Savills poaches Apple director
Mark Simms (pictured) is set to leave his role as senior real estate manager for European property at tech giant Apple in favour of a top retail role at Savills.
The former Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE agent will join Savills in the new year as a director to head up the company’s shopping centre team.
Amazon in Shoreditch vogue
Online retailer Amazon has signed a lease for a new 46,000 sq ft fashion photography studio at The Glass Factory in Shoreditch, E2.
The space at Transport for London’s scheme will showcase images for Amazon’s European fashion business. It will open by summer 2015.
Cushman & Wakefield acted for Amazon; CBRE advised TfL.
LandAid names new chief
Paul Morrish has been named as the new chief executive of property industry charity LandAid.
Morrish joins from charity VoiceAbility, where he is currently deputy chief executive. He replaces Joanna Averley, who left in October to join GVA.
Retiring British Property Federation chief executive Liz Peace also joins LandAid as chair of the charity.
Industrial leases hit 28.5m sq ft
Industrial take-up so far in 2014 is 28.5m sq ft, 50% up on the previous year’s figure and the biggest volume since 2010.
Savills said at its annual Big Shed Breakfast that availability now stands at 25m sq ft – less than a third of the level of five years ago.
Jeffrey Schwartz
Former Prologis chief executive and chairman Jeffrey Schwartz has passed away aged 54.
New Jersey-born Schwartz left Prologis in 2010 to co-found major international logistics developer Schwartz-Mei Group.
He merged his own firm with Denver-based Prologis in 1994, initiating its expansion into Europe in 1997 and Asia in 2002.
