Over 250 guests representing consultants, professionals, developers and funders from Yorkshire’s property fraternity attended a charity lunch in Leeds last Thursday 12 March which set a new fundraising record for the annual event.
Sponsored by the Leeds offices of JLL, Santander, Muse Developments, PWC and Squire Patton Boggs, a total of £2,000 was raised, at what is known as the Alternative Drinks reception, held at the Atlas Pub. The amount will be split equally between two charities: Starlight Children’s Foundation and Candlelighters.
Jeff Pearey Lead Director – North East at JLL and one of the event’s sponsors, said: “As Yorkshire’s property market continues to strengthen we’ve seen little sign of attendance waning at this year’s event – it was a sell out within two weeks of tickets going on sale. The total amount raised, for two very deserving charities, is also the highest since the pre-recession peak.”
Looking at the wider commercial property market, Jeff Pearey continued: “2014 was the best performing year for office leasing deals in the Big 6 markets, comprising Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Across these six cities office take-up totalled five million sq ft which equates to a similar level of activity in both London’s West End and Thames Valley/Western Corridor markets combined.
“Investment into UK commercial property hit a record £65 billion last year, 16% higher than 2013’s total of £55 billion. One of the major drivers of growth was capital flows into the UK regions, with Yorkshire hitting £1.5 billion – a 25 % rise from the previous year.
“With tower cranes now a familiar site on the Leeds skyline, the region’s property industry looks finally set to enjoy a sustained period of growth.”
Now into its eighth year, the Alternative Drinks reception coincided with the annual global real estate conference known as MIPIM which took place in the South of France.
