Research carried out by the Investment Property Databank (IPD) shows that the market has grown by 15.5 per cent in a continuous climb since August 2009. It is the first time that 12 months of continuous growth has been achieved since June 2007 and makes very welcome news for the industry.

Despite last month’s growth only measuring 0.2 per cent, it is the same level of increase that was recorded when the recovery first got underway.

Research manager for IPD, Mark Clacy-Jones, said the figure was indicative of a significantly brightening future for the commercial property industry.

“The rebound to date has delivered capital appreciation at more than twice the growth rate of the final 12 months of the last property bull run, which puts into context just how far markets have recovered,” he said.

The sector that demonstrated the highest recovery was retail, which managed to register 18.6 per cent growth since the lowest point, while office property showed a rise of 13.8 per cent. IPD has also revealed that there had been a quarterly appreciation of 1.9 per cent in the commercial property sector in the second quarter this year.

Commercial property sector celebrates 12 months of consecutive growth is a post from: Hampshire Trust

The firm blames several incidents of staff poaching for the decision, with its joint clinical negligence chief, Grainne Barton, moving to Penningtons in June, just a year after she had joined.

Back in May, another clinical negligence specialist, Richard Vallance, defected to join Field Fisher Waterhouse, along with co-worker and partner Edwina Rawson and three other associates from the team.

After these staff members left, the leader of the clinical negligence team, Amanda Stevens, resigned in July. She said, “I was the only partner by the time I came to leave and there are limits to what you can do. It makes it easier if you’re surrounded by personal injury lawyers.”
 Stevens is the former president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

As a result of the staff raids, a spokesperson for Charles Russell simply stated, “We’re not going to do clinical negligence anymore.”

Law firm quits clinical negligence business after losing team is a post from: Hampshire Trust

The figures have come from the Glenigan Index, which tracks the activity within the construction sector. The index recorded a moderate increase in housing construction at the beginning of the year, boosted by house price increases and demand for homebuyers.

There was also a sense of economic recovery, which led many developers to start projects that they may have had on the back-burner during the darkest days of the recession. However, since the election, the Coalition Government’s austerity measures have sparked new concerns about a double-dip recession.

The downturn is illustrated by the Index’s figures showing that projects valued between £250,000 and £100 million were down by 22 per cent on the same time a year ago. This has highlighted the “fragility of the recovery”, according to Glenigan economist James Abraham.

Despite this, Taylor Wimpey’s boss, Pete Redfern, recently said that the house building market was “a lot more robust than people on the outside are seeing”.

Money spent on house building falls by over £1 billion is a post from: Hampshire Trust

The Medical Protection Society (MPS) has revealed that £15 billion has been put aside for the payment of clinical negligence compensation claims this year. This is based on figures from the NHS Litigation Authority accounts for 2010.

The four largest payouts in the NHS’s history have been settled over the past 12 months, two of which involved GPs. The NHS says that these payouts are often largely made up of legal costs, which are commonly exceeding compensation payouts.

In light of these figures, the government is currently reviewing the compensation system with the help of a review from Lord Young, in addition to the Jackson Review.

Chief of the MPS, Tony Mason, explained how legal costs often far exceed payouts to patients: “In 2009 MPS settled a claim against a GP for £1,750 in compensation to the patient but the claimant’s legal costs were 12 times higher at £20,500. In another claim against a GP, the patient’s compensation was £7,650 yet their legal costs were £65,000 – nearly 8.5 times what the patient received.

“Patients deserve fair compensation, but we must do something to stem the tide of excessive legal costs,” he concluded.

NHS concerned about rising legal costs is a post from: Hampshire Trust

A recent article in the Mortgage Strategy publication claims the shortage of mainstream lending has had a major effect on the bridging loan industry. Most lenders have experienced a rise in business, as developers look to them for a short-term option while they wait for their commercial mortgage to come through.

A spokesman for one lender said, “Banks no longer have the liquidity to support it as a result of the substantial losses they suffered following the fall in property values and their losses on loans to the bridging sector.” Lenders are also beginning to report a fall in the number of defaults on bridging loans, indicating that the market is indeed experiencing an upturn and funding is becoming more available.

The bridging sector may soon be affected by FSA regulation. In March, the previous government announced that it would be bringing in regulation for all secured loans, which could include bridging loans – so watch this space for more information.

