Bellway: How a spring uplift in the property market is giving housebuilder cause for optimism March 28, 2023 Bellway has said homebuyer demand has started to improve after seeing reservations plunge by