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Serviced office providers are a charitable bunch, as shown by the many stories on our blog that tell of gruelling long-distance running, death-defying aeroplane jumps or the somewhat more enjoyable office cake bake.

Proposals to restore parts of Charlotte Square in Edinburgh into "boutique offices" are causing controversy, with the multi-million pound scheme being opposed by both the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) and the Cockburn Association.

A business and technology centre located in Langstone, close to Havant on the South Coast, has reached a record occupancy level of 96% following the return of Southern and Scottish Energy PLC (SSE) to the offices.

Proposals for a state of the art business park in the Thornton area of Bradford could create hundreds of jobs, helping to regenerate the local area.

Cost conscious occupiers are eating-up the supply of second-hand office space in Central London, with significant falls in vacancy levels reported by commercial property experts Colliers International.

Empty office space causes an expensive headache for commercial property landlords, as well as creating an unsightly blot on the landscape. Who wants to see high streets full of whitewashed windows, or soaring office towers full of dark empty spaces?

Serviced office provider Avanta, a leading business centre operator with numerous office buildings located across London, Thames Valley and Edinburgh, has once again pulled out all the stops and raised over £1,200 for children's medical research charity, Sparks.

A landmark 482,950 sq ft glass office building in the Docklands, Exchange Tower is an iconic structure just minutes from Canary Wharf; an impressive environment that is ideal for SMEs in the banking or insurance sectors.

Business growth is suffering according to the British Banker’s Association (BBA), with a reluctance to borrow being fuelled by an uncertainty around the continued fragility of the UK economy.

With the exceptional growth of social networking, should employers embrace the expanding business opportunities or edge on the side of caution, where risks of computer viruses and lost productivity are apparent?

An iconic office in Manchester, which was formerly used as a sales suite at the time of a local regeneration project, is now available to lease as office space.

Developers are to push ahead with a speculative office space development in Central Manchester, with planning permission secured for a 12-storey Grade A office building on St Peter’s Square.

Following the release of round two of officebroker.com's City Focus series, which highlights the performance of seven major UK cities on a quarterly basis, it has emerged that Sheffield has experienced a surge in demand and take-up for serviced space in Q2 2011 in comparison to Q2 2010.

Among this year's shortlisted buildings for the Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) coveted Stirling Prize, the most prestigious award in the world of architecture, is the reinvention of an early 1980s office block in Islington.

Manchester could be on the verge of witnessing a surge in construction, with an array of office buildings anticipated.

The number of businesses entering serviced offices in Wales has increased significantly during the opening 6 months of 2011, with a new piece of research from industry leader officebroker.com reporting a 190% rise on the levels recorded in the same period of 2010.

Birmingham is seeking to entice government and public sector organisations from London with the attraction of its "ready-made talent pool" and cheaper office space.

officebroker.com’s Bristol City Focus Report for Q2 2011 has now been compiled, comparing various measures of the serviced office market against the same period for 2010.

A business centre located in Hersham, Surrey, has welcomed a new client in the form of First Sports International, a leading global provider of sports software solutions.

With school holidays and the quiet summer season now upon us, this can be a challenging time of year for the serviced office industry. So how do you stop your sales from taking a holiday?

The cost of office space across Central London has continued to rise during Q2 11, with new research from industry leader officebroker.com showing a 15% increase in the average price of a desk in the heart of the Capital.

A business centre in East London that has recently been listed on the officebroker.com website is a shining example of the flexibility of serviced office space.

The world’s largest online travel company Expedia is to take over 80,000 sq. ft. of office space in Central London, with the award winning Angel Building chosen as their new home.

Jones Lang La Salle has reported that spending across Central London's office property market for the first 6 months of the year increased by nearly 30% in comparison with the same period in 2010, with 57% of the £5.4 billion coming from foreign investment.

The cost of office space in Edinburgh has continued to rise according to new research from officebroker.com, with the latest data from the online brokerage revealing the cost of a single serviced office workstation to be 40% higher than that of the national average during Q2 11.

Following the release of officebroker.com's latest reports, we caught up with our very own Research & Project Manager - Simon Jones - to find out how the UK's serviced office market is shaping up.

