While speculations about the future of oil prices and the industry in general continue to grow, energy companies are thinking about today and the new reality they have to operate in. Albeit positive in the long-term (after all the world energy consumption is projected to increase and technological innovation should gradually drive the production costs […]
The Federal Reserve’s decision to hike US interest rates by 25 basis points marks a significant turning point in the global economic cycle. It has been a long time coming, but the decision was carefully signalled and well executed, and there are good reasons why occupiers and investors in Europe should remain calm about this […]
The last time I attended EXPO Real it was the immediate aftermath of one of the worst financial crashes in history. The atmosphere was ‘distinctly chilly’. Real estate was at the heart of the banking sector’s troubles and the half-empty halls and stands echoed with the noise from TV screens, which cascaded the latest market […]
Pressure to optimise costs, deliver value to shareholders and maintain a healthy balance sheet is firmly on the corporate agenda. Leadership is increasingly looking to real estate to satisfy these pressures whether through optimising costs or generating meaningful cash through the disposal of assets. JLL’s Global Corporate Real Estate Trends report reveals 40% of survey […]
This week, the economic news has been full of gloomy reflections on a very difficult quarter for financial markets. In Q3, stock prices have slumped by around 10% in the developed world and faster still in emerging markets, the sharpest falls in 4 years. Underlying this is evidence of a sharp slowdown in China’s real […]
Despite the US Federal Reserve’s decision not to raise rates in September, the fixed income market still expects, with a 66% probability, that the Fed will raise rates within the next 6 months. In Europe, the rate hike cycle will come later given the problem of patchy economic growth and the specter of weak inflation. […]
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 […]
Of all the analysis, opinion and comment that has emerged from Tesco’s recent announcement of record breaking £6.4bn losses, one snippet has stuck in my mind. Tesco offers a bewildering array of 28 varieties of tomato ketchup, while in Aldi there is just one choice, in one size. It may be too simplistic to blame all Tesco’s […]
Affluent Nordic cities are attracting international retailers as they broaden EU expansion plans, Jonathan Bayfield explains why. Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Boggi and Superdry: these are just a few of the international brands that have expanded across the Nordics in recent years with JLL’s guidance. As economic conditions improve across the Eurozone, retailers are entering […]
Two years ago, we wrote an article on Spain contrasting its footballing strength – highlighted by Real Madrid smashing the world transfer fee record for Gareth Bale – with its economic fragility. Real ended last season as Europe’s champions for a record 10th time, while rival Barcelona trumped them this year, winning a treble of […]
The big box logistics market has experienced a mini boom over the last couple of years, attracting significant interest from both occupiers and investors. Grade A supply is now half the level it was two years ago. This sharp reduction in supply has been attributable to a pick-up in a demand and a lack of […]
The upcoming general election is impacting on the Central London development market. But how is it manifesting itself and what are the other influences and trends? Well, developers seem to be carrying on regardless of the election, buoyed by the strong sales market of the past few years, although some say they have cut back […]
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 […]
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking at a number of conferences about retail logistics. This sector, propelled by the rise of e-commerce is undergoing rapid change, and consequently is of huge interest to the real estate world. The interest is warranted. The recent e-commerce boom will continue to impact logistics real estate as technologically […]
When rents start to increase landlords generally start to feel happier(!) – viewing the increase as a signal that the market is improving (although, of course, the same cannot be said for occupiers…). I have, for some time, been expecting industrial rents in the UK to start rising. This has now been confirmed by JLL’s […]
