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The first paper in this new Occasional Papers series discusses Tax Incremental Financing or TIFs; a funding model used in the United States to finance infrastructure projects by borrowing against future tax revenues. Across the United States they are being used by local governments to finance structural improvements and infrastructure schemes within a defined area, often with the purpose of boosting the viability of existing businesses and attracting new commercial enterprises to an area. Experience in the United States has encouraged a debate in central and local government on how TIFs could be applied across Britain.

A total of 576,100 sq ft was let in the first six months of 2010, compared with 517,300 sq ft in the second half of 2009 and 647,500 sq ft in the same period last year. Supply has been at historically high levels for a number of quarters but decreased across the three markets in the first half of the year. At the end of Q2 it stood at 15.9m sq ft, the lowest level since 2002. Investment in the first half of 2010 was £353.6m across 23 deals compared with £197.5m in 26 deals during the same period last year. The South East prime yield showed signs of stability following the sharp reduction in 2009. It remained unchanged at 6.25%.

Over the five years to April 2008, rental values across English commercial property are estimated to have increased by an average of 18%. The result is likely to be a substantial increase in the rateable value of non-domestic property since the last Revaluation.

The reduction in commercial real estate prices in the credit crunch began earlier and has gone further in the UK than in other major markets. While recession will weigh on occupier demand and rents in 2009, the radical re-pricing of UK property assets looks likely to offer an attractive value proposition to investors in the coming year. In a debt-constrained market, equity-rich investors will have the field.

The Central London office market is currently experiencing high completion rates but very low levels of new starts. Given the historic close relationship between completion levels and rental movements, we believe the development downturn will lay the foundation for medium term rental recovery.

The top ten global pharmaceutical companies occupy at least 430m sq ft of office, manufacturing and specialist research space around the world, of which approximately 75% is owned. The industry is witnessing significant levels of post-merger real estate consolidation; primarily in offices but also in R&D and manufacturing space. We will see increased monetisation of owned assets; again led by the office portfolios but also possibly of specialist assets in some markets R&D optimisation will lead to the opening of established research sites to external parties and the acquisition of facilities in established open innovation hubs. The deployment of space efficiency initiatives, already well established in other sectors, will accelerate. There will be a move towards a more centralised fully mandated real estate team in order to facilitate the demanding program of change. We will see high levels of disposition activity in mainstream office locations globally and manufacturing site dispositions in mature markets. There will be increasing levels of demand for manufacturing capacity and sites in emerging markets/low cost economies. Transfer of sites via business sales and outsourcing to CMOs and CROs will become more common place. Companies will increasingly use specialist R&D environments such as Science and Innovation Parks. Open, multi-occupied science parks will be developed from existing closed single occupier campuses.

The new RICS 'guide to the guides' provides an overview of the ten tools most applicable to management consultancy and commercial surveyors. This is the first of a new series of reports to help surveyors specialising in providing property consultancy to service their clients more effectively. This report covers a short explanation of each business model, outlines a case study highlighting how to apply the model and the value of using it.

Five years ago we examined the development potential of 12 major UK office centres outside London based upon their level of transport provision. This report looks at how matters have changed, and what this may mean in terms of how these cities deal with the current recession.