Search Acumen comments on the ONS output figures for November 2015


Search Acumen200Andy Sommerville, director of Search Acumen, comments on the ONS output figures – (November2015):

“Construction output was down again in November by 0.5%, a continuing a trend we have seen over the past few months. Public sector housing projects were significantly down – by over one fifth on the previous year – and commercial activity was also down.

It’s sadly a hatrick for declines in private commercial output in November, having dipped slightly year on year by -0.7%, the last three months over the previous three months by -1.3% and by -1.5%  over October 2015.

Nevertheless we know that there is robust demand for commercial space and 2016 could still see that pent-up demand reflected in new projects and commercial transactions in the New Year.

“It may appear everything is up in the air right now for global economic prospects but this shouldn’t preclude us from having confidence in the UK’s retail and office space, always a relatively safe bet for risk-averse investors in the face of emerging market volatility.

So, we’re optimistic for a steady market heading into 2016, but real estate lawyers planning their targets and business volumes will need to consider the possibility of a lacklustre beginning to 2016.

This means now could be the opportune time to prioritise internal efficiency and productivity over growing market share, for example by upgraded their legacy systems and embracing technology to better organise their work flow.”

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