Daily news from Property Week

Brockton amasses £1bn UK fund

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Marks and Blank’s private equity real estate fund manager raises £400m of equity for second vehicle

LandSecs appoints BH2 to find partner for Walkie-Talkie

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:27:00 GMT

Land Securities is seeking a joint venture partner for the development of the Walkie-Talkie skyscraper in the City of London.

VIDEO: Watch Armstrong talk about his decision to retire from the RICS

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:11:00 GMT

See him discuss his decision and Property Week's Public Property Summit.

Treasury appoints Cushman to sell Battersea Power Station stake

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:04:00 GMT

Treasury Holdings has hired Cushman & Wakefield to sell a minority stake in London’s Battersea Power Station development to help finance the £5.5bn project. Cushman is the firm that advised the US Embassy on its proposed move to a...

MIPIM 2010: Cushman EMEA chief Bacon speaks out

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:14:00 GMT

Hear blunt Cushman & Wakefield European boss Paul Bacon on the market, where Cushman is going next...and how `reverse price chips' get his goat.

Metric raises £175m for REIT flotation

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:10:00 GMT

Metric Property Investments today said it had raised £175m for its flotation next week - £25m more than expected.

Aldermanbury on the block

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

£260m City office for sale as starting gun fires on White Tower

Suits You CVA passes final hurdle

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:22:00 GMT

Speciality Retail Group (SRG) whose brands include Suits You has passed the 28-day challenge period from landlords and other creditors for its CVA (company voluntary arrangement).

Whitehall to examine MoD Bath sites exit

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:43:00 GMT

A new Whitehall working party has been set up to discuss the future of three Ministry of Defence sites in Bath.

Public sector wastes £15bn a year on procurement

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:26:00 GMT

The public sector is wasting £15bn a year on badly organised procurement and £10bn on shared services and outsourcing, the Institute of Directors has revealed.

PWTV: Dave Anderson on Edinburgh’s problem sites

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:09:00 GMT

Dave Anderson, city development director for Edinburgh City Council, talks to Property Week about the capital’s problem development sites and the using TIF funding to kick start projects.

PWTV: CB Richard Ellis Scotland talks on Lloyds' occupation

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:04:00 GMT

CB Richard Ellis executive director, Miller Mathieson and director of business space, Stewart Taylor talk to PW TV about the future of Lloyds Banking Group’s occupation in Edinburgh as well as the capital’s leasing market.

PWTV: Chris Dougray on Scotland’s fallen developers

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:43:00 GMT

Chris Dougray, director of corporate recovery at DTZ talks to Property Week about the disappearance of Scottish developers and the pain still to come in 2010.

PWTV: Phil Miller on the importance of TIFs

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:38:00 GMT

Phil Milller, chairman of the Scottish Property Federation and chief executive of Miller Developments talks to Property Week on the importance of tax increment financing in the development market and on how Scotland is making progress ahead...

MIPIM 2010: City of London chief reveals City UK

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Stuart Fraser, chairman of the policy and resources committee at the City of London Corporation, yesterday revealed details of the new body to promote the area, City UK.

Susan Freeman MIPIM blog: Final day high

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:47:00 GMT

MIPIM ended on a high note with the James Andrew/ Coutts last night party which had a genuine MIPIM buzz.

Bluewater sales up in February

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:30:00 GMT

Sales at Kent shopping centre Bluewater were up 8.5% in February versus February 2009.

New Birmingham tram line gets green light

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:49:00 GMT

The proposed £127m extension to Birmingham’s Midland Metro tram system got initial funding approval from the government yesterday.

Waitrose signs with Invista in Cambridge

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:19:00 GMT

Waitrose has signed up for a convenience store in Cambridge.

Civil service estate shrinks by 7m sq ft

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:13:00 GMT

The total civil service estate was reduced by 7 million sq ft in 2009, the Office of Government Commerce has revealed.

MIPIM 2010: Argent promises “something special” at Birmingham’s Paradise Circus

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:08:00 GMT

The revamped Paradise Circus will form a key part of a new Big City Plan that Birmingham will launch in July, it was announced at MIPIM today.

RICS chief executive Louis Armstrong announces retirement

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:02:00 GMT

Louis Armstrong is to retire as chief executive of the RICS after 12 years at the helm.

Capital & Regional reports NAV plunge but says it is ready to invest

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:22:00 GMT

Capital & Regional suffered a 73% decline in its net asset value last year – but this was not as bad as analyst had expected.

Susan Freeman MIPIM blog: I recommend the caramel vodka shots....

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:13:00 GMT

I've completed my research now and the Carlton hotel really does have the best buffet breakfast and worth registering for MIPIM to be allowed entry for breakfast meetings. I also recommend the caramel vodka shots (but not for breakfast)

EXCLUSIVE: Dragons’ Den star James Caan launches new resi venture

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:12:00 GMT

Star of TV show Dragons’ Den James Caan is launching a new residential business with business partner Kam Babaee.

MIPIM 2010: US rented housing sector leading recovery

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:42:00 GMT

The US rented apartment sector is leading America's recovery, says Henderson Global Investors US head of property.

MIPIM 2010: Global hotel chains eye Birmingham

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:36:00 GMT

Two global hotel chains are looking for at least three new sites for hotels in and around Birmingham.

PWTV: Property Come Dine With Me, Edinburgh – Episode Three

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:18:00 GMT

A burning hot curry lit up the third night of Property Come Dine With Me’s Edinburgh competition at Helen Clover’s home. Too much to handle for one of her guests, Helen looked to appease herself by serving up some eye watering digestifs.

Barrie blogs on Manchester's MIPIM

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:48:00 GMT

High Speed Rail 2 was the biggest talking point at an invigorating Manchester breakfast I chaired today.

Bridgepoint to halve 35% stake in Safestore

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:43:00 GMT

Safestore's largest shareholder, the UK private equity house, Bridgepoint Capital, said today it planned to sell around half its stake.