Prologis has completed 2000 Discovery Drive, a major new speculative life sciences development at Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the latest stage of long-term investment in the campus. Delivered as part of Phase 2 of Prologis’ expansion at Cambridge Biomedical Campus, 2000 Discovery Drive provides 112,000 sq ft of laboratory and
Plans for the £2 billion Vauxhall Square regeneration have secured approval, paving the way for one of London’s most ambitious new mixed-use developments and a substantial new pipeline of Build to Rent (BTR), co-living, student and conventional housing. The major scheme will transform a long-stalled 1.49-hectare site between Vauxhall and
One of east London’s largest regeneration projects has taken a major step forward after City Hall approved plans for nearly 3,000 homes on the former Beckton Gasworks site in Newham. The Beckton Riverside development is being brought forward by St William, part of Berkeley Group, and will transform around 30
Plans have been submitted for a major new industrial and logistics development in Northampton that could transform the former Coca-Cola bottling site at Brackmills into up to 1.26 million sq ft of modern employment space. Royal London Asset Management Property is bringing forward the 54-acre Brackmills Logistics Park in partnership
Aldi is stepping up investment across its UK property estate with plans to refurbish 25 supermarkets this year as part of a wider £300 million programme of store improvements. The investment will see the discount supermarket group upgrade existing locations across England and Scotland, with work focused on improving the
Some of the UK’s biggest facilities management and building services contractors have secured positions on a new government framework valued at up to £120 billion, opening the door to a major pipeline of public estate work over the next eight years. The Government Commercial Agency framework, RM6378, is set to
Downing has secured a £249.2 million refinancing package for two major residential towers at its £400 million Square Gardens development in Manchester, marking another significant milestone for one of the city’s largest new living schemes. The financing, provided by Bank of Ireland, covers Acer and The Fernley, the two completed
From budget hotel chains to luxury resorts and large restaurant groups, hospitality venues face some of the most complex operating environments, regulatory obligations, and maintenance requirements. These properties contain a wide variety of spaces, building systems and assets, from bedrooms and event spaces to commercial kitchens, HVAC and water systems,
Karen Carter, public sector director at public procurement specialist Pagabo, has shared her thoughts following the government’s announcement on its intention to review plans for local government reorganisation (LGR) and ensure alignment with its wider plan to rewire the state. Karen said: “This week’s announcement adds another layer of uncertainty for councils that have
LaSalle Investment Management has secured an additional commitment of more than £300 million for a UK local authority investment mandate, taking the strategy to £1 billion and providing further capital for investment across the country’s property market. The expansion represents a significant vote of confidence in UK real estate at
Prologis has completed 2000 Discovery Drive, a major new speculative life sciences development at Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the latest stage of long-term investment in the campus. Delivered as part of Phase 2 of Prologis’ expansion at Cambridge Biomedical Campus, 2000 Discovery Drive provides 112,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space across six floors of specialist life sciences facilities. This first completed building will form GSK’s new 300,00 sq ft R&D centre at Cambridge Biomedical Campus, focused on the company’s research in Oncology, Respiratory, Hepatology, Vaccines and HIV. Phase 2 represents an investment of $635m (£500m) by Prologis. The completion of 2000 Discovery Drive delivers of Prologis’ commitment to bring forward new infrastructure to support the continued growth of the campus. A semi-sunken CycleParc with a landscaped courtyard provides secure parking for 450 bicycles beneath biodiverse meadow space, forming part of the wider delivery of Phase 2 expansion. 2000 Discovery Drive was delivered with Prologis’ project and delivery partners. SDC acted as main contractor, with Scott Brownrigg as architect, Buro Four as project manager, AECOM as cost consultant, Bidwells as planning consultant, Hoare Lea as MEP and sustainability consultant, and Ramboll as structural engineer. Paul Weston, Regional Head of Prologis UK: “When we committed to the next phase of Discovery Drive, we said we would invest in and deliver the specialist infrastructure needed to support the continued growth of Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The completion of 2000 Discovery Drive is that commitment becoming reality. “We took the decision to develop ahead of demand, and the fact that 2000 Discovery Drive will now form part of GSK’s new R&D centre shows why taking that long-term view mattered. This has been a significant project to deliver, and I want to recognise the partners and teams who have helped make it happen.” Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, said: “The progress made at 2000 Discovery Drive over the last 18 months is exceptional. And now it’s expanding with both 3000 and 4000 Discovery Drive. “Prologis continue to bring together research, patient care, academia and industry to support the discovery and development of new medicines. And as they welcome GSK to this nearly completed building, they will be further supporting our Local Growth Plan.