Marble Arch wins BID status
The establishment of the Marble Arch Business Improvement District in London has been approved after 88% of businesses in the area voted for the programme. Some £2.5m will be invested over five years, starting in April. Marble Arch BID will work with the council, the mayor of London’s office and Transport for London to drive further investment into the area.
● Listen to an interview with BID chief Kay Buxton here
Pharma boosts office take-up
The pharmaceutical sector accounted for almost a quarter of office take-up in the South East last year, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Total take-up was 5.8m sq ft, a 26% rise from 2014, with pharmaceutical companies taking 1.4m sq ft, almost one-quarter of all deals.
Poundland chief retires
Poundland chief executive Jim McCarthy has retired after 10 years in the role. He will be succeeded on 1 July by Kevin O’Byrne, who was previously chief executive at Kingfisher. McCarthy more than tripled the retailer’s estate from 146 to 900 shops and grew turnover from £310m to £1bn.
London most costly for staff
The cost of accommodating an employee in London is more than double that of Sydney, Los Angeles or Chicago, according to Savills’ Live/Work Index. The average total cost of accommodation per worker in London is $112,800 (£80,086) compared with a global average of $56,855.
Shutov’s taste for Cheesegrater
Leonid Shutov, the restaurateur behind Soho restaurant Bob Bob Ricard, is opening his second outlet. He will take 11,000 sq ft on the third floor of British Land and Oxford Properties’ 610ft Leadenhall Building, EC3. BL and Oxford Properties were represented by Davis Coffer Lyons.
