Overall the Welsh commercial property market has performed strongly in 2018 albeit sector performance has varied. Although the first three quarters saw overall investment transactions fall, much of this was due to lack of available stock.

Sentiment remains buoyant and a succession of high value deals underlines Wales’ ability to attract and sustain institutional investors. There is some...

At long last one of the major obstacles between Wales and England has been removed. For the first time, on 17th December 2018 the tolls on the Severn Bridge, renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge, became free for the passage of vehicles and, by association, businesses.

Anticipation of the tolls removal had already fuelled a surge in demand for residential property on the Welsh side of the bridge around the Chepstrow, Caldicot and Newport...

Advised by Cooke & Arkwright, law firm Geldards is to move its Cardiff headquarters to brand new offices under construction at Capital Quarter.

Currently based at Dumfries Place, the law firm is to move into 30,000 sq ft of office accommodation at No 4 Capital Quarter on a ten year lease...

From London to Edinburgh, Cardiff to Dublin, Bristol to Nottingham. These are not flight routes; they are among the many cities where there are types of buildings which either have, or can succumb, to a disease originating from early twentieth century construction methods.

Unfortunately they are often architecturally notable or historic buildings that are now listed or in conservation areas.

The whole of Wales is to be subject to regulations to tackle nitrate pollution which will be introduced next spring. They will come into force in January 2020 after transitional periods for some elements to give farmers time to adapt and put good practice in place.

Chris Hyde, Associate Director with Land Agency at Cooke & Arkwright said, “There will be implications for farmers and landlords, particularly in respect...

Retailers had been celebrating a victory after a Court of Appeal decision in November 2018 which deemed all ATMs to be non-rateable. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, the Co-0perative Group and others had appealed against the Valuation Office Agency decision to separately assess cash machines for business rates.

However, their celebrations have been short lived...

The RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) has issued a new Professional Statement for Service Charges in Commercial Property.

This sets out mandatory obligations which RICS members and RICS-regulated firms involved in the management of service charge accounts for commercial property must comply with.

West Hampton has opened a new homeware and interior designer shop in a newly redeveloped unit at Old Mason’s Yard shopping arcade in Cowbridge High Street.

Cooke & Arkwright acted on behalf of the owners of the scheme, S Andrews & Sons (Pwllheli) Limited, to secure a 15-year lease for Peter Knowles and Andy Bradshaw, co-owners of West Hampton.  Cooke & Arkwright’s Property Management team also manages the scheme on behalf of the owners...

The rent review process is a hypothetical scenario largely open to interpretation and negotiations can become protracted due to the number of issues which influence rental value.

These can include evidence, physical factors and lease or rent review provisions. Another issue now complicating the mix is the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) legislation.

Cooke & Arkwright has promoted three of its employees to Associate and Associate Director following a strong year of growth for the company.

The promotions include Ryan Pratt in the Retail & Leisure department, who has been promoted to Associate Director, and George Watts and Rhys Davies in the Building Surveying department, who have been promoted to the position of Associate.