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Plans for the £2 billion Vauxhall Square regeneration have secured approval, paving the way for one of London’s most ambitious new mixed-use developments and a substantial new pipeline of Build to Rent (BTR), co-living, student and conventional housing. The major scheme will transform a long-stalled 1.49-hectare site between Vauxhall and Nine Elms with a cluster of seven buildings, including a landmark 69-storey residential tower that will become a significant addition to the south London skyline. At the heart of the proposals is a diverse residential offer. Vauxhall Square is expected to provide approximately 1,097 new homes, including properties for sale and rent, alongside 1,164 co-living studios and accommodation for 699 students. The housing mix will also include affordable provision and homes for social rent. The scale of the project makes it particularly significant for London’s evolving BTR and wider living sectors. Rather than concentrating on a single residential tenure, the development brings conventional housing, professionally managed rental accommodation, co-living and purpose-built student accommodation together within one major regeneration project. Vauxhall Square is being brought forward by Cedarstone Capital Partners and Cheyne Capital alongside GFH Financial Group, with Bmor and Trigon acting as development managers. Pilbrow & Partners is leading the architectural design of the new masterplan, replacing the earlier Allies and Morrison proposals for the site. The wider professional team includes Gardiner & Theobald on costs, AKT II as structural engineer, Hoare Lea on building services and Exterior Architecture as landscape architect. DP9 is planning consultant, Velocity is advising on transport, while Publica and Space Syntax are involved in the public realm strategy. Beyond housing, Vauxhall Square is designed as a genuinely mixed-use neighbourhood. Plans incorporate a hotel, offices, retail and leisure space, a cinema and community facilities, with a new central garden forming an important focal point for the development. Ground-floor uses and new pedestrian connections are intended to create a more active public realm and improve links towards Vauxhall Station and neighbouring developments. The project is also significant because it unlocks a major site that has remained largely undeveloped despite previous planning permissions. The latest proposals respond to changing housing and investment conditions by increasing density while introducing a much broader range of residential tenures. For the construction sector, a £2 billion development of this scale represents a substantial future pipeline spanning high-rise construction, façades, structural engineering, M&E, residential fit-out, landscaping and public realm. Vauxhall Square could now become a defining part of the wider Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea regeneration story, while demonstrating how BTR, co-living, student housing and affordable homes can form part of a single large-scale urban neighbourhood. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
One of east London’s largest regeneration projects has taken a major step forward after City Hall approved plans for nearly 3,000 homes on the former Beckton Gasworks site in Newham. The Beckton Riverside development is being brought forward by St William, part of Berkeley Group, and will transform around 30 acres of derelict former industrial land on the north bank of the River Thames. The gasworks closed in the 1960s and the complexity of the contaminated site means substantial remediation and infrastructure investment will be required before large-scale housebuilding can begin. Newham Council had previously resolved to approve the proposals, but the applications were called in by the Mayor of London in April. Following a public hearing, Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills Jules Pipe has now approved the scheme. At the heart of the masterplan are around 2,900 new homes, together with approximately 5,000 sq m of mixed-use floorspace and a five-acre riverside park. The first phase will include buildings rising to 15 storeys. Berkeley is expected to invest around £250 million in remediation, enabling works and infrastructure to prepare the former gasworks for redevelopment. The initial programme will involve a major clean-up of the heavily contaminated site alongside work to strengthen flood defences and upgrade local infrastructure. Architecture and masterplanning is being led by JTP, with HTA involved as landscape architect. The professional team also includes Quod as planning consultant, Vectos on transport and GIA as daylight consultant. A major component of the wider vision is improved connectivity. The masterplan has been developed around proposals for a new Beckton Riverside DLR station, forming part of Transport for London’s planned extension from Gallions Reach through Beckton Riverside and beneath the Thames to Thamesmead. The transport project remains subject to funding and further approvals. The regeneration will also open up a substantial stretch of the Thames waterfront, with JTP’s plans incorporating new streets, walking and cycling connections and extensive green infrastructure alongside the new riverside park. Affordable housing has been one of the more closely scrutinised elements of the project. City Hall documents put the initial provision at 8.1% by habitable room, with the potential to rise to as much as 20% if housing grant funding is secured. Dean Summers, managing director of St James & St William, described the approval as a significant step forward for the complex, long-term regeneration site. Construction could begin in 2028, with the first homes expected to complete from 2030. Before then, the scale of the £250 million enabling programme underlines the engineering challenge involved in transforming decades-old contaminated industrial land into an entirely new residential neighbourhood. For Berkeley and St William, Beckton Riverside represents a major long-term development opportunity. For east London, it could unlock a previously inaccessible section of the Thames and create a new mixed-use community at the heart of the wider Royal Docks and Beckton Riverside regeneration area. