades. That is the lesson of our 2050 Energy Roadmap. This Roadmap, which is based on a number of different scenarios, tells us that a low-carbon energy economy is possible. It is necessary. It is affordable, but it will take time and effort. And we need to get the rest of the world onto the same path. After all, Europe now accounts for only around one eighth of global emissions, and our share is diminishing. Low carbon investors are now waiting for the EU to agree the political direction for post-2020, leading up to 2030. Looking ahead, what are the trends in European energy policy? First, as I have already mentioned, market integration and reform are gaining in urgency, as we seek to complete the internal energy market for energy. Second, there is more and more EU collaboration in energy infrastructure. The European Recovery Programme for Energy was able to rescue a number of projects which were threatened by the economic crisis. The Hungary Croatia gas interconnector was just one which is now completed, thanks to EU support. The Austria – Hungary power interconnector will also help this region. The Commission’s new list of Projects of Common Interest will help us focus our efforts on specific projects which will help security of supply, sustainability and the integration of all parts of the European market. New money will be available under the Connecting Europe Facility. The Commission has adopted just a few days ago a list of priority projects for the EU and the Ministerial Council tomorrow will do the same for the Energy Community. Third, our external energy policy is becoming stronger and more cohesive. We have seen the EU taking a lead in negotiating with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan over access to gas reserves. And this summer we had an important step forward on our proposal for a Southern Corridor to link that region with Southern Europe with the agreement on the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which should also play an important role as a key part of South-East Europe’s “Gas Ring”. Continue reading
