London may see itself as the world’s greatest city, but perhaps more than ever, its cultural innovations are borrowed from elsewhere – mostly across the Atlantic. From coffee culture to farmers’ markets, craft beer to gourmet burgers, it is not difficult to compile a list of cutting-edge trends that began a bit earlier in New […]
Blogs by Jon
Over the course of 2014, some £65bn was invested in direct UK real estate – a 16% increase on the 2013 figure and the highest total on record. Remarkably, this was not driven by London, which actually saw a 3% decrease in volumes to £27.4bn. Rather, it was a year of frantic activity in the […]
This is the question JLL Research is always forced to answer in the first few weeks of the New Year in front of several hundred property professionals. What is the outlook for UK property in 2015? Read our JLL UK 2015 Property Predictions here After 12 strong months for the UK economy and property market, […]
Alternatives is an unfortunate choice of term to describe property sectors as diverse as student accommodation, healthcare and the private rented sector. It implies that these areas are somehow a bit of a marginal, left-field choice. The reality is quite different, as JLL’s second annual survey of these sectors demonstrates. Of the 52 fund and […]
The research year in the UK begins with a swathe of property predictions events around the country. This gives a travelling speaker such as myself a chance to analyse and see how our major cities are performing. My first stop was Birmingham. The office market has a relatively high vacancy rate, at least partly a […]
It is not difficult to show the extent to which London dominates British life, from our economy to cultural and political life. Many, perhaps, assume that having such a dominant city in a small country is natural and unavoidable. Few seem aware quite how centralised our government is compared to other developed countries. With all […]
Definition of boondoggle for those unfamiliar: “A boondoggle is a project that is considered a useless waste of both time and money, yet is often continued due to extraneous policy motivations” The debate over High Speed Two appears to have gathered pace over recent weeks. A rapid train link between London and Birmingham – eventually […]
Over the past couple of years, overseas investors have been flocking to the Central London office market, drawn by its transparency, liquidity and scale, as well as the prospects for the capital’s economy. So much, in fact, that 2012 saw the highest volumes since the onset of the financial crisis, with international buyers accounting for […]