Betra Buys OCS Groups Office Siteto Develop Student Residence

Numerous reports have indicated that the property prices in the entire UK are on the rise, especially student properties. The reason behind this sharp increase in the demand for student properties is that the UK government itself is encouraging foreign students to arrive in the country and receive higher education. As a result, existing student properties are swiftly getting occupied and it is getting difficult for new foreign students to find an accommodation. This gave investors an opportunity to develop new student propertiesin the UK and consistently earn more money as compared to investment in stocks, bonds or other assets. Therefore, when Betra learned that OCS Group is looking to sell its former office and industrial site in Leeds, it did not waste much time to finalise the deal with the company and bought it to build student residence.  

Revealing the news, OCS Group shared that it has sold its 1.45 acre site to Betra for student development. The former site of OCS Group has two different sites, as the area in the north is called Servia House that is a three-storey office and industrial dwelling. Whereas, the second plot located in the south comprises of a two-storey office and it is called Claro House. Betra has already acquired the planning approval of student property development for two blocks, which will comprise of 298 beds.

The popular property consultancy firm Lambert Smith Hampton’s (LSH) branch in Leeds represented OCS Group in this deal. After the disposal of the 1.45 acre site the headand director of Industrial and Logistics of LSH Leeds, Robert Whatmuff said that they are happy that OCS Group has acquired their services for the project. He said that his firm has closely worked with OCS Group, Betra and Leeds City Council in order to make the most of the opportunity and redevelop the site. 

According to Whatmuff, since OCS Group’s site was located in one of the most popularacademia citiesof the UK, so its disposal has cleared the way to develop student residence that will not only give pupils an ideal space for accommodation, but it has also given their client a better value for their asset.

OCS Groups’ Phil Haworth, on the other hand said that it has always remain very important for them as business that they could boost the potential of their portfolio assets and they have successfully managed to do that in this case. 

Just like OCS Group, Oasis Properties, a Headingley based real estate firm, also makes sure that it clients whether students or professionals should get the best accommodation on rent. It is because of this reason, Oasis Properties is considered as an expert when it comes to providing spaces on rent.

Commercial Property in the UK Gave More Returns Than Bonds and Stocks

The IPD UK Monthly Property Indexhas revealed latest figures of UK’s real estate market which showed that the returns from commercial property in the country were more than stocks and bonds during March. The latest data of IPD also unveiled that this was not the first month of 2014 in which the real estate has showed its strength, as the sector has performed well throughout the first quarter of the year. According to IPD’s index, the real estate market gave a total return of 1.6 percent during March as compared to bonds 0.1 percent gain and stocks 20.7 percent fall during the last month. 

Along with the returns, the value of the commercial property in the UK has also increased, as it showed a gain of 1 percent in the previous month, which reflects the growth that real estate sector of the country, has seen in January and February 2014. In contrast, return on income during the first two months was recorded at 0.5 percent. On the whole, 6.8 percent of increase was observed in the value of UK’s properties during the last 10 months. 

Talking about commercial real estate market of the UK, IPD’s head of Ireland and United Kingdom, Phil Tily said that the commercial property market of the country is giving the indications of growth and recovery, as March has so far remained the strongest month of this year. Similar is the case with student properties in Headingley therefore, students and professionals are acquiring the service of Oasis Properties that is an expert in finding an perfect space on rent. 

The capital growth in office and industrial sectors also helped them to post encouraging returns of 1.9 percent and 2.2 percent respectively. On the other hand, the retail sector that was earlier little sluggishin growth has also shown a decent return of 1.1 percent with a capital growth of 0.6 percent. The performance of rental sector was also positive during March, as commercial rent surged up by 0.1 percent but still it was not too impressive like other sectors. 

Retail sector, however, failed to show any increase in rental value due to poor occupier demand as a result the rents remained on the same level.Nevertheless, Guy Glover manager of F&C UK Property anticipates that the commercial property in the UK will be able to achieve double-digit returns during this year because shortage of new buildings has increased the demand for such properties. 

Shedding more light on UK’s real estate, Glover said that property is still more attractive as compared to other assets, as the real estate is giving consistent returns. He also said that the fundamentals are getting better too and their prediction is that UK’s real estate will do well in the next five years. 

Guy said that they expect that real estate will give stable returns of over 5 percent per year in the next five-year period, whereas rental and capital growth is likely to touch 9 percent per year mark. The F&C UK Property manager also mentioned that capital values will also increase slowly, as still they are about 30 percent less than the 2007 rates. 

