Transaction volumes in Manchester’s office investment market totalled £304 million in H1 2016, marking an 8% increase on the £282 million seen in the same period last year and 3% higher than the five year first half average of £295 million, according to international real estate advisor Savills. The firm’s latest Spotlight: Manchester Office Market Report states that the city was a key focus for investors in 2015, with office transaction volumes totalling £640 million compared to a 10-year average of £428 million.  In H1 2016, overseas investors showed particularly strong demand for Manchester office assets, accounting for 70% of all transactions with deals worth £212 million.  This is well above the long term first half average of 37%, according to Savills.  Examples from H1 include the £115 million acquisition of 3 and 4 Piccadilly Place by US-based Ares Management and the £85 million purchase of XYZ in Spinningfields by Germany’s Union Investment Real Estate. Peter Mallinder, investment director at Savills, comments: “The outcome of the EU referendum is now sinking in and some office transactions will be inevitably be delayed or renegotiated as investors take stock.  However, we expect the increased depth of overseas interest in Manchester to help stabilise the market as foreign buyers take advantage of the weaker sterling and reduced competition.”  Despite the lack of trophy letting deals recorded in the first half of 2016, Savills reports that H1 office take up reached 415,257 sq ft (38,577 sq m), in line with Manchester’s long term average.  Q3 has started positively with law firm Freshfields committing to circa 80,000 sq ft (7,432 sq m) at One New Bailey.  A number of other key leasing deals including to Swinton Insurance at 101 Embankment are expected to complete in the third quarter, with take up for the full year reaching 1 million sq ft (92,900 sq m).  This follows a total of 1.3 million sq ft (120,770 sq m) in 2015.      Savills highlights the diverse nature of Manchester’s office occupier base, which does not overly rely on the public sector or banking and finance, as one its key strengths.  The TMT sector has shown particular growth in Manchester and accounted for 21% of all take up in H1 with deals totalling 85,307 sq ft (7,925 sq m), compared to 17% of deals in the full year of 2015.  In terms of size, more than 51% of office space let in H1 was through deals below 5,000 sq ft (465 sq m) compared to a long term average of 32%, driven in part by the abundance of TMT firms and start ups moving to the city.  The largest Grade A transaction was Squire Patton Boggs’ acquisition of 28,000 sq ft (2,601 sq m) at No 1 Spinningfields. Richard Lowe, office agency director at Savills, comments: “Office take up in Manchester has been significantly in excess of the long term average in recent years, which puts the city in a good position going forward and activity levels since the referendum result are encouraging.  Headline Grade A rents have risen from £28.50 per sq ft in 2010 to £33.50 per sq ft in the first half of 2016, and with just over one year’s supply of space on the market we expect this upward pressure to continue in the short term at least.” Source link

8 April 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal Elior UK has agreed a 15-year catering deal worth £2.1 million a year with Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.   Redevelopment of the trust’s retail and dining outlets will create 30 jobs, according to the business.   Under the new contract, Elior will revamp catering at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby with an Eatwell restaurant, a ‘Proud To Serve Costa Coffee’ outlet, and a Londis shop. Another Eatwell restaurant and two kiosks serving Costa Coffee will be introduced at Scunthorpe General Hospital as well as a coffee outlet at Goole Hospital.   Elior is also set to launch vending suites at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Scunthorpe General Hospital and Goole and District Hospital. The redevelopment will “provide a wide selection of food and drink options to suit a range of budgets and tastes, from traditional British fare to global street food”. Source link

According to the 2016 Infrastructure Investment Survey from consultants Deloitte, 20 per cent of infrastructure investors said the UK has the greatest regulatory risk in Europe, behind only Iberia and Italy, and ahead of the likes of Eastern Europe and Germany. Respondents said a lack of stability and consistency in the regulatory regimes alongside “onerous” regulation were the principal reasons for the UK’s ranking. The survey suggested infrastructure investors showed “a clear desire for more stable regulatory regimes”, with a call for regulators to be “more independent and less susceptible to the influence of changes in the political landscape”. However, the UK still ranked highest in Europe in terms of where investors will focus their investment funds, with Scandinavia in second place, and was well ahead of the likes of Italy and Eastern Europe. The survey, which covered 25 European infrastructure investors with combined assets of more than £200bn, pointed to pipelines, renewables and rail as the top three most attractive assets to investors across Europe. Over the last five years, 92 per cent of respondents said their infrastructure investments had proved to be resilient, with only 8 per cent reporting a mixed performance. However, investors cut their target internal rates of return compared with Deloitte’s previous survey in 2013, with 43 per cent expecting returns of between 10 and 12 per cent; in 2013, 41 per cent of investors expected returns of between 12 and 14 per cent. Returns were lowest for PFI/PPP assets, water and regulated utilities, while the transport sector – particularly ports and rail/metro assets – showed the highest levels of returns. Airports was the best performing sector overall, with nearly 50 per cent of respondents saying that it had performed well. In contrast, nearly 20 per cent of respondents said that investments in the renewables sector had performed poorly. The survey suggested that results in the sector had been “erratic”, largely due to changing regulatory frameworks and changes to renewable energy policy. Commenting on the survey, Deloitte infrastructure M&A partner Jason Clatworthy said infrastructure assets “continue to perform strongly and provide stable, secure returns”. “We expect this to continue through a period of more steady evolution in the infrastructure investors market over the years to come,” he said. He added that there was “a wall of capital” looking to target infrastructure. “As such, infrastructure investors remain keen to see an increase in deal pipeline, both via the secondary sale markets but, importantly, also in the greenfield space should regulators of governments facilitate this more readily.” The survey tallies closely with research from Arcadis, which suggested that the UK is the ninth most attractive market for infrastructure investment worldwide, and the second most attractive in Europe.   Source link

New research shows that for the first time since the start of the tenant deposit schemes in 2007, more landlords and agents are being awarded 100% of the disputed amount at adjudications, than tenants. The TDS figures show that in 2015, 19.8% of all disputes raised by landlords or agents resulted in 100% pay-outs to them, while 19.2% of all disputes raised resulted in 100% pay-outs to tenants.  The remaining 61% of cases saw the disputed money split between the parties. In 2014, 20.25% of all disputes raised by tenants resulted in 100% pay-outs to them, compared with 18.21% to landlords and agents. In previous years, tenants have always been awarded the full deposit more often than landlords and agents. Although adjudicators do not seek to decide in favour of one side or the other, many landlords and agents believe that the Courts are biased towards tenants. Jax Kneppers, Founder and CEO of Imfuna, believes these results are a sign that the landlords and agents are presenting better documented evidence at adjudications.  He comments: “For the first time, landlords and agents are now more successful than tenants at winning 100% of deposits.  This is a significant achievement – an 8.5% increase year on year. More and more landlords and agents are recognising the power of digital professional inventories and mid-term inspections and this is why the balance is starting to shift.  Many landlords and agents are ensuring that the condition of the property is fully recorded at the start of the tenancy, with a comprehensive inventory, along with a thorough check-in and check-out report. Historically, many tenant disputes have gone in favour of tenants, as there was simply not enough evidence to support the landlord or agent’s damage claim.  The most common mistake in most inventories is the lack of detail.  Often there is not enough appropriate photographs and any accompanying description to show the condition of the property and its contents. For example, many landlords and agents fail to record the condition of sinks and bathroom fittings, as well skirting, doors, floor coverings and kitchen units.  If an inventory is not a professional and thorough report on the property, then it is not worth the paper it is written on. Inventory reports should contain a full description of the condition of the property, noting detail on every aspect of damage and its location at the start of a tenancy.  Good photographs provide vital evidence and should be of a high quality when printed up to A4 or A3 size, so that any damage can be clearly seen. Unless landlords and agents have a water-tight inventory, they are at risk of disputes and expensive repair bills. Our research shows that landlords and agents who have switched from analogue to digital inventories, have seen their tenant deposit disputes drop by more than 300% and their success rate at adjudications improve by an average of 75%. We have designed Imfuna Let to ensure landlords and agents have a bullet proof inventory that records the property check-in condition status. It is the complete digital property inspection system which has automated all aspects of the data collection in inventories and mid-term inspections. The software provides a side-by-side comparison report which clearly demonstrates any change in condition of the property, illustrated with date and time stamped photographs. Users can also publish a deposit dispute report, again saving time, meeting deadlines and ensuring that the tenancy deposit protection adjudicator has the information at their fingertips. Source link