While every building is different, retrofits can offer a more cost-effective way to create highly sustainable modern office space that can attract competitive rents.” “You can quickly find that it becomes commercially unappealing to take forward large projects. “As interest rates go up, the cost of capital goes up,” says Anna Bond, an executive director at Grosvenor. Higher borrowing costs, following the Bank of England’s 10th interest rate rise to 4% in February, are another factor. “Carbon saving has undoubtedly gone up the agenda for, I hope, all developers but certainly all of the publicly listed developers, particularly on the commercial side.” “There certainly is a shift,” says Tim Downes, development director at British Land, one of the UK’s biggest developers.