Shaylor Group Seizes Several New Contracts to Make a Terrific Start in 2014

Shaylor Group, a renowned contractor from West Midlands has recently revealed that it has made a terrific start in 2014, as the firm was able to seize several significant new contracts and frameworks. According to the latest update, all departments of Shaylor Group were able to successfully secure new business deals which came from both private and public sectors. However, the most prominent deal of all these new contracts was with Mansion Group that worth £5 million and Shaylor Group will use this huge amount to renovate and develop additional accommodation in Danes gate House that is a student facility in Lincoln. The new contract will also enable Shaylor Group to further strengthen its presence in the student accommodation sector.   

Furthermore, the £5 million contract will also strengthen Mansion Group and Shaylor’s business relation because this was the 8th project which was awarded to the Aldridge-based contractor since 2011. It was a remarkable achievement byShaylor because it was able to secure so many contracts from Mansion Group in such a short time. Shaylor Group was not the only firm that has made a great start to the New Year, as Oasis Properties is also busy in providing best accommodation facilities to students in Leeds since the start of 2014. Coming back to the story besides this project, Shaylor was able to win few other important contracts as well, which will cover sectors like automotive, leisure, heritage and justice. Just like student accommodation sector, Shaylor Group showed continuous success in the framework arenas too, as from the start of 2014 till now the company has been able to secure two new contracts.

The established contractor was also able to win some important contract from public sector too. One of which came from the minor works framework department of Cambridgeshire County Councilthat has acquired Shaylor’s services to take care of minor maintenance, alteration and refurbishment projects till next four years. Talking about the latest projects of Shaylor Group, the CEO of the company, Stephen Shaylor said that obviously they are happy to have such a wonderful start to New Year. Mentioning the reason behind this success, Stephen said that it was their approach towards new business that has given them a new direction.

Stephen also said that Shaylorby the time they will reach in the mid of the financial year his company would be able to secure roughly 90 percent of its target order book, while its revenue will see an increase of 50 percent during this year. Adding to it, Stephen said that they are confident that their autonomous position and different approach will provide them the required platform that will allow them to go from strength to strength.

ResearchSuggest150,000 New Houses Required in Golden Triangle

International real estate consultancy firm, Savills has claimed that demand for new houses had increased so much that it had increased pressure to construct on green belts and greenfield land which comprises of areas between Leeds, Harrogate and York that are also known as golden triangle. Savills made this claim over its latest research which indicates that 150,000 new houses will be required in order to make sure that the prices of the property remains within means. Latest figures have pointed out that currently average price of a house in golden triangle is eight times of a normal salary.Rob Moore, who is a part of Savills’ Planning division in Leeds, said that currently it seems that the authorities in golden triangle are owed to build 45,000 new houses over the period of next five years.  

Moore, however, said that the latest figures have not gone through independent examination yet and it will also be crucial to spot sufficient long term opportunities in order to ensure that supply can be maintained for the next 18 to 20 years of period. The reason behind this huge demand for new houses is that more and more foreign students are arriving in the UK to receive higher education because of which demand for student property has surged up. As a result, student property has become a lucrative and secure investment as compared to other ventures. Therefore,investors are now taking more interest in this sector, but still authorities have not been able to outstrip the demand for new houses. So if you have a property in golden triangle, then contact Oasis Properties Leeds today and get professional advice from the most reliable name in real estate business. 

Local councils in the golden triangle therefore have started reviewing their plans, so they can meet Government rules of earmarking sufficient land for the development of new houses in the next five years.Unfortunately, these reviews proved highly combative especially in areas like York, Kirklees and Sheffield, where some fierce debates come to pass over how many new houses are required and where they should be constructed. York Council has already made proposals for building 20,000 new houses in the next 15 years. Leader of the York Council James Alexander said that what Savills has revealed in its latest research they were aware of it for some time, that demand for new houses in York has continue to exceed the supply.   

According to Alexander lack of sufficient number of new houses and lucrativeness of student property has not only astronomically increased the prices of houses, but rent as well.  This can be judged from the fact that average price of a house in York has reached £139,775 in the first three months of 2014, which is a significant rise. On the other hand, the Housing Minister Kris Hopkins has welcomed the increase by saying that if you buy a property you will expect its prices to go up. He also said that increase in the prices of the house is a part of the market, but they still quite less than the pre-credit crunch highs.