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Plans have been submitted for a major new industrial and logistics development in Northampton that could transform the former Coca-Cola bottling site at Brackmills into up to 1.26 million sq ft of modern employment space. Royal London Asset Management Property is bringing forward the 54-acre Brackmills Logistics Park in partnership with commercial property developer Graftongate, which is acting as development manager. The brownfield site was acquired from Coca-Cola in September 2025 and represents Royal London Asset Management Property’s largest logistics development to date, with a reported gross development value of around £340 million. The outline proposals would allow for up to 118,500 sq m of industrial and logistics floorspace, suitable for storage and distribution, general industrial and other employment uses. Existing buildings would be demolished to make way for large-scale modern accommodation, alongside offices, service yards, parking and supporting infrastructure. Located within the established Brackmills Industrial Estate, the site benefits from connections to the A45, A428 and the wider motorway network, placing it within the UK’s strategically important logistics Golden Triangle. Economic forecasts submitted with the proposals indicate the scale of the potential impact. The development could support more than 1,200 net additional full-time equivalent jobs in West Northamptonshire once operational, while the construction phase itself is expected to generate substantial employment and supply chain activity. The planning submission estimates that construction could generate around £132.7 million for the local economy, with the completed development contributing approximately £51.6 million annually. Brownfield regeneration with ESG at its core Environmental performance is an important part of the Brackmills proposals. Rather than developing an undeveloped greenfield location, the project would regenerate a former industrial site that has been vacant since Coca-Cola closed its bottling facility in 2023. The emerging sustainability strategy includes energy-efficient building design, the potential integration of rooftop solar PV, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and sustainable drainage systems. Improvements for pedestrians and cyclists are also proposed, together with cycle parking and new landscaping. Biodiversity forms another component of the ESG strategy. The development is targeting at least 10% Biodiversity Net Gain, with ecological improvements delivered through a combination of new on-site landscaping and habitat creation locally. The project team brings together a substantial group of UK property, design and engineering specialists. Graftongate is development manager, while UMC Architects is among the consultants involved in the scheme. The wider team also includes Buro Four, Burrows Graham, Halligan Associates, Pegasus Group, BCA Design, Apex Transport Planning, Middlemarch, Fuller Long, Savills Earth and Trinity Property Consultants. APEX Real Estate Advisors and BNP Paribas Real Estate are involved on the property agency side. The redevelopment also reflects the changing technical requirements of the logistics sector. Modern distribution facilities increasingly need to accommodate automation, sophisticated building services, greater power requirements and more demanding environmental standards alongside traditional warehousing operations. For Northampton, the investment would reinforce Brackmills’ position as one of the region’s established industrial and distribution locations while bringing a large vacant brownfield property back into productive use. Subject to planning, construction could begin in 2027. With significant floorspace, strong motorway connectivity and an emphasis on more sustainable logistics buildings, Brackmills Logistics Park has the potential to become one of the most important new industrial developments in the East Midlands pipeline. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Aldi is stepping up investment across its UK property estate with plans to refurbish 25 supermarkets this year as part of a wider £300 million programme of store improvements. The investment will see the discount supermarket group upgrade existing locations across England and Scotland, with work focused on improving the customer experience while introducing more efficient and sustainable building technologies. Depending on the individual store, improvements will include the refurbishment and expansion of key departments such as bakery, health and beauty and fresh food. The programme is designed to create additional space and make stores easier for customers to navigate. Sustainability will also play a role in the refurbishment programme. Selected locations are set to receive energy-efficient fridge doors and refrigeration systems using natural refrigerants, supporting efforts to reduce energy consumption and improve the environmental performance of Aldi’s existing estate. For the retail construction and fit-out sector, the programme represents a significant pipeline of refurbishment activity across a geographically diverse portfolio. Upgrading operational supermarkets can require carefully phased construction, M&E, refrigeration, shopfitting and finishing works to minimise disruption while delivering improvements to existing buildings. Jonathan Neale, managing director of national real estate at Aldi UK, said: “We’re continuing to invest in our existing stores because we know how important the in-store experience is to customers. “These upgrades will create more space, improve key areas of our stores