EG’s must reads: 5-9 August

Here’s a wrap-up of some of the top stories on EG from the past week: A day before delivering a strong set of first-half figures and pledging to buy at least one project for its pipeline before the year is out, Derwent London got the nod for its plans to deliver 240,000 sq ft of new office space on Baker Street, W1. Westminster City Council gave Derwent and jv partner Lazari Investments the go-ahead to knock down existing buildings at 38-70 Baker Street, 64-66 Blandford Street and 43-45 Dorset Street and replace them with two seven-storey buildings.Westminster planners approve 240,000 sq ft Baker Street scheme Fresh from announcing plans to build an advanced fuels facility at its enrichment site in Capenhurst, Cheshire, with almost £200m of government funding, nuclear expert Urenco has signed for a new global headquarters in London’s Paddington. Exclusively revealed by EG, the firm has signed a 10-year lease at Great Western Developments’ 430,000 sq ft Paddington Square, W2. Urenco will move into its new 25,000 sq ft HQ next month.Nuclear expert plots global HQ at Paddington Square Moda Group, in partnership with landowner Calthorpe Estates, has secured planning permission from Birmingham City Council for the next phase of its city gateway masterplan in Edgbaston. The pair will deliver 462 homes in a 37-storey tower. The first phase of the New Garden Square masterplan is already complete. The 398-home Loudon’s Yard scheme opened in July.Moda gets permission for 462-home Brum scheme Not that we want to be overly cheery here at EG, we are journalists after all, but it definitely feels like things might be looking up for real estate. There has been a flurry of positive outlooks from agents and investors alike, and now even the stats are telling us that things may be improving. A bit, anyway. Fresh figures from Avison Young show that central London office vacancy rates are creeping down towards the 10-year average of 7%. AY puts Q2 office uptake at 2.3m sq ft, with vacancy rates down by 0.3 percentage points to 7.1%. Financial services accounted for almost a quarter of all Q2 uptake, with technology, media and telecommunications on 21.7%, and local government at 8.9%.Office vacancy rates in central London near 10-year average All the big listed agents have now delivered their trading figures for the first half of the year, and while some may not have reported quite so much growth as others, there was a common theme across them all. The bottom has been hit, they all claimed. We’ve reached the trough and now things can only get better. Granted, many of those statements were made before the stock markets tanked and presidential hopeful Donald Trump claimed he would run the Fed better.Agency leaders call trough as interest rates fall Other stories you mustn’t miss: JP Morgan embarks on City’s largest office revampAssura’s Murphy on buying at the right time in the cycleDerwent on the hunt for at least one big buyLabour ministers go on engagement offensive to get Britain buildingEdinburgh office rents grow at fastest rate in a decadeCommercial auction volumes hit record highEG’s Demand Barometer – what occupiers wantEconomic optimism slows property fund outflows For your listening pleasure from EG Property Podcasts: PedElle Power: Why women’s cycling in real estate will boost your career and change your lifeVoice of the Region: Cornwall – besides the seaside