House prices ‘grind to a halt’ as London prime property hit Property House prices in London’s most sought-after areas continued to plummet in August as confidence across the country’s housing market slumped on the back of rising mortgage rates brought on by the Iran war. Areas at the centre of the capital’s prime property market shed value in August as house prices across the capital slipped by [...]
FTSE 100 landowner pulls £1.5bn London shopping centre plans in row with Green council Property A FTSE 100-listed landowner has shelved plans for a £1.5bn shopping centre project in South London after a local Green-run council refused to co-operate with the plans. Property giant Landsec, which owns Lewisham Shopping Centre, said it is “deprioritising” its plans to redevelop the site following a row with the local authority over affordable housing. [...]
Warehouse tax ‘dropped over fears of Trump trade war’ Hospitality Andy Burnham’s plans for a so-called ‘warehouse tax’ were dropped over fears a raid on US firms like Amazon could spark a trade war with Donald Trump, a top industry body has claimed. The Prime Minister, during his campaign to become Makerfield MP, pledged to hike business rates on “out of town” warehouses to fund [...]
West End boss urges Healey to curb ‘eye-watering’ business rates October 20, 2026 The West End’s top business chief has urged John Healey to avoid adding to high street firms’ “eye-watering” business rates bills. Writing in City AM, New West End Company chief executive Dee Corsi said the Chancellor must listen to retailers and hospitality businesses who say they “cannot absorb” any more tax hikes. The industry body, [...]
City of London urged against business rates hikes to cover £70m shortfall October 19, 2026 The City of London Corporation has been warned that hiking business rates to cover its £70m budget shortfall would undermine the Square Mile’s global “competitiveness”. The local authority is weighing up whether to increase the business rates multiplier it charges businesses in the Square Mile, but a member of its finance committee has warned that [...]
Surging mortgage rates ‘biting harder’ on fragile housing market October 19, 2026 Rising mortgage rates are starting to “bite harder” on the UK’s fragile housing market by forcing sellers to push down asking prices. The average two-year fixed mortgage rate has risen to 5.55 per cent, up from 5.29 per cent last month and 4.25 per cent since before the war in Iran, according to homes portal [...]
Healey’s £1bn London office raid would be ‘attack on growth’ October 15, 2026 John Healey’s potential £1bn raid on London offices would be an “attack on growth” and deal a huge blow to the City, property firms have warned. The Chancellor is weighing up an increase to business rates for expensive office blocks and skyscrapers which would raise £1bn for the Treasury but disproportionately hit the capital’s business [...]
Storage firm Big Yellow weighing ‘all options’ after sale pressure from investor October 15, 2026 Big Yellow has told shareholders it is keeping “all options” under review after the self-storage firm’s biggest investor told it to put itself up for sale. The FTSE 250 group said it “recently” met with a shareholder who “is encouraging Big Yellow to explore a sale”. Earlier this week, Ancora Alternatives, an Ohio-based activist investor, [...]
Activist investor urges storage firm Big Yellow to put itself up for sale October 14, 2026 Shares in storage firm Big Yellow bounced on Wednesday after an activist investor urged the company to put itself up for sale. The FTSE 250 self-storage provider jumped more than five per cent to 844p after Ancora Alternatives, which owns four per cent of the group, told it to consider a take-private deal. The Ohio-based [...]
Bellway warns revived Help to Buy scheme could slow housing market October 13, 2026 Bellway has warned the government’s revival of the Help to Buy scheme could further slow the housing market in the near term by encouraging housebuyers to delay decisions. The FTSE 250 housebuilder said Labour’s new equity loan scheme, Your First Home, is a “welcome development” but cautioned it will not immediately solve the UK’s housing [...]