Real Estate and the New Economy

Private sector commercial property represents some £400 bn, or 34% of total UK business assets and is a vital fabric for housing commercial enterprise. Yet social and economic forces for change, linked with new technology, are making owners and occupiers question the very nature and purpose of property and real estate. Printing, steam power; canals and railroads; mass media and, more recently, information and communications technology (ICT) have brought about major changes in both organisational and economic structures over the centuries. On the one hand, there has been much hype about the role that ICT would play in eliminating the need for physical real estate space; an…