Hammerson: Paris and Croydon disposals leave £1.2m dent but revenues rise July 27, 2023 Hammerson reported a loss of £1.2m after the disposal of its stakes in Croydon and Paris shopping centre developments, while its revenue rose eight per cent. The property developer’s loss in its half-year results this morning was made against a £50.3m profit compared to last year. This comes after the shopping centre giant sold its [...]
Gove planning shake-up: ‘We need housing today, not tomorrow’ July 24, 2023 Michael Gove will loosen planning laws to allow vacant shops to be converted into homes as part of his latest efforts to tackle the UK’s housing crisis. On Monday the minister for housing and levelling up revealed a slew of planning reforms as well as a further commitment to building over 1m new homes across [...]
London office investment slumps to 14-year low July 24, 2023 London office investment slumped to a 14-year low in the second quarter of the year, new data shows, as high interest rates stifled momentum built up in the early months of the year. Some £1.2bn was spent on London offices last quarter, a 59 per cent drop on the £2.9bn spent in the previous quarter [...]
Inland Homes welcomes second CEO in under 12 months July 24, 2023 Inland Homes has revealed its new chief executive alongside plans for a £4m acquisition of rival North Country Homes. The London-listed real estate development firm has appointed Jolyon Harrison as head of the company. This is the company’s third CEO in a short period of time, as former chief Stephen Wicks stepped down last September [...]
London rents hit record high July 21, 2023 Average asking rents in London have hit record highs of £2,567 per month, new data shows, with tenants in the capital now paying a third more than they were pre-pandemic. Renters in the capital are forking out £559 more every month compared to the same period in 2019, a new study by Rightmove shows, as [...]
The Square Mile and Me with Rowland Thomas on the energy of the City and its changes over time July 20, 2023 Each week we ask a City figure to take a trip down memory lane. Today, it’s Rowland Thomas, Close Brothers property finance managing director What was your first job? At the local greyhound kennels spreading sawdust on the training runs. I was accidentally paid double rates – £1 instead of 50p per hour – which [...]
Mortgage costs slip for first time since May as Bank of England rate bets cool on inflation drop July 20, 2023 Mortgage rates have dropped for the first time in two months, sparked by banks passing on a reduction in interest rate bets after yesterday’s better than feared inflation figures. The average rate on two-year mortgages fell to 6.79 per cent yesterday from 6.81 per cent, according to financial data provider Moneyfacts. It is the first [...]
Vistry reports 22 per cent slide in home completions as rate hikes bite July 20, 2023 Vistry Group said the number of homes it completed during the quarter was down 22 per cent compared to the same period last year, as surging mortgage rates continue to hit UK housebuilding companies. The London-listed firm blamed a “tough” economic climate for the decline, with the housebuilder completing 2,847 homes in the period down [...]
UK house price growth slows to 1.9 per cent in May July 19, 2023 The average price of a UK house cost £286,000 in May, according to new government data, with the figure being £6,0000 up on 12 months ago – but £7,000 below its September peak. Average UK house prices increased by 1.9 per cent in the 12 months to May 2023, down from a revised 3.2 per [...]
Mace: Construction firm on track for £3bn revenues as it bolstered by international growth July 18, 2023 Construction giant Mace has been bolstered by traction in its consultancy business and completions of landmark buildings abroad and in the UK (such as Battersea Power Station) during the year, hiking its turnover to £1.936bn. The London-headquartered firm, which has plans to reach £3bn revenues by 2026, said that its consultancy business reached £500m in [...]