Hi Ho,Hi Ho, It’s Off To Work We Go!

That's right folks it’s back to business...

Just weeks after the big vote, post-election fever is upon us. Will we see a buoyant and thriving commercial property market that the Conservatives so openly campaigned for? There is an increased confidence as SMEs look at options to invest in property and space, add to this a financial market that can, in some respects, be easier to forecast and predict and we have a recipe for a prosperous property sector in 2015.

James Robertson of Knight Frank has commented that the market will pick up post-election - this being "good news for the commercial leasing and investment markets".

It could also present opportunities for developers wishing to develop brownfield sites where there has been past industrial use or contamination as we may see permitted use legislation changed and relaxed.

A report from Cushingham Wakefield revealed that commercial property investment grew in the first quarter of 2015 and will continue to do so, with overseas demand for retail space along with a continued demand for industrial space, but not surprisingly the strongest performer will be the office sector.

However, will the passing of stringent policies post-election have an adverse effect on commercial property across the board?

Take MEES for example (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards) which slipped, somewhat stealth like, into law prior to the election and is set to be implemented by April 2018. This could lead to an all time low in the market for high-streets comprising of old buildings which will simply never achieve the standards or it will just cost too much for landlords to bring them in line with MEES. Whilst it is not necessary for a seller to comply with MEES on a sale, they will be required to comply on any ‘under letting’ by a landlord. It is this type of legislation and its implementation, if too stringent, that could cripple landlords.

There are a number of factors which will essentially influence the remaining three quarters over 2015, from demand to interest rates to new legislation, but for the moment it's the renewed certainty post-election results that is contributing to a healthy market forecast for 2015; and long may it continue!