Manchester’s office market has seen an increase in the number of new businesses taking up residence since the beginning of 2011, with the positive activity recorded in the City Centre also being reflected across the wider region according to new research published by officebroker.com.

Commonwealth Gold Medallist Adam Whitehead joined serviced office space provider MWB Business Exchange at the launch of the “Make a Splash” campaign – an initiative to deliver swimming programs across London.

Are wind farms a graceful and necessary presence on our horizons, or an unnecessary evil and a blot on the landscape?

Statistics reveal that in 2010, almost half of all onshore UK wind farm applications were turned down. From a total of 66 submissions put forward last year, 32 were rejected, which resulted in the lowest number of successful applications since 2005.

Another chunk of prime office space in the City of London has left the market, with British Land announcing that Ropemaker Place in EC2 is now fully let.

With over 50% of employers allowing, and sometimes even encouraging, a relaxed approach to office dress code, are we witnessing a decline in the requirement for a professional appearance that could ultimately see the extinction of the office suit?

A prestigious business centre in High Holborn, which recently reached full capacity just six months after opening, now benefits from a range of stylish meeting rooms on the ground floor and a newly refurbished reception area.

The resurgence in office developments across Central London could directly benefit Leeds and the wider Yorkshire region, this is the view of commercial property agents Savills according to a report on TheBusinessDesk.com.

With so much emphasis on sustainable measures, going green and reducing the carbon footprint of our daily lives, ever new and innovative schemes are springing up to help us conserve energy. In most cases, these ideas often have the added and immediate benefit of helping us to save cash - a welcome relief in today's rocky economy and high cost of living.

Sue Rizzello, Managing Director of UK-based public relations agency Potion PR, recently embarked on a search for a new office in the Thames Valley. But having become "incredibly frustrated" with the experience, she eventually turned to officebroker.com as her "last port of call".

New Office Provides Perfect Mix for Potion PR

Property investment firm, Hammerson, has added to its portfolio of London properties with the £100 million acquisition of a 999 year leasehold on London office building 99 Bishopsgate.

The office space market in Manchester is expected to receive a major boost this week, with the largest office letting of the year only days away from being signed according to leading property magazine Property Week.

A rock venue in Birmingham that once hosted such icons as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Rage Against The Machine before it was gutted by a fire in 2006 has risen from the ashes, and has been given a new lease of life following a £3m revamp.

The cost of office space has increased in over a quarter of UK towns and Cities according to new research from leading property firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), while price stabilisation has occurred in over half.

Sky Studios, formerly known as Harlequin 1, is a new £233m state-of-the-art production and broadcasting property for global entertainment and media corporation, Sky.

A summer spree of charity events seems to have taken the serviced office space industry by storm this week, with Avanta’s Managing Director David Alberto being revealed as the latest industry figure to pull on his running shoes in aid of good cause.

Building construction and development firm Laing O'Rourke has reportedly won the contract to build the Cheesegrater tower - aka 122 Leadenhall Street - with a projected completion date of 2014.

The Sydney Better Building Partnership, an association consisting of 13 major organisations located in the city, has agreed to unite in the aim of reducing carbon emissions from their properties.

Hungary's first LEED certified office building, which will be the greenest in Budapest, is currently taking shape.

Developed by construction and property management group Skanska, work has recently started on 'Green House' on Kassák Lajos in central Budapest, located close to the River Danube.

A team from Langstone Technology Park are swapping their office space for their running shoes – taking on the 10km “Race for Life” challenge to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Around 20,000 sq ft of Grade A office space has been released at Four Brindleyplace in central Birmingham.

As reported last July, the suite of eight office properties on Brindleyplace along with retail buildings and a multi-story car park were bought by real estate firm Hines, in partnership with UK private equity investor Moorfield.

Catch up on all the serviced office news and views from June 2011.

If you've got office or business related news that you want to share, get in touch with the officebroker.com Marketing team on news@officebroker.com or 0870 112 3667 (opt 2).

John Spencer, Chief Executive of MWB Business Exchange, has been busy making a splash as he helped the serviced office space provider push toward its £1m charity target for the Variety Club’s Children Charity.

Independent office space provider City Spirit St Pauls has become the June winner of our Business Centre of the Month Award, with the "great service from personable staff” offered by the Birmingham based team helping to secure the accolade.