April, 2008

Work on a £7 million commercial property venture has begun in Leeds.

Despite the economic slowdown, property firm Real Estate Investors has reported a 3.6 per cent rise in assets.

Hospitality company Whitbread has unveiled plans to expand its hotel and coffee shop facilities as it sees profits increase by 26.3 per cent.

Property firm Terrace Hill has been granted planning permission for a £70 million development in Southampton.

Plans for a £160 million office development in Birmingham have been submitted to the city council for approval.

A conference and exhibition centre in Manchester has received a top business tourism award.

Seven retail firms have signed up for a new shopping centre development in Cardiff city centre.

US private-equity firm Blackstone is raising a European property fund of up to €3.5 billion (£2.8 billion) to take advantage to falling values in the sector.

There has been an increase in office take-up in Birmingham city centre, according to new figures.

Efforts to regenerate a Yorkshire coastal town have been given a £2 million funding boost.

London-based financier Tritax Securities has raised £75 million in funds for commercial property investment.

Manchester city council is in talks with English Partnerships about setting up a local asset-backed vehicle for regeneration in the city.

The property firm behind the redevelopment of a shopping centre in the centre of Leeds has released details about the project.

Plans for research into the economic and environmental impacts of tall buildings have been announced by the British Property Federation (BPF).

Budget hotel chain Travelodge has acquired six new leasehold hotels for a total consideration of £85 million from the Menzies Group.

Commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has been appointed to manage the property portfolio of the newly-created London Overground, part of Transport for London (TfL).

The Princesshay retail development in Exeter has been named the most outstanding medium-sized shopping centre in Europe.

Henderson Global Investors has been given the green light to buy a portfolio of designer factory outlets for around £380 million.

Plans by property firm Land Securities for a mixed-use commercial development near the Old Bailey in London have been approved.

Birmingham-based law firm Wragge & Co has signed what is believed to be the largest ever pre-let agreement in the city centre.

A hotel, cinema and Sainsbury's store have been signed up for a new development in south London.

Property firm Development Securities has awarded construction services company Skanska UK an £88 million contract for the next phase of a development project at PaddingtonCentral.

Property investment group William Pears is a frontrunner in the takeover bid for Land Securities outsourcing arm Trillium, it has been reported.

The effect of the credit squeeze on British retailers is unlikely to be disastrous, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.

A parliamentary inquiry has been launched into how carbon emissions produced by offices, shops and factories can be reduced to help limit global warming.

Following a four-fold pre-tax profit increase in 2007, UK Coal has announced it is to expand its property investment portfolio.

The commercial property market in the West End of London may fare better from the effects of the credit squeeze than the rest of the city, one expert has said.

A hotel company has announced it has managed to clear almost all of its debt and is seeking to take advantage of property market "weakness".

Potential bidders for Land Securities' property outsourcing arm Trillium have submitted indicative proposals to the company, it has been reported.

Fluctuations in the commercial property market are not having a negative affect on the majority of small and medium-sized businesses, an expert has said.

The UK's largest property company Land Securities is to sell its stake in the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham.

Architects have been chosen for the redevelopment of New Covent Garden Market (NCGM).

A team of nine firms led by URS will produce a design brief for the redevelopment of the London market.

Commercial developer Catesby Property Group has launched a £80 million regeneration arm for investment in brownfield sites in London and the south-east.

Demand for office space in Manchester increased by 20 per cent last year, figures show.

The monthly downward trend of total returns from commercial property continued to slow last month, figures show.

Some private investor property funds have experienced positive total returns for the first quarter of this year as the sector benefits from a turnaround.

A commercial property firm has announced plans to invest £360 million of equity in developing hotels.

Travelodge has bought nine new hotel development sites for £28.3 million as part of a drive to add 4,000 new rooms to its portfolio by the end of the year.

Widespread economic uncertainty may provide opportunities for retailers, industry chiefs have said.

Commercial property investment firm Kenmore Property Group has bought a six-storey office block in the centre of Leeds for £6.8 million.

Plans for one of the UK's largest rail and sea freight terminals have been given the green light by councillors.

The UK's largest hotel and restaurant group has announced it is to invest £100 million in six new London hotels.

Commercial property developers Westfield have chosen the final anchor store to fill the company's new London shopping centre and announced an opening date for the development.

Grants of up to £4 million have been given to three British seaside towns by the government to boost regeneration through cultural projects.

Demolition work is underway as part of a new £40 million regeneration scheme in east Manchester.

Property industry bodies have compiled new guidance for businesses on energy performance certificates (EPCs) and changes to tax on empty properties.

A developer has been to chosen to lead the construction of a £30 million retail and leisure development in Wales.

A slowdown to falls in the commercial property market was to be expected, an expert has said.

Property developer Kier has been chosen by Network Rail as a partner for its £500 million regeneration of six stations in the south-east.

A property investment fund totalling almost $11 billion (£5.5 million) has been raised by Blackstone Group.