2017 and the rest of the decade will be years when a range of major infrastructure projects across Wales come on stream, impacting positively on property markets, as well as the wider economy. While soft infrastructure investment in skills and better organisation such as the city region initiatives are important, it is hard infrastructure investment that will give Wales a competitive edge.

The Brexit vote heralded a period of unprecedented constitutional, economic and social change - the full fallout of which is not yet clear. Yet against this backdrop, Wales has much to celebrate and prospects for its property markets are more promising than ever as a result of ...

The Wales Act 2017 received Royal Assent on 31 January 2017 and is now an Act of Parliament, although the majority of changes will not come into force until 2018. Some of the main provisions of the act relate to increased borrowing capacity and devolved tax raising powers.

Cooke & Arkwright Chairman, Michael Lawley, says Welsh businesses will be looking for reassurance that these powers will be used wisely...

Business rates have again made constant headline news in England over the past week. Not a day goes by without this topic appearing on the front page.

The adverse impact of the 2017 business rate revaluation on high street retailers in particular is a cause of some concern, with some very successful lobbying leading to the Westminster Government having to reconsider its position on those properties suffering substantial increases as a result of the revaluation.

The first phase of Plasdŵr, Cardiff’s £2billion garden city, is due to get underway, with the construction of highway improvement works and site entrance to be followed by the start of housebuilding.

The first of 630 proposed homes in the north west of the capital which were approved by the planners at the end of last year will be built on a 16 acre site to the north of Llantrisant Road, by lead developer Redrow Homes.

Just three years after hitting its lowest level in almost two decades, Cardiff’s office market rose to a record high in 2016. Office take-up reached almost 686,000 sq ft, the best performance since the buoyant period of 2002 when approximately 545,000 sq ft was let.

In autumn 2015, Cooke & Arkwright was successful in gaining a place on the National Procurement Service (NPS) Construction Consultancy (Infrastructure & Estates) Framework for the provision of Estates Professional Services. 

The agreement provides access to a range of consultancy services for Public Sector bodies in Wales. Seven firms were appointed for the Estates Professional Services lot covering North Wales and seven firms for South and Mid Wales.

Worried retailers and small business owners from Cowbridge, Llantwit Major and Barry attended a meeting on the 2017 Business Rate Revaluation at The Bear Hotel in Cowbridge on 13th February. The event was held by the Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP, Secretary of State for Wales to discuss the ongoing issue of changing business rates.

Jane Shankland, Associate Director of Rating at Cooke & Arkwright, conducted a presentation to provide advice on how businesses can appeal the new rateable values and keep rates as low as possible. Many businesses across the Vale are bracing themselves ...

Cardiff Waterside, located at the heart of Cardiff Bay and funded by Aviva Investors, has announced that seven organisations have shown renewed commitment to the location in the last few months by agreeing terms on new leases.

The recent announcements demonstrate Cardiff Waterside’s ability to not only attract organisations from various sectors but retain them due to ...

Cooke & Arkwright has appointed five graduate surveyors, taking its headcount to over 60.

Caryl Howell, 24, Dominic Garner, 24, Gabriel Davies, 22, Thomas Rees, 23 and Rhys Price, 29, have been recruited as part of the firm’s commitment to identifying and developing rising stars in the commercial property market.