and make them easier to shop. It’s an important part of how we’re investing in the communities we serve.” The £300 million commitment highlights the continuing importance of existing-store investment alongside new supermarket development. For major retailers with substantial property portfolios, refurbishment provides an opportunity to modernise customer-facing areas while improving energy efficiency and adapting stores to changing operational requirements. With 25 locations earmarked for work this year, Aldi’s programme will bring investment to stores from Aberdeen and Stirling to Manchester, Liverpool, London and Bedford. Aldi stores set for refurbishment • Arndale, Manchester• Barnsley Road, Doncaster• Batley Road, Wakefield• Brackley Court, Blaby• Bridgnorth Road, Wollaston• Brooks Road, Lewes• Chapel Street, Belper• Cornhill Shopping Arcade, Aberdeen• Crown Road, Enfield• Falkirk Road, Linlithgow• Grooms Alley, Wellington• Holyhead Road, Telford• Holloway Road, Archway• Knollside Close, Sunderland• London Road, Blackwater• Moreland Avenue, Billingham• Old Beck Road, Harrogate• Printers Place, Paisley• Ringtail Retail Park, Burscough• Rockingham Road, Corby• Sandbach Road, Congleton• Springbank Road, Stirling• St. John Centre, Liverpool• Stratford Road, Hall Green• Westville Road, Bedford Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Some of the UK’s biggest facilities management and building services contractors have secured positions on a new government framework valued at up to £120 billion, opening the door to a major pipeline of public estate work over the next eight years. The Government Commercial Agency framework, RM6378, is set to become a recommended procurement route for facilities management services across central government. It will also be available to local authorities, NHS organisations, police forces, fire and rescue services, education bodies and devolved administrations. Competition for the largest Total Facilities Management contracts has attracted many of the sector’s leading names. Eighteen businesses have been appointed to the highest-value lot, covering individual contracts worth more than £15 million annually. The successful firms include Amey, CBRE, Compass, Dalkia, Equans, G4S Facilities Management, ISS, JLL, Kier, Mitie, OCS, Robertson Facilities Management, Serco, Skanska, Sodexo, Vinci Facilities, Vivo Defence Services and Wates. For the construction and built environment industry, the framework also represents a substantial opportunity for contractors delivering hard FM, engineering, maintenance and asset management services across the public estate. Forty businesses have secured positions on the major Hard FM lot for contracts valued above £2 million per year. Among those appointed are Amey, BAM FM, CBRE, Dalkia, Equans, Galliford Try, Graham Asset Management, Kier, Mears, Mitie, NG Bailey, OCS, Robertson, Serco, Skanska, Vinci Facilities, Vivo and Wates. The framework has been structured to accommodate public sector estates and contracts of significantly different scales. Total FM is divided into three bands covering contracts worth up to £2 million annually, between £2 million and £15 million, and more than £15 million. Hard FM is split between contracts below and above £2 million a year. A core group of contractors has achieved particularly strong coverage across the framework. Fifteen firms secured places across all five Total FM and Hard FM lots: Amey, CBRE, Equans, ISS, JLL, Kier, Mitie, OCS, Robertson, Serco, Skanska, Sodexo, Vinci Facilities, Vivo Defence Services and Wates Property Services. A further group, including BAM FM, Dalkia Facilities, Galliford Try Facilities Management, Graham Asset Management and Mears FM, secured positions across four lots. The scale and duration of the framework make it an important development for the management and maintenance of the UK’s public buildings and infrastructure. Alongside day-to-day FM provision, major hard services contracts can encompass the engineering, maintenance and long-term performance of complex property portfolios. With public bodies continuing to face pressure to improve building efficiency, modernise ageing estates and manage assets more effectively, the framework provides a long-term procurement platform through which significant programmes of FM and building services work can be commissioned. The agreement is scheduled to operate for eight years, running through to August 2034, giving successful contractors access to what could become one of the most significant public sector facilities management pipelines in the UK. Main Total FM and Hard FM winners Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Downing has secured a £249.2 million refinancing package for two major residential towers at its £400 million Square Gardens development in Manchester, marking another significant milestone for one of the city’s largest new living schemes. The financing, provided by Bank of Ireland, covers Acer and The Fernley, the two completed co-living buildings within the wider Square Gardens development in Manchester’s First Street district. Together, the buildings provide a major concentration of new rental accommodation, with the 25-storey Acer and 45-storey Fernley forming the first two phases of the development. Both buildings are now operational, demonstrating the scale of demand for professionally managed, amenity-led rental accommodation in Manchester. Designed by Manchester-based SimpsonHaugh Architects, Square Gardens represents a substantial addition to the city’s evolving residential landscape. The wider £400 million development has been conceived as a new urban neighbourhood combining high-density living with extensive shared amenities, landscaped spaces and public realm. Residents have access to facilities including a gym and wellness centre, co-working and meeting areas, social lounges, private dining spaces and extensive landscaped