MORNING NEWS: US recession threat fails to dampen property outlook

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 day ahead. While a recession may be looming in the US, the flurry of financial updates from real estate businesses based both here in the UK and on the other side of the pond provide a tonic to the terror of yet another potential bump in the economic road. JLL was the last of the big three to report yesterday and saw its half-year revenue rise by 10% to top $10bn. Like its rival CBRE, it highlighted an uptick in capital markets revenue, particularly investment sales, and said it was ‘cautiously optimistic’ of an acceleration in transactions in the second half of 2024. Also like its competitor, the firm’s more resilient and less transactional businesses outperformed, with Work Dynamics driving growth. Revenue from the business segment was up by 14% to $7.5bn. And CBRE’s now mostly-owned project management consultancy business Turner & Townsend also reported strong trading, with revenue up by more than 20% in the year to 30 April to £1.5bn, with income from its real estate operations growing by 25% to £851m. On the markets this morning, Tritax Big Box boasted a “transformational” first half of 2024, boosted by its acquisition of UK Commercial Property REIT and a return of investor sentiment. The group is now looking for new opportunities to continue its growth, with a focus on power and data centre opportunities. Chairman Aubrey Adams also reckons there is an additional £121m the industrial REIT can squeeze out of its rental income through reviews in the short-term, with a long-term ambition to more than double rental income. And Médecins Sans Frontières has secured a new UK HQ at CLS’s refurbishment of 9 Prescot Street, E1. The NGO has agreed a 10-year lease on just over 12,000 sq ft in the 91,000 sq ft building, now known as Artesian. Rents in the building start at £47.50 per sq ft. Compton and Cushman & Wakefield are letting agents on the scheme. Elsewhere, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has launched a search for a developer to take on its plans to turn the 518-acre Chapelcross power plant site in Scotland into a major green energy hub. A masterplan which unlocks the first 148 acres of NDA-owned land at the site has now been drawn up and a private sector partner is being sought to finance and build a site providing hydrogen production storage, advanced manufacturing, and energy and enterprise campuses. Some £15.3m of funding has already been secured from the UK and Scottish governments to help kick-start the plans. If you’re up for the challenge, Avison Young is advising.  And, if you’re wondering how best to understand the market, why not take a look at EG’s Demand Barometer. Using data from our property listings platform PropertyLink, we can understand in real time what occupiers are looking for, what sectors are being enquired about most, what kind of property occupiers want and where they want to settle their requirement. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals: Revenue tops £1.5bn at CBRE-owned Turner & TownsendTritax looks to ‘near adjacencies’ after ‘transformational’ first halfBrum’s Cube hotel on the block for £12mMédecins Sans Frontières lands at ArtesianDeveloper search launched for major green energy hubDemand Barometer: What occupiers want – July 2024JLL ‘cautiously optimistic’ on deals pick upBerkeley backs Labour housing pledge with promise of 10,000 extra homesCOMMENT: How development evolves through historical renovationRanked: The UK’s co-working hotspotsStrettons raises £12.9m at July auctionJansons bags Thames Valley business parks for £100m redevelopmentOPDC chair steps down after seven yearsFood hall operator signed for Preston’s AnimateCherwell council throws out plans for two resi schemesRevenue up 10% at JLL as capital markets show ‘modest growth’COMMENT: How offices are going for gold in employee wellbeingAgents appointed on City’s new riverside officeMacquarie files plans for Edinburgh office transformationCanada Life secures consent for 330-bed Bristol PBSAInfinium Logistics bags Thurrock sites for EV FleetHubGlasgow city centre office block hits the marketDolphin Living appoints development directorGanco wins appeal for 55-home BTR scheme in HounslowEconomic optimism slows property fund outflowsReeves aims to fire up economy with Canada-style pension funds (£)Labour told growth plan will fail without £50bn investment (£)Construction sector ‘roars ahead’ in post-election bounce (£)Holiday Inn owner expands by two hotels a day (£)Steve Schwarzman runs into newt headache at his £80m UK estate (£)