Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and a collection of industry-relevant headlines from the nationals, all perfectly curated to set you up for the week ahead.
And you can start the week with a spring in your step as more confidence continues to grow that real estate values are stabilising. Fresh research from PGIM this morning aims to “change the narrative” from a bearish outlook on global real estate to an almost bullish one.
The investor said that global real estate yields were correcting and were “fast approaching” a range deemed “attractive for long-term buy and hold investing”.
“Our view is that global values will hit a trough in the middle of 2024,” said PGIM. “Using past downturns and recoveries as a guide, it is optimal for equity investors with longer-term strategies to deploy capital at or even just before the turning point, which reduces the probability of exiting investments in a future downturn.
“However, the expectation that capital growth will accelerate in an upswing means that strategies with shorter time horizons can expect to deliver their cyclically highest returns between 2025 and 2027.”
And there definitely is renewed action in the market. EG this morning exclusively reveals that Dorrington has bought a collection of five interlinked office buildings on London’s largest garden square from Aviva Investors.
It has bought 15-23 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2, for around £27m and plans to modernise the 67,000 sq ft office space to make it functional and fit for the 21st century.
“When we are finished, these buildings will be a wonderful place to work – steeped in history, but all the usual tick-boxes for a current occupier requirement will also apply,” says Robert Harris, director and head of commercial at Dorrington.
If you’re active in the office world and wondering how to ensure your space is a “wonderful place to work” and functional and fit for the future, then make sure you bag yourself a ticket to EG’s Future of the Workplace event next week. Space is fast running out for the event that promises to provide solutions to many of the conundrums the office sector currently faces.
Book your ticket here.
In the residential world this morning, consolidation continues in the estate agency sphere as the Property Franchise Group snaps up Fine & Country for £20m, creating a 1,800-strong network of outlets across the UK and internationally, while Scottish developer Springfield has teamed up with national housebuilder Barratt to bring forward one of the largest consented new housing developments in Scotland.
All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:
Springfield partners with Barratt for 3,000-home project
Sirius readies levers to unlock growth
Property Franchise Group buys Fine & Country
Global real estate values have reached a turning point, says PGIM
Dorrington buys Midtown offices from Aviva Investors
ARC Oxford plans office-to-lab conversion
Landsec looks to the Futures as social mobility programme gains traction
LISTEN: The future of single-family housing: trends and predictions
COMMENT: Using auctions as a route to recovery
Prologis launches flexible warehouse leasing offer
Labour’s pledge to hire 300 planning officers fails to make up for staff exits (£)
How Universal plans to build one of world’s best theme parks in UK (£)
Process for UK government contracts erodes ‘transparency’, warn experts (£)
Landlords and investors hope offices are back from the dead (£)
How good office design can attract workers — and keep them happy (£)
Fresh calls for action on IHT breaks after 68 estates shelter £1.8bn in assets (£)
Cash-strapped councils to recoup record £1.4bn to avoid collapse (£)
China securities regulator fines Evergrande unit $580m (£)
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