gardens and terraces. Sustainability has also formed an important part of the development, with measures including air source heat pumps, while the scheme has targeted BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings. The refinancing represents an important financial milestone following the completion and occupation of the two buildings. Savills Capital Advisors advised Downing on the transaction. Bay Downing, joint chief executive of Downing, described the deal as a landmark transaction for the business, highlighting the strength of the company’s portfolio and growing opportunities across the living sector. The deal is also significant for the wider UK residential market. Large-scale co-living and Build to Rent developments are becoming an increasingly established component of regeneration in major regional cities, combining new housing supply with extensive shared facilities and professionally managed environments. Square Gardens has been created using Downing’s vertically integrated approach, with development, construction and ongoing management delivered by the business. This has enabled the company to take the scheme from construction through to operation within the wider group. With Acer and The Fernley now completed and backed by £249.2 million of refinancing, Square Gardens is moving firmly from major construction project to established residential destination, reinforcing Manchester’s position as one of the UK’s leading markets for large-scale rental and co-living development. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
From budget hotel chains to luxury resorts and large restaurant groups, hospitality venues face some of the most complex operating environments, regulatory obligations, and maintenance requirements. These properties contain a wide variety of spaces, building systems and assets, from bedrooms and event spaces to commercial kitchens, HVAC and water systems, lifts and leisure facilities. Maintenance is therefore critical not only to compliance and long-term asset value but also to guest satisfaction and brand reputation, meaning there is little room for disruption or error, especially during periods of peak occupancy. Matt Voyle, Senior Account Executive at SFG20, the industry standard for hotel facilities management, has shared the key challenges facing hotels and hospitality venues today and why a structured approach to planned maintenance is essential for FM teams operating across the sector. A significant water-safety risk in hotels and hospitality venues is Legionella. When guest rooms, outlets, or sections of a water system are used infrequently, water can stagnate and create conditions favourable to bacterial growth. Seasonal properties and temporarily closed wings therefore require particular attention. Control should be based on a suitable risk assessment and managed by someone with the appropriate knowledge and training. Depending on the systems and the findings of the assessment, measures may include temperature control, regular flushing of infrequently used outlets, inspection, cleaning and descaling, and documented checks. FM teams can strengthen control by maintaining reliable information about their water systems and implementing a risk-assessment-led maintenance regime. Appropriate monitoring technology may support this approach, but it does not replace the required assessment, controls, and documented checks. Unlike offices or retail environments, where lower-occupancy periods allow planned maintenance to take place with minimal disruption, hotel and hospitality venues have to accommodate guests day and night. Hotels, as well as cafes and restaurants, have very small downtime windows, giving little time for anything other than routine checks. This means small issues can go unnoticed, potentially developing into larger problems further down the line. Maintenance planning must therefore avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and instead be precise and structured around the operational realities of each property rather than being generically applied across the estate. The condition and performance of hotel and hospitality buildings is highly visible to guests, meaning there’s zero room for failure. Issues with HVAC, hot water, lifts, lighting, plumbing or other facilities can quickly lead to complaints, negative reviews and lost return business. Common issues include water temperature problems, noise complaints, humidity, kitchen extract failures, false fire alarms and out-of-service lifts, which can all impact accessibility and guest satisfaction. For hotel management companies overseeing maintenance across multiple properties, consistent FM performance is essential for meeting brand standards, supporting owner and operator reporting and protecting the long-term value of assets. Large hotel and hospitality operators often manage estates spanning properties of different ages, formats, historic importance and building types, each with their own asset profiles and maintenance histories. This creates additional complexity for FM teams, particularly when managing heritage properties that may be subject to planning or conservation constraints alongside independently branded and franchised sites with different standards and owner expectations. Without a common maintenance baseline, standards can vary and compliance gaps can emerge, while inconsistencies become increasingly costly to resolve as portfolios grow. Holiday parks and resorts present a particularly complex FM environment, combining different accommodation types such as lodges, holiday homes, cottages, and apartments with commercial kitchens, dining areas, pools, gyms, entertainment facilities, and outdoor amenities. The diversity of these building types, as well as asset ages and infrastructure, combined with seasonal demand, makes it difficult for FM teams to apply a generic maintenance approach. This becomes even more complex