Bridging lenders reap rewards of tough economic climate is a post from: Hampshire Trust

The firm’s Total Commercial Development Activity Index found that the number of commercial property developments taking place in July was up from June, when the number actually fell slightly.

Public sector development continued to fall sharply in response to government austerity measures. As a result, it was the growth within the private commercial property market that drove the increase last month.

The index revealed that 19 per cent of respondents to the firm’s survey reported a rise in activity, resulting in a +0.6 per cent score for July. This is an improvement from the -2.8 per cent score measured in June and is a further signal that the commercial property market, particularly privately funded commercial developments, are on the rise.

Head of building consultancy at Savills, Michael Pillow, commented, “A general collapse in expectations for the UK economy on the back of public sector austerity has clearly washed over into the development market. We expect to see further caution about the future until the full details of the spending review are announced in October,” he added.

July sees rise in commercial property development is a post from: Hampshire Trust

The rules will seek to set further restrictions of risk and will bring in new rules on liquidity, affecting commercial mortgage brokers, bank lenders and the wider banking industry as a whole.

The Basel iii Compliance Professionals Association (BiiiCPA) says: “We are committed to move together in a transparent and coordinated way on national implementation of the agreed rules. Implementation of these new rules should be complemented by strong supervision.”

The Association continues to explain how the new restrictions are intended to prevent a repeat of the credit crunch that led to widespread financial meltdown, “It is critical that our banking regulators develop capital and liquidity rules of sufficient rigor to allow our financial firms to withstand future downturns in the global financial system.”

Banks must be aware that they will need to adhere to the new rules in order to ensure they have the funds to lend.

Basel iii rules coming in 2012 is a post from: Hampshire Trust

Figures from the National House Building Council show a 41 per cent increase in the number of registrations for new properties between April and June 2010. The number has almost doubled to 2,294 registrations in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Stamford Homes, which is based in Grimsby, said that signs in the marketplace were encouraging. The firm’s sales director, Steve Woomble, said “Locally, the demand for new homes remains buoyant and our developments have seen a rise in the number of recent reservations. People have definitely started to look at purchasing again.”

Woomble continued, “There is still an element of uncertainty, but we have certainly seen a return of customer confidence.”

He added that customers are increasingly keen to buy new homes due to their low maintenance costs. Woomble’s confidence has been echoed by Nathan Whall, the sales manager at Keigar Homes, based in Kirmington. He said, “Interest has been on the up recently.”

Both firms have reported strong sales of the homes they have built in new developments in the North of England and expect growth to continue.

Confidence grows among house builders is a post from: Hampshire Trust

Serious repercussions from the failure to diagnose meningitis include brain damage, disability and even death. These complications lead to huge court cases from the families of those affected, totalling a much as £6.8 million.

The issue has been highlighted after an inquest last week concluded that a 25-year-old woman died from the disease after a “breakdown in communication” between her doctors. The woman was denied antibiotics that would have saved her, and died just 14 hours after being admitted to hospital.

The guidance on diagnosing meningitis is being issued as of 1 August by the Medical Defence Union. The Union represents doctors who have been accused of clinical negligence. Settlements for this type of case are among the most expensive to the NHS. The cost of paying compensation in such cases has totalled £19 million since 1998. Several involved payouts of over a million and one family received £6.8 million after their baby was misdiagnosed.

Doctors issued with meningitis diagnoses guide is a post from: Hampshire Trust

The building sector, particularly commercial development, experienced a strong recovery in early 2010. However, the industry’s fortunes were not so positive in April and May, but were showing signs of stabilising once more in June.

The index questioned construction firms in the UK and found that 31 per cent said they agreed that conditions were very tough in the market. In addition, 41 per cent said that they believed it would be three years until the economy is fully back on track.

Despite this negative feedback, smaller developers seem to be doing a little better in the current conditions. Only one in five small firms reported that conditions for them are tough and 12 per cent said their business was actually thriving at the moment.

This suggests that the market for smaller commercial development projects is still relatively healthy, compared to the market for firms with turnovers of more than £1 million.

Find out more about Development Loans and Bridging Loans

Smaller commercial property developers weathering the storm is a post from: Hampshire Trust