British Land: Return to office debate is over Property British Land has declared the debate over returning to the office “over,” as it prepares to capitalise on constrained supply and a “wave of demand” for commercial property from AI firms. The FTSE 100 property developer saw its profit before tax jump by 32 per cent to £450m in the year to March, as the [...]
Property giant Landsec bets on retail, claiming ‘no slowdown’ in consumer spending Property Landsec, the UK’s largest commercial property developer, will shift towards retail property, defying the gloomy mood music by suggesting there is no slowdown in consumer spend. The FTSE 100 firm commands a property empire in which office rents have soared, as high building cost inflation and interest rates stifle supply, while demand heads through the [...]
Labour’s plans for rent control by stealth will cost £4.2bn a year Opinion An upward-only rent review ban on commercial property, which has been shoehorned into a devolution bill, will have massive unintended consequences, warns Martin Beck Last year, the then-housing and local government secretary, Angela Rayner, quietly and unexpectedly inserted a rent control policy for commercial property into the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. The measure [...]
Office space is rarer than ever – making the right choice matters April 29, 2026 High-quality office space in London’s premium areas is becoming rarer than ever, and that’s why having trust that your company is making the right move – at the right time – matters. The vacancy rate of offices in London’s central areas is plummeting, showing that demand for good space is soaring. While nearly 40 per [...]
Inflation fears push slump in demand for City offices April 24, 2026 Demand for office space in the Square Mile slid in the first quarter of the year as investors stalled decision making following the outbreak of war in Iran. Office property demand fell by 23 per cent year on year in Canada and 14 per cent in the capital as a whole in the [...]
London developers call for emergency measures in office space squeeze March 30, 2026 The capital’s largest developers have called on the government to introduce emergency measures to solve London’s office space crisis, which risks “constraining” growth. London Property Alliance (LPA) is urging the government to designate offices as critical economic infrastructure to address dwindling supply and boost economic growth. The LPA represents the capital’s largest property developers and [...]
Rent control law to ‘knock £11bn’ off commercial property January 8, 2026 New legislation introducing rent controls could lead to £11bn being stripped from commercial property values, fresh analysis has shown, in the latest blow to the confidence for investors. The government is proposing a ban on upward-only rent hikes on commercial property in a bid to support small businesses with costs. The proposed ban can be [...]
Crane drain: Construction falls to 10-year low December 22, 2025 Commercial property development in the UK has plunged to its lowest level in over a decade, as tighter monetary conditions and sparse demand continue to weigh on construction. According to a fresh analysis from Costar, just 68m square feet of offices, industrial and retail sites was being developed at the end of September, a 16 [...]
IWG boss labels double-digit share price dive ‘not rational’ August 19, 2025 Shares in International Workspace Group (IWG) dropped more than 15 per cent today after a disappointing half-year trading update from the office provider. It was the worst day for the world’s largest provider of serviced office space since the first day of lockdown in March 2020. But boss Mark Dixon said the share price drop [...]
Derwent: Central London office rents firmly in recovery August 12, 2025 Derwent London has said the fundamentals of the London office market continue to strengthen despite a “volatile” economic backdrop. London’s office market has been in recovery since the end of last year, with falling interest rates and a return to the office helping to support occupancy. “Demand [is] well above the long-term average and [there’s] [...]