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November 2010

30 Nov
12:53

Why third in line is not always a bad place to be………..

Submitted by Keith Perry, EC Harris, Head of Asset and Investment Finance

Reading the papers on a freezing Sunday just gone it was of course cheering to look at the sun drenched pictures of several stunning overseas resort properties. On reflection of course many of those resorts in Spain and Portugal and other sunbelt locations were promoted by Irish developers with a love of golf and were marketing lifestyle second homes to both Irish and other northern Europeans. These optimistic developers (first owners) in many cases have now lost all their investment through... Read More

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Why third in line is not always a bad place to be………..
29 Nov
14:46

Is the shopping centre still relevant?

Submitted by Catherine Tobiasinsky, EC Harris, Head of Global Retail

Did you know that the first in town shopping centre in Los Angeles in 1920's was due to the railways that ran LA at the time and in their effort to bring people into developing West Coast towns? The first Out of Town (OOT) Mall was actually because of the advent of the motorcar and the railways ensured that in-town parking attracted high parking charges which the OOT Mall provided respite from yet still provided the convenience of a shopping centre. Shopping Centres have a key role in... Read More

1 Comment (6 Ratings)
Is the shopping centre still relevant?
29 Nov
14:54

How do retailers fight the fire and stay profitable?

Submitted by Mark Bargna, EC Harris, Head of Business Assurance

As the festive season looms large upon us, the ‘elf like army’ of retail entrepreneurs are busy putting into action the branding and marketing campaigns that they hope will drive the public through the doors and provide a much needed boost to both the sector and the economy as a whole. How disappointing then that last week, yet another major retailer has found itself prosecuted and fined for failing to take the necessary precautions to keep its staff and ultimately the public safe.... Read More

0 Comments (7 Ratings)
How do retailers fight the fire and stay profitable?
26 Nov
12:00

Localism in action

Submitted by Keith Perry, EC Harris, Head of Asset and Investment Finance

I was intrigued by (to me) a new business model I came across recently when I decided at last to sort out my own PV roof installation having spent the last year extolling the virtue of the feed in tariff to landlords and occupiers alike across Europe. What impressed me was the Community Buying Group I was put in touch with who in my local area had aggregated orders for installations both to bring down the capital acquisition cost of units for all in the ‘pool’ (in a market where... Read More

0 Comments (2 Ratings)
Localism in action
24 Nov
14:38

Middle East: An Emerging PPP Market

Submitted by Chris Hinton, EC Harris, Partner

At the recent Construction Week Abu Dhabi conference,  I participated in a panel discussion based on the format of Question Time and chaired by Sachin Kerur of Pinsent Masons. The panel took questions from the chair, and audience, relating to the infrastructure market in the Middle East, as well as how infrastructure projects might be best procured and financed in what is an emerging PPP market. With increasingly tightened federal / treasury purse strings, new projects may find it difficult... Read More

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Middle East: An Emerging PPP Market
26 Nov
11:16

Where in the World should retailers look to invest?

Submitted by Catherine Tobiasinsky, EC Harris, Head of Global Retail

The question everyone was asking at the World Retail Congress recently was “in this post-recession environment, where in the world should retailers now be looking to invest and continue their expansion plans?”  It was interesting to hear that it seems the US and Germany have officially recovered from the recession but both need to start to drive consumer demand. No-one can work out why the Germans, with such excellent financial fundamentals, aren’t spending more? US... Read More

0 Comments (3 Ratings)
Where in the World should retailers look to invest?
23 Nov
14:27

London's Transport - Beyond the Spending Review...

Submitted by Brian Fitzpatrick, EC Harris, Head of Highways

I’ve just got back from presenting at New London Architecture’s Transport Conference.  The theme was London’s Transport: Beyond the Spending Review and I followed Peter Hendy, Commissioner, Transport for London; Rob Holden, CEO Crossrail; Robin Gisby, Ops Director Network Rail; and Tony Travers, Director at the London School of Economics.  They all had the flashy slides, talking about the mega projects and government insight (with plenty of Boris and Dave references)... Read More

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London's Transport - Beyond the Spending Review...
23 Nov
09:35

Transforming Local Government

Submitted by Simon Marks, EC Harris, Partner, Local Government & Regeneration

I recently attended the West Midlands Property Alliance conference, entitled “Transforming Local Government Property Asset Management”. It came hot on the heels of the Spending Review and was a great opportunity for senior players in local government property to come together and share what they are doing to reduce cost. There has been a lot of good work going on but I worry that the pace of action is not sufficient. We know that properly addressed it is possible to take up to... Read More

0 Comments (5 Ratings)
Transforming Local Government
15 Nov
09:49

Czech embraces Sustainability

Submitted by Pavel Cermak, EC Harris, Location Leader, Czech Republic

Sustainability forecasted become increasingly important in Czech Republic We held a morning seminar at our office in Prague last Wednesday, 10 November, to look at the issue of Sustainability within central Europe. Our head of sustainability, Matt Fulford, and I shared with the audience of leading developers and occupiers how  the trends and commercial values will influence the issue of sustainability which is starting to be witnessed within... Read More

1 Comment (4 Ratings)
Czech embraces Sustainability
11 Nov
08:55

IT gots the POWER!

Submitted by Wade Cruickshanks, EC Harris, Partner

I attended an industry lunch last week about intelligent buildings, energy management and sustainability... With IT only accounting for 2% of an average building's power consumption,  IT companies like IBM and Cisco are now challenging building owners  on what they are doing about the remaining 98%.  They are producing smart building technology from systems to virtual network connectivity to improve buildings efficiency and reduce the carbon foot... Read More

1 Comment (1 Rating)
IT gots the POWER!
11 Nov
09:14

Virtual PC - A new era has begun...

Submitted by Wade Cruickshanks, EC Harris, Partner

With 500 million people expected to be urbanised over the next 25 years globally, this will fuel substantial demand both for residential and office space and we predict there will be an increasing blur between the 2… How will technology help to accommodate people sustainably and shape the workplace of tomorrow? Cisco predicts that within the next 2 years, virtual PC will be become main stream. Home tele-presence will be possible and will allow employees to move freely and work... Read More

0 Comments (1 Rating)
Virtual PC - A new era has begun...
15 Nov
10:09

Is Europe getting value from Sustainability?

Submitted by Peter Madden, EC Harris, Regional Leader Mainland Europe, USA and North Africa

  Do you sense that sustainability is an issue of greater importance in Europe than elsewhere and is not going to go away? Or even more importantly, do you think you can gain value from the implementation of sustainable initiatives and methodologies?   Well, I do and I believe that in Mainland Europe, differentiation in the market between sustainable developments and those that are not is just starting to occur, with the former already starting to attract... Read More

0 Comments (4 Ratings)
Is Europe getting value from Sustainability?
1 Nov
14:58

Refocusing the NHS Estate

Submitted by Conor Ellis, EC Harris, Global Account Leader, Health

We recently published a paper entitled 'Refocusing the NHS Estate'.  It sets out ten steps how the NHS can generate revenue savings of approximately £1.4 billion from its estate operations and a capital receipt of up to £2.5 billion, without impacting frontline services.  These savings could be quickly reinvested to deliver better health outcomes more effectively.  One of the key aspects of the research focused on best practice facilities management... Read More

1 Comment (6 Ratings)
Refocusing the NHS Estate