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.
Positive news from shopping centre owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which has seen its rental income in the first nine months of 2023 rise by 2.8%, driven by “record high” leasing activity.
Sales at the owner’s UK shopping centres, in White City and Stratford, rose by 6% between Q1 and Q3 this year.
The mall owner said leasing activity was at a record high, with its properties posting an 8.4% overall minimum guaranteed rental uplift on top of index passing rents.
The positivity continues in the life sciences sector, where leasing activity across the Golden Triangle has increased by 4% year-on-year, according to the latest figures from Savills.
Transactional activity across offices and labs hit 982,000 sq ft for the first nine months of this year, up by 4% on the same period last year. More than 300,000 sq ft was transacted in Q3 alone.
The market has moved back to a positive direction after data for H1 2023 showed a 16% year-on-year decrease in leasing activity across the key markets of Cambridge, Oxford and London.
Elsewhere, EG’s big interview of the week is with Harworth boss Lynda Shillaw. Deputy editor Tim Burke joins Shillaw on a rainy tour of the firm’s Ironbridge project to understand more about the direction of the company, Shillaw’s leadership and how she feels an obligation to create an equitable future for the next generation.
“If we can’t bring growth into the UK economy, which is jobs and homes, then it’s almost like, what’s the point?” she says. “Collectively as a society, we have an obligation to all these kids and generations coming through to build something that is great for them. The planning system is an enabler to that, but it has to work much better than it is at the moment.”
For contractor Mace, building something great means building something with care and reusing materials. It has published a report calling for London to become the circular construction capital of the world and believes that by reusing materials the industry could boost its fortunes by £1.2bn and save more than 11m tonnes of carbon.
All of this morning’s headlines:
M7 Regional E-Warehouse REIT to restructure
Harworth’s hope for a levelled-up UK
Life sciences leasing activity accelerates in Golden Triangle
Mace calls for London to become circular capital of the world
Could this be the worst planning crisis in the last decade?
Westfield owner URW posts income growth
£1.5bn Liverpool Street station plans opposed
TRG “carefully considers” Pizza Express bid
Park Plaza hotel owner lifts sales
London home sales topple
Britain’s new wonkiest pub fails to sell
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews
