The regeneration of the St George’s area into Leicester’s Cultural Quarter continues apace and will be enhanced by the development of a cleared site currently available for sale through Intali. We know it doesn’t look much on the picture (apart from the graffiti – which is NOT listed!) but this
There once was an ugly duckling – the whole of the St George’s area in Leicester now known as the “Cultural Quarter”. Intali was formed fifteen years ago to bring forward regeneration projects. As this then neglected area was right on our doorstep, it was the focus of our attention.
We have acted for City Styles in Leicester for many years. They have run a thriving business from a very ordinary factory on St Nicholas Circle in Leicester since 1988. Recently the area around them has changed. The Leicester Waterside development directly behind their factory has brought massive new residential
Viability is a mess. A hotch-potch of policy, guidance, case law and interpretation. Benchmarks, inputs, outputs and appraisal. Report, submission, review and appeal. Argument, counter-argument and compromise. The purpose is to tax the uplift in value of land when planning permission is granted. A simple tax would do that but
Sometimes, the agreement of planning contributions through viability is not technical. Although we are happy to engage in deep discussion on development inputs, planning policy, national policy and interpretation of case law, sometimes agreement comes down to good old-fashioned barter. A good example of this is a recent viability study
The picture is of Ramsgate Harbour which is far more attractive than the property we sold! We have been advising clients of the risks of retail investment for some time and have been recommending that they seriously consider disposing of any retail assets, especially secondary stock. The well documented structural
OK – we wouldn’t want to labour the point but it is worth a brief note about the aftermath from the Happy Friday blog. The response from customers and professional colleagues was overwhelmingly positive. Yes – we have had a good-natured mickey taking but frankly we deserve it! We have
A recent article by the excellent David Smith discussed the UK’s productivity problem – it is definitely worth a read. The “take-out’s” are: German workers put in 300 hours a year less than us in the UK but produce 34.5% more. European countries with higher productivity than the UK, work
The ongoing Toys ‘R’ Us saga finally came to a head yesterday, closely followed by Maplin in the race to insolvency. New Look and a few other multiple retailers are also said to be closing in on closure. We have been saying for years that extreme caution is needed when
We were looking at a difficult investment for a pension fund client a few weeks ago. Great tenant, good location for the industrial use and a new 10 year unbroken renewal lease. Our “desk-top” due diligence report made a recommendation to submit a bid subject to inspection and the client
Viability is a mess. A hotch-potch of policy, guidance, case law and interpretation. Benchmarks, inputs, outputs and appraisal. Report, submission, review and appeal. Argument, counter-argument and compromise. The purpose is to tax the uplift in value of land when planning permission is granted. A simple tax would do that but
Sometimes, the agreement of planning contributions through viability is not technical. Although we are happy to engage in deep discussion on development inputs, planning policy, national policy and interpretation of case law, sometimes agreement comes down to good old-fashioned barter. A good example of this is a recent viability study
Back in 2013 we were asked if we could provide a day’s work experience to a young man who had decided that a criminology degree was not for him. We asked why he did not want to continue his studies. He replied that racking up a student debt of £700
We were looking at a difficult investment for a pension fund client a few weeks ago. Great tenant, good location for the industrial use and a new 10 year unbroken renewal lease. Our “desk-top” due diligence report made a recommendation to submit a bid subject to inspection and the client
The furore over business rates is gathering speed. Today government ministers claimed the “revolt” over business rate revaluations was rooted in “distortions and half-truths”. Sajid Javid called it a relentless campaign of misinformation. Really? Well here is just one example. We look after many properties for investors and that naturally means that