02/19/2019

David Thomas, partner at property consultants and Thames Tap partner, Vail Williams LLP, discusses the merits of KonMari’ing your office space. As the Marie Kondo decluttering trend continues to gain momentum, our occupier advisory team offers their thoughts on how an adaption of these principles can make your office environment more cost efficient and less cluttered, whilst inspiring creativity, reducing stress and, ultimately, creating a more productive workforce. If you are yet to

02/13/2019

Members of the family of Lichfields senior director Daniel Lampard are in for a treat during the Spring half term break, as he explains. This month I shall use the half term holiday to take my children to a roadshow on the Oxfordshire Plan 2050.  Whilst they may not appreciate it (in both senses of the word) as current, and I hope future, residents of Oxfordshire, they have as much an interest as I do in the development of the county over the next 30 years.  They will also be more at home

02/06/2019

As uncertainty around the Brexit ‘deal’ continues, could it represent an opportunity for businesses to challenge their rateable values? Nigel Katseph, associate and business rates adviser at City-based property consultants, Vail Williams LLP, discusses. The future of Brexit remains uncertain, as Government continues its attempt to resolve the Irish backstop issue. If the Government fails to get cross party agreement to adopt Theresa May’s ‘deal’ by March 29, will we simply crash out with no

01/18/2019

David Thomas, Partner at Thames Valley-based property consultancy, Vail Williams LLP, looks at the growing popularity of Reading town centre, both for employers and employees. If you think of mass urbanisation, you may hark back to geography lessons at school and your mind may conjure up examples of the rapidly developing cities and economies of, say, Beijing, Delhi or Mexico City. Yet something equally significant is happening right here in the Thames Valley, specifically around Reading.

01/18/2019

Forfeiture or the “right of re-entry” is a landlord’s right to end a lease in the event of a breach by the tenant. Gemma Tolmie, Senior Associate - Commercial Litigation at BrookStreet des Roches provides an overview of how and when the right arises in commercial leases, the procedure to be followed, relief available to the tenant and what the landlord can do following forfeiture. When can a landlord forfeit the lease? A landlord can only forfeit a lease if it contains a forfeiture clause.

02/21/2019

Recruitment company, PageGroup, has taken new offices at The Switch in Slough. The company has taken 9,429 sq ft of offices on the third floor of the refurbished building, on a 10-year lease, with a five-year break, from LaSalle Investment Management. The Switch was previously used by Amazon. The PageGroup deal was negotiated by Vail Williams LLP which also advised on PageGroup’s surrender of its existing lease at Wellington House in Slough. Steve New, partner in the acquisition and

02/20/2019

Technology has allowed potential occupiers of a newly refurbished building to take virtual tours showing the interior in two alternative fit outs. Building 1320 at Arlington Business Park at Theale, the 20,400 sq ft former home of Arrow Electronics has been extensively refurbished and modernised by the APAM and Patron Capital joint venture. A recent agents’ week launched the building and now it is being marketed with a traditional brochure, augmented reality virtual tours in the two

02/19/2019

A 50,000 sq ft office building at Abingdon Business Park is to be refurbished to provide new Grade A space. Three storey Lambourn Court has been acquired by Hertfordshire-based developer and investor, Mantle Estates for £3 million. Mantle has instructed Selencky Parsons Architects to design a new interior which will include including catering facilities, co-working ares, break-out spaces and showers. There will also be new outside landscaping and electric car charging points. Mantle will