Confidence in the property market continues to rise as construction firms hire workers at the fastest pace for six years, according to a new survey by Markit. British construction firms have enjoyed their fastest growth since the financial crisis, with house-building, civil engineering and commercial projects all enjoying boosts in October. The Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI output measure came in...

The property market is on the up as the UK continues to recover from recession. Investors have been cautious in recent years following heavy recessionary losses, but that seems set to change. The economy expanded 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of this year, with manufacturing, construction and service industries likely to accelerate further for the rest of 2013...

London's commercial property market continues to be the destination of choice for foreign investors from Asia, the Middle East and the US. 2013 has seen a series of high-value deals in central London, including the £260m purchase of the Lord Rogers-designed Lloyd's building in July. This is in addition to the Kuwaiti government's £385m acquisition of Bank of America's European...

Take-up of office space in Bristol has risen above the average of the last five years, in what is a positive move for the West Country city's commercial property sector. Take-up in the first half of the year was 415,000 sq ft, up 10 per cent on the five year, six monthly average. Two large freehold deals in Bristol city...

A "go for it" attitude amongst entrepreneurs is fuelling increasing demand for office space in Manchester. A report by Colliers International on the Manchester office market shows increasing demand in the first half of 2013, particularly for offices in the Piccadilly, Castlefield and Northern Quarter areas. An average deal size of 3,290 sq. ft. reflects a high level of activity...

Birmingham is benefitting from a "seismic" shift in demand for industrial warehouse space, as a knock-on effect of growth in internet retailers. Changes in the way UK consumers shop means that firms require greater property infrastructure to support their activities. Purpose-built warehouses are subsequently becoming more popular in the Birmingham region, according to David Binks, industrial partner at Cushman &...

London commercial property deals continue to attract investors, demonstrating that the capital is driving growth across the UK. Land Securities, owner of the Walkie Talkie high-rise in The City, due to open next year, currently has 56 per cent of the building either let or in final negotiations. The property has benefited from an increased level of enquiries recently, demonstrating...

Employees now seek out green office spaces, according to research by Colliers International. By providing a better working environment, workers are more likely to be happy in their work, leading to reduced absenteeism and higher organisational productivity: "Green is now the norm - where it used to be a bonus in a building, it is now expected," said Colliers International's...

UK commercial property values rose for a second time last month, according to figures from the IPD monthly property index, fuelling belief that a recovery is in full swing. With declines evident across the sector for 18 months until the end of April, marginal growth of 0.01 per cent occurred in May, followed by a 0.2 per cent growth in...

Despite Merseyside experiencing a very difficult economic period, there are some signs of improvement for its commercial property sector. A recent report described that many North West commercial property spaces are in "intensive care" following downturns in consumer spending. Retail districts in Birkenhead, Southport and Bootle have suffered particularly badly, with Colliers' Midsummer Retail report showing that retail rents have...