PR group leads 200,000 sq ft hunt for West End space
Omnicom subsidiary Wolff Olins has launched a 100,000 sq ft London office hunt, according to agents at MIPIM. The search is one of 200,000 sq ft of new office demands
to hit the capital this month. Public relations company Wolff Olins is understood to be
using Omnicom’s agent, Cushman & Wakefield, to advise on the potential relocation between late 2014 and 2015. It is looking at King’s Cross and the West End, said
sources. It currently occupies close to 65,000 sq ft at 10 Regents Wharf, N1. Other new requirements include energy firm Hess
Services for 50,000 sq ft. It is looking to move from the Adelphi, WC2. Media company Ebiquity, advised by Monmouth Dean, is
looking for 30,000 sq ft in the West End, while Computer Science Corporation is out with Jones Lang LaSalle looking for 20,000 sq ft.
BORE: ‘THERE’S A LOT OF INTEREST COMING THROUGH AND WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THAT’
Regions unite to compete
The country’s largest regional cities need to work together to make themselves competitive in the UK and abroad, not compete with each other, Birmingham city council leader Sir Albert Bore told EG at MIPIM. Bore said that Birmingham and Manchester were
aiming to work together, investing in infrastructure to create a competitive property scene. He said that Birmingham was seeing an increase in
direct foreign investment while the rest of the country was recording a decrease. “We were up by 40% last year, against a UK decline
of 2% and we think that interest has been maintained in 2013,” said Bore. “There is a lot of interest coming through and we need to maintain that.”
Forbes steps down at PwC
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London needs to box clever as yields tighten
London is like Mike Tyson in his prime: the heavyweight investment capital of the world but at risk of self-destruction if it doesn’t stay at the top of its game, according to Brockton Capital’s David Marks (pictured right). Marks was speaking at yesterday’s Estates Gazette / BNP Paribas Real Estate web seminar on the capital’s place as a gateway to Europe. Speaking alongside Lodestone Capital’s Becky Worthington and Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management’s James Petit, BNP PRE UK chief executive John Slade (pictured left) predicted tightening London yields for next couple of years.
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John Forbes, partner in real estate funds at PwC, is to retire after more than 25 years with the accountancy giant. Forbes will leave the partnership on 1 July to set up his
own consulting business. The move has been prompted by his work writing a specialist paper on the fund management business for the Association of Real Estate Funds. He said the document highlighted the want and need for greater governance and compliance in the real estate funds sector. He told EG: “Changes in investor sentiment and in the
regulatory environment have created significant demand for consulting services. This provides me with a unique opportunity to fulfil my ambition of establishing my own business which leverages my sector and subject matter experience and expertise. As the real estate investment management industry changes over the next decade, I want to play an active role at the centre of events.” He pointed to the introduction of AIFMD in July this year
as one new regulation coming in that could cause several smaller funds to struggle with governance.