Tag Archives: design
Land value growth moderates in England and Wales
The growth in land values moderated across England and Wales in the final quarter of 2014, reflecting the movement in the wider housing market. However residential development land values in prime central London continued their strong growth, ending the year up 24%, the latest report from Knight Frank shows. Greenfield residential development land values remained broadly static in the final quarter of 2014, rising by just 0.1%. Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank pointed out that the annual rate of growth at 2.3% is well below the 7.2% average growth seen in house prices over the year. ‘However it is likely that land price growth will remain subdued over the coming year as rising costs press on margins,’ she explained, and added that activity in the land market has certainly picked up over the last 12 to 18 months. This is reflected in 17% rise in private units under construction across the UK in December 2014 compared to December 2013. The report also shows that there has been an increase in activity in most regions with demand for new housing is also robust across most parts of the country. Indeed, the take-up of the Government’s Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme rising to 38,052 in the 20 months to November 2014, with some 83% of these being first time buyers. The supply of land has also risen, with the activities of land promoters helping boost the pipeline of oven-ready sites. ‘This, in turn, has started to weigh on pricing as while there is still sturdy competition for good sites, it is less fierce,’ explained Gilmore. The report also explains that another factor weighing on green field land prices is the increasing cost of labour and materials. The industry is still gearing up after the recession, and recruitment of new tradesmen is proving problematic in many areas. Gilmore also said that it is no coincidence that the cost of building in the UK has risen up the international rankings. ‘It is now the eighth most expensive country in which to build, from 43 countries surveyed, according to Arcadis, the design consultancy firm, although the relative strength of sterling to the Euro this year has also played a part in this calculation. In prime central London however, the trend is very different,’ she added. Average residential development land values rose by 24% in 2014, up from a modest 2.5% increase in 2012. This takes the cumulative increase in land values since September 2011 to 48%, although this is still lagging the 72% increase in residential property prices seen since the trough in the market after the financial crisis. Rising land prices have helped push the cost of building in central London to the top of the international rankings with the planning system and complicated construction needs also boosting the expense of construction. ‘There has been much competition for land in prime central London, with oven-ready sites particularly sought after. International… Continue reading
Midlands industrial property market picked up in 2014, new research shows
The economic recovery helped industrial properties in the UK’s Midlands pick up in 2014, the latest regional analysis shows. Last year saw a 17.6% increase in sales volumes on industrial properties of more than 100,000 square feet, according to the Birmingham office of global real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield. Total take up in 2014 of the region’s 100,000 square feet plus properties was 8.79 million square feet of space, which was slightly up on 2013’s 8.63 million square feet, itself the best year for transactions since 2008. In addition, 2014 saw an increase in demand for industrial properties across the board, with the volume of enquiries increasing by 5.5%compared to 2013 and the overall space required increasing by 10%. ‘The improvement in total take-up, volume of enquiries and overall space required witnessed in 2014 is a clear indication that confidence continues to grow in the industrial sector amongst occupiers,’ said David Binks, industrial partner at Cushman & Wakefield in Birmingham. ‘The improving economic conditions continue to encourage business growth leading to increased demand to accommodate both expansion and relocation requirements,’ he added. He explained that the increase in demand had exacerbated the long standing problem in the Midlands of the lack of availability of grade A space. As a result, occupiers found that in 2014 there was less choice available, with some forced between opting to wait for existing buildings or speculative developments or entering the design and build market. For those unable to wait for buildings to be constructed, and with grade B space being limited as well, the only option left was to look at grade C space. Binks said in 2014 many firms opted to go down this route as a temporary solution, particularly those with fixed term contracts to fulfil in sectors such as automotive and distribution. This helped boost take-up of grade C industrial space during the year, with 16 transactions of buildings of more than 100,000 square feet totalling 3.65 million square feet being completed, compared to 2013 where three transactions were completed totalling 830,000 square feet. Take up of similar sized grade B space was less, at 2.14 million square feet compared to 2013 which was 2.62 million square feet, although this reduction is a function of the limited supply of facilities available of this quality. ‘We believe the increase in grade C take up is reflective of occupiers requiring immediate occupation of buildings on three to five year term certain deals, rather than better quality buildings where longer lease terms would be required. This is especially the case for third party logistics companies, where contract lengths tend to be three and five years, and more lease flexibility is important,’ Binks pointed out. ‘The shift in demand for grade C space in 2014 over grade B is reflective of a greater quantity of take up in of the latter in 2013, which significantly reduced stock levels. Essentially the market has continued to polarise, if an occupier wanted to take… Continue reading
Dubai Design District woos top brands
Dubai Design District woos top brands Amanda Fisher / 19 March 2014 Dubai Design District, whose first phase opens in Jan 2015, makes a presentation before international delegates. Less than a year away from opening the first phase of Dubai Design District, the city’s latest industry hub is on a charm offensive to woo international brands. Dozens of British designers and brand owners are in town this week, as part of an international United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI) ‘GREAT’ campaign to further ties with key industries in eight countries around the world, including China and Hong Kong. The designers, who paid to be a part of the delegation in an effort to expand their business in the Middle East, had a presentation by Dubai Design District (d3) top brass, including managing director Lindsay Miller. This follows a delegation from Italy last week, while designers from Lebanon are set for similar treatment in the coming days. But the exercise is aimed equally at small-time start-up designers as the elite international fashion houses, with the Dh4-billion development expected to house 10,000 people in the first phase — which will see nine buildings open by January 2015. Women’s wear designer Cristina Sabaiduc is hoping to grow the eponymous boutique label that she launched 18 months ago. Currently based in London’s trendy Shoreditch area — aptly the district that d3 has taken inspiration from in its plans — Sabaiduc says she sees a market for her fashion in Dubai. “I focus on a lot of big shawls and scarves and beautiful silks, and I think there’s a lot of demand for that in the Middle East.” While she was not yet selling in this region, Sabaiduc said she was in talks with people in Dubai’s fashion industry. She said while d3 would not be the same as a design district like Shoreditch that evolved organically, if the development was done well it would thrive like other design hotspots of the world. “If you provide the right facilities and operations, there’s a hunger for it here and I think that will almost overtake the fact that it’s been created…it could definitely work.” D3’s tax-free benefits, which guarantee 50 years without needing to pay taxes, seemed to be the major attraction to others interested in branching out in the region. Lascivious lingerie creative director and founder Chloe Hamblen said the tax-free provisions drew the attention of most brands at the presentation — all of whom were looking to expand in the region. “The reason why we have taken the time to come out is because that’s what we’re aiming to do.” Others present said having the design, art, fashion and luxury sectors combined in one place — along with other services like marketing and PR — would be a draw card, while the tax-free provisions may be the impetus needed to take the risk. UKTI Retail Sector Specialist Fred Bassnett, who is leading delegates in the UKTI’s UAE campaign this week, told Khaleej Times the country was one of the top three markets for UK brands, along with the US and China/Hong Kong. “There’s only London in the world that has the selection of brands that we have. Here in Dubai it’s seen clearly by the UK industry…as a market that they want to be involved in because of the high profile and the actual spending profile of not only the local populace, but also the tourism populace.” He said initiatives like the UKTI’s were “hugely important” in helping the UK economy recover after taking a hammering during the global economic recession. But brands like Sabaiduc’s say they are worried about the costs involved being part of d3 and feel they may not have a space there. Subaiduc said in an ideal world, she’d be able to open a second office in d3, but it was more realistic her foray into the MENA market would initially be limited to exhibition spaces and fashion shows. “For small businesses, it’s a big gamble (to open an office overseas).” However, D3’s Miller says there is a place for designers of all sizes. “We do have specific start-up packages and we have facilities to consider all kinds of elements of the value chain.” While the bigger brands would likely be established in the exclusive real estate in d3, for example with waterfront views, there were offices of different sizes in different locations to suit varied budgets. She said there was also the option of sharing working spaces, facilities and equipment such as 3D printers with other companies. “It’s important for this zone to have all segments, not just luxury and not just emerging and we’ve reflected that in the pricing and the product design.” Miller said the reason d3 was targeting international brands was to engender “cross-pollination” of the kind that would lead to the creation of unique designs, as well as collaboration. “If we can bring all of this talent together, design at the end of the day is a suggestive product…it’s really about what the consumer appetite is for your product and that’s a lot about bringing different designer viewpoints together.” But courting international brands may also drive up competition for local designers wanting a presence there. While Miller would not reveal how much space had already been contracted to particular companies, she said there had been 550 different approaches in the six months since the initiative was announced. She said she expected to be at full capacity by early next year, around the launch date. amanda@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
