11/16/2016

Rebecca Thomas, Partner - Professional Support at law firm BrookStreet Des Roches, explains a significant change in the way Business Rates are calculated for occupiers who use more than one floor. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) recently announced a change to the way in which commercial property will be valued for business rates purposes where a business is in occupation of two or more separate spaces within a building. This change is likely to result in a business rates increase for affected

11/11/2016

Stephen Hill, partner at Vail Williams and member of its business rates team, based at the Thames Valley office, explains what businesses face when their new bills arrive next year. The financial impact of the 2017 rating revaluation will be felt by many businesses located in Reading when the new rate bills land next March. 'Larger' occupiers (properties with 2017 List assessments over a rateable value of £100,000) will see an immediate surge in their rate liabilities, potentially more than

10/11/2016

Fiona Brownfoot, retail partner at Hicks Baker, has unveiled some of the wide variations among the winners and losers in the latest rating valuations. One Berkshire business will see a 43.2 per cent reduction while another will have a 36.8 increase. Friday 30th September 2016 saw the introduction of The Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) draft valuation list for the assessment of business rates on commercial property in England and Wales. These rating valuations will come into effect from 1st

10/05/2016

Nigel Hewitson is planning partner at BrookStreet des Roches. The news that proposals for the redevelopment of Shepherds Bush Market have been abandoned is a salutary reminder that there are numerous hurdles such schemes need to overcome, any one of which, even the least expected, can trip the developer up and put a premature end to the project. On the face of it, the redevelopment proposals for the market had everything going for them: the proposed developer had funding behind it; the local

10/04/2016

David Murray-Cox, Associate Director at planning consultants' Turley's Reading office, looks at how the share of 15,000 new houses across four Oxfordshire councils has run into problems. It has long been known that Oxford City Council is unable to find sites to deliver all of the housing required in the area. As a result, the Oxfordshire Growth Board (OGB) tasked officers within the Oxfordshire authorities (Oxford City, Vale of White Horse, South Oxfordshire, West Oxfordshire and Cherwell)

08/01/2016

Fiona Brownfoot is retail partner at Hicks Baker in Reading. Choices Choices Choices………………the High Street; a shopping centre; a retail park; the internet (new or secondhand); delivered to home; delivered to a collection point; click and collect; go to a restaurant to eat or call Deliveroo. There are now so many choices and so many opportunities to part us from our disposable income. Where is it all heading and what are the current trends - and who will be the winners and losers? The simple

04/27/2016

Simeon Fenn is Senior Associate in the Property Litigation team at BrookStreet des Roches. It seems safe to assume that no-one has ever sat down with the intention of drafting a bad law. By which I mean a law that does not achieve its purpose, or has some unintended consequence. Yet the statute books have included many such laws over the years. Some have been consigned to history, whilst others remain a problem today. I could cite many examples, but one continuing thorn in the side of the

03/11/2016

Fiona Brownfoot is retail partner at Hicks Baker in Reading. It’s not just an army that marches on its stomach…..it would appear that the townsfolk of Reading have an insatiable appetite (pun intended) for eating out. There are currently 15 new restaurant operators ‘in discussion’ on approximately 32,000 sq ft of space in the town centre. The majority of the space is ‘subject to planning’ so may not translate to actual deals but it is nevertheless a very interesting snapshot of the confidence

03/02/2016

Simeon Fenn is Senior Associate in the Property Litigation team at BrookStreet des Roches. 4.1°C. That was, according to the Met Office, on average how much warmer last December was compared with the 1981-2010 long term average, making it the warmest December since 1910. Such unusual weather is often cited as an example of climate change, which is now largely (if not universally) accepted as a significant challenge for us all. Which is why in 1997 the UK, along with the majority of developed

12/22/2015

Reading’s key drivers of transport and talent are helping the town’s economy deal with the after effects of the global downturn. Will Lawrie, park manager at Winnersh Triangle says while demand for commercial property is not yet reaching levels anticipated a few years ago, connectivity, skills and the quality of the built environment have helped keep the area competitive. Park operators Patrizia, backed by Oaktree Capital Management, took over in July, 2013 and have continued the ongoing

12/22/2015

Few firms illustrate the value of location better than lawyers BrookStreet des Roches. The property-specialist law firm, operates nationally and could work from anywhere in the UK but the firm’s accelerating growth has been fuelled in no small part by its Thames Valley base. Launched in 1994 when two lawyers (named Brooks and Street) left Oxford practice Linnells and set up in Witney (in Des Roches Square), it moved to Milton Park in Abingdon in 2007, not only bringing other major towns and

11/05/2015

Office rents in Bracknell are lagging behind those in nearby towns but are poised to catch up reports Thames Valley specialist RARE. RARE director Jonathan Mannings compared rents in Bracknell with those in its Berkshire neighbours Reading and Maidenhead from 2000 to 2015. He found Bracknell rents over this period were signing at on average 77% of those of its two neighbours. Mannings said: "With prime quoting rents now £35 per sq ft in Reading and Maidenhead, this suggests Grade A rents in

11/03/2015

Forty years ago residential letting was seen as old hat even by estate agents. Now, it's so much in vogue landlords themselves are living in rented homes, while they watch their investments grow. John Grimes has been in the thick of the Thames Valley market for more than 50 years. He joined Parkers in 1964 and says conditions remain good although red tape is causing more work for agents. He has just merged his Drummonds Property Rentals business with Romans to concentrate on his Drummond House

10/28/2015

Rory Carson, 35, had originally studied theology before doing a masters in Land Management at Reading University. He became a surveyor at Knight Frank before going on to become associate director at PRUPIM (now M&G;) where he had responsibility at Imperium, Apex Plaza and Green Park developments. Now he is director at Green Park owner Oxford Properties. He lives in Barnes in west London, working one or two days a week in the capital and the rest at Green Park. He said from the plush offices at

01/06/2017

The start of 2017 marks the unveiling of a new name in transport planning and engineering based in the Thames Valley. SYSTRA, which acquired JMP Consultants Ltd in December 2015 has formalised its acquisition and from now on the services and expertise of JMP, which first established a foothold in Reading in 2015, will operate under the SYSTRA banner. SYSTRA now boasts nearly 500 specialists transport planning and engineering consultancy staff across the UK and Ireland. Since 2015 JMP has been

01/06/2017

Councillors in Reading look set to oppose plans for 245 homes on the border with South Oxfordshire. Gladman Developments applied to South Oxfordshire District Council last year to build the homes on the outskirts of Emmer Green which adjoins the boundary with Reading. But at Wednesday’s (January 11) meeting of Reading Borough Council’s planning applications committee, members are being recommended to object on four key concerns: * The impact on infrastructure in Reading borough. *

01/05/2017

Work on the latest new leisure attraction in Slough is about to start with demolition of The Centre in Farnham Road. The building opened in 1997 and closed last November. Work on its demolition starts during week beginning January 10. The new Centre will offer: * A 25 m, eight lane, swimming pool * A 15m x 10m teaching pool with moveable floor * A unisex changing village (wet) including family changing rooms * A poolside sauna and steam room * A four-court sports hall * A 135 station gym *