Industry Article: London’s Expensive West End

The West End is the world’s most expensive place in which to rent office space, research shows.

Rising demand saw London overtake Hong Kong last year to become the priciest city once again – and the West End is the dearest place there.

Average London rents are now more than double those on New York’s 5th Avenue and the business districts of Paris and Sydney, according to the the study.

‘As a truly global city, London’s appeal continues unabated,’ said Digby Flower, head of London markets at property broker Cushman & Wakefield, which carried out the research.

‘Equally importantly we expect rents to grow further as we get into recovery mode [following recession].’

It is the first time since the financial crash in 2008 that London has regained the global crown.

The report said: ‘London has consistently been a sought after location for multinational occupiers deriving from a wide range of business sectors.

The West End submarket of London is the most expensive part of the city and is home to many technology, media, advertising and hedge fund companies’.

Rents increased sharply towards the end of the year, it added, helping London to leapfrog Hong Kong. Soaring demand from technology companies helped prices rise 2 per cent over the year.

It now costs an average of £170 per square foot of office space, including rent, service charges and property taxes.

This is 43 per cent more expensive than Hong Kong, which was hampered last year by a slowdown in global banking. Office space there costs an average of £119 per square foot.

Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro comes third with an average price of £107 in its Zona Sul (South Zone) area.

New York is eighth, charging £84 in Midtown Manhattan.

Rents across the UK were more subdued. The second most expensive place in Britain was the Square Mile, at £55, while Manchester was third at £28.50 a square foot.

Ollie’s Birthday Bash

Paul and Sarah’s Big Day

    

VMware Istanbul

 The CHBC Group have been approached to complete a fantastic Fitspace in Istanbul, Turkey.

Our client VMware, are returning to The CHBC Group for yet another project, which will be similar to one we completed for them over a year ago in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

VMware are an industry leading Virtualization Software Company that has a client base of over 500,000 customers and has more than 55,000 partners worldwide.

Evidently they were happy with our previous services and have returned to us once again for their office space requirements.

Demolition started on 2^nd September and it has been estimated to take up to 8 weeks to complete.

Check next month’s issue for an update in progress and more in-depth detail on this fabulous design and build.

Sheffield

Another project on the horizon slightly closer to home is due to commence on the 4^th October and is estimated to take six weeks to complete.

This fantastic Fit Space will take place on the 5^th floor of the recently refurbished and highly sought after Synergy building, prominently located in the Professional Quarter of the city of Sheffield.

Not only does it offer flexible and quality office space, but our client will also benefit from a 24 hour reception, on-site car parking and a central location that makes the best of the city’s offerings easily accessible.

The project specification is to include a large open plan office space, storage room, three large meeting rooms and a state of the art laboratory.

Lenovo, Dublin

A global Fortune 500 company, Lenovo have headquarters based in Beijing, China and North Carolina, U.S to name but a few.

When they approached The CHBC Group for their office fit-out and facility management needs, we were more than happy to take on this exciting project for such a prestigious client.

Based close to The CHBC Groups’ HQ, Lenovo requested that the fit-out should take place in Dublin, Ireland. After viewing various locations and properties we found the perfect space for Lenovo in the sought after Santry Square in Dublin 9.

The project went to site in early August and was estimated to take eight weeks to complete. Excellent progress was made in that time and the projected handover took place on 30^TH September 2014.

The project included the design and build of an open plan office, complete with a breakout area, three large meeting rooms, a comms room, storage room, and finally a shared office space for management.

This has been an interesting project for our guys, both on site and in-house. Lenovo is a cutting edge company with a modern techy image, so naturally they wanted this reflected in the décor.

Both the client and our design team have worked closely to achieve the modern Lenovo branding by using graphic design art for the walls and glass.

 

ALLIANCE BERNSTEIN SYDNEY

In January of this year Ultra Building Works approached CHBC to supply and install the joinery component of their fit out on Level 32, Aurora Place Sydney.

Aurora Place is the common name of Renzo Piano‘s award-winning office tower and residential block on Macquarie Street inSydney, Australia, but it’s official name is the RBS Tower building.

The building has an unusual geometric shape where not one panel is parallel to any grid. The east façade bulges out slightly from its base, reaching its maximum width at the top floors.

What is impressive about this building is the curved and twisted shape of east façade which is aimed to correspond spatially with Sydney Opera House, representing the sublime marine environment of the harbour.

The building also has an exterior glass curtain-wall which extends beyond the main frame, creating an illusion of its independence and a steel spire which is attached to the north facade 75 m in length.

CHBC were delighted to showcase our joinery expertise in one of Sydney’s landmark buildings. Our client demanded the highest standard of finishing to reflect the building’s uniquely curved character and we did not disappoint. With such an impressive final result CHBC are now in negotiation with UBW to deliver the joinery component on more upcoming projects!

 

 

RIVERBED SYDNEY

This Design & Build Project on Angel Place’s 29th floor was an exciting challenge for the local CHBC team led by Paul Clarke and presented yet another opportunity to showcase what CHBC does best; deliver high quality fit outs, on time and on budget.

Located on 123 Pitt Street in the centre of Sydney’s CBD and boasting a select tenant listing of industry market-leaders, Angel Place is undoubtedly one of the city’s most coveted and exclusive A-Grade buildings.

The premises features fantastic natural light due to being set back from surrounding buildings, full height floor to ceiling windows and large column-free high rise floors with clear core to perimeter spans of up to 12.5 metres.

Welcome Aboard IPIQ

                                      

Who are IPIQ – Intelligent Infrastructures? 

IPIQ work with clients across a wide range of industries, including technology, telecommunications, education and financial services, they partner with their clients to design, implement and manage the infrastructures they need for effective, efficient workplaces and data centres.

Essentially they provide the physical infrastructures that enable the converged communication and building technologies, which are in integral part of every modern business.

IPIQ is headed up by Warren Stokes and Steve Smith who both have over 20 years experience in the IT industry. They have worked closely with CHBC on numerous projects over the past five years and the merging of the two businesses will enable the CHBC group to offer an even greater range of services to their clients across the globe.