I interviewed former Conservative leader Lord Howard last week – the interview can be watched at www.estatesgazette.com. He was upbeat about the UK’s prospects but cautious about the impact of worldwide events.
“Our geographical position is one of the great competitive advantages we have,” he said, arguing that the government’s lead in tackling the deficit also stood us in good stead.
“But, in Donald Rumsfeld’s famous phrase, it’s the unknown unknowns that might easily cause us the greatest difficulty. There is no shortage of risks to the world economy.
“There are the problems in the eurozone which could grow.
“There are the uncertainties arising in the Middle East from recent events. Nobody knows quite where they will end up.
“And there are the risks to the global economy of the global imbalance. China and other countries have huge surpluses on their current account. The way that will be resolved remains open to question.”
Howard is speaking on the same topic at next month’s BCO conference in Geneva. Given how fast events have moved in recent weeks, more of those unknown unknowns may be known by then.
n As the industry hunts the next big idea – How can we cosy up to banks? How can we tap into private wealth? Which consolidation play will help us steal a march on rivals – there is always a risk that smaller opportunities will pass by unnoticed.
Not to everyone, thankfully, as a couple of deals sealed this week highlight.
Sequoia, a new boutique property company founded by the former head of international development at London & Regional, has raised £75m of equity. With debt, the new firm, led by Jason Mills, will have a firepower of around £150m.
The business has already secured its first project – Orchard Mews in Yeovil, Somerset. The group plans to convert the vacant former Victorian bakery into a 40,000 sq ft mixed-use office, townhouse and loft scheme. Similar properties are being targetted.
Meanwhile, Development Securities has acquired an 18-acre Art Deco business park in Hayes, Middlesex with Cathedral Group.
Many of the empty and derelict buildings were designed by British Art Deco architect Wallis, Gilbert & Partners, and Cathedral is keen to “sensitively restore” them to their former glory under a £250m regeneration project.
If the movement requires a poster child, this could be it, as the project includes the former home of music giant EMI.
CBRE profits soar
From the relatively small to the colossal. CB Richard Ellis this week reported a huge jump in net profit to $34.4m (£20.9m) for Q1 2011.
Meanwhile, Jones Lang LaSalle reported a net profit of $1.5m for the same period – up from $200,000 in Q1 2010.
Both were decent performances. But it does mean that CBRE is pulling further away in the number one spot.
With CBRE adding the firepower of ING to its arsenal, the pressure is on JLL to respond. Shareholders may soon expect an acquisition.
So deal or no deal?
European retail survey
Estates Gazette and EuroProperty have teamed up to test retail sentiment across Europe.
The quarterly survey, sponsored by Multi Development, will track confidence among developers, investors and retailers. With yo-yoing, unpredictable retail numbers doing so much to shore up (or destabilise) wider economic sentiment, we hope the results will help the industry better anticipate performance over the coming year.
To make your view count – and for a chance to win a magnum of champagne – go to tinyurl.com/69kpqpr.