when it comes to all-inclusive resorts, where guests have limited alternatives to facilities on site. Matt Voyle adds: “With maintenance varying from property to property, having a trusted framework for planned maintenance, organisations and venues can create a more consistent and structured approach. For hotels and hospitality organisations, that means identifying applicable maintenance tasks and recommended frequencies, distinguishing statutory requirements from industry best practice, and documenting where site-specific tailoring is needed. Hospitality estates vary widely. A strong approach combines a consistent baseline with controlled, evidence-based tailoring, creating a maintenance regime that is practical, auditable and commercially workable Download SFG20’s free e-guide, How Hotels and Hospitality FM Teams Can Improve Compliance, Control Costs and Run More Efficiently, for practical guidance on reviewing and strengthening your maintenance approach.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Karen Carter, public sector director at public procurement specialist Pagabo, has shared her thoughts following the government’s announcement on its intention to review plans for local government reorganisation (LGR) and ensure alignment with its wider plan to rewire the state. Karen said: “This week’s announcement adds another layer of uncertainty for councils that have already spent months planning for reorganisation. Four areas have had their plans withdrawn, another 14 are paused pending review, and the 2027 elections will now be fought on existing boundaries. “For the teams involved, that’s a lot more work suddenly required without a clear landing point. But the fundamentals haven’t changed. Schools still need building, homes still need delivering, and estates still need maintaining. None of that waits for a structural decision in Whitehall. The risk in moments like this is that authorities press pause on everything, not just reorganisation, and lose a year of delivery to a decision that isn’t theirs to make. It’s vital that local authorities remember that successful transition will depend not only on the governance design, but on collective leadership and the ability to maintain shared action while navigating the road ahead. “Our advice remains the same as prior to this latest government announcement. That is to keep statutory service delivery moving and focus on decisions that will be unaffected by reorganisation. This means procuring through compliant, flexible routes that transfer cleanly to whatever structure eventually emerges. Similarly, ensure contract, asset and supplier data is in order because that is the groundwork every future authority will need regardless of how new boundaries are formed. Finally, keep the relationships with your supply chain warm so that you can move quickly when clarity comes. “Uncertainty is not the same as standstill. The authorities that come through this best will be the ones that use the pause to get their house in order – rather than waiting to be told what shape they’ll be.” For more information and guidance, check out Navigating Local Government Reorganisation – which was recently published by Pagabo. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
LaSalle Investment Management has secured an additional commitment of more than £300 million for a UK local authority investment mandate, taking the strategy to £1 billion and providing further capital for investment across the country’s property market. The expansion represents a significant vote of confidence in UK real estate at a time when institutional investors are increasingly focused on assets capable of delivering resilient, long-term income alongside strong environmental and social performance. The mandate is being led at LaSalle by Sophie Simmonds and Philip La Pierre, with the additional capital significantly increasing the scale of the investment programme. For the UK built environment, the commitment has the potential to support further investment across property sectors where long-term institutional capital can play an important role in development, regeneration and the improvement of existing assets. Residential property, including Build to Rent (BTR), remains one of the areas attracting significant institutional attention as investors look towards professionally managed housing and other living sectors as part of diversified real estate strategies. The increase in LaSalle’s mandate to £1 billion also comes against a backdrop of continued change across the UK property investment market. Investors are increasingly assessing buildings not simply on location and rental performance, but on energy efficiency, operational performance, sustainability and their ability to meet changing occupier requirements. This creates opportunities throughout the construction and property supply chain. Institutional investment into new and existing assets can support development, refurbishment, retrofit, building services upgrades and improvements to public realm, while also creating longer-term requirements for asset and facilities management. LaSalle is one of the world’s major real estate investment managers, operating across a broad range of property sectors and investment strategies. The latest commitment provides the business with substantially greater capacity to pursue UK opportunities on behalf of its local authority mandate. With more than £300 million of additional capital now committed and the mandate reaching the £1 billion mark, the move demonstrates the continuing importance of large institutional investors to the future of the UK property market. For developers and the wider construction sector, the deployment of that capital will now be closely watched, particularly as investment opportunities emerge across residential and BTR, regeneration and other areas of the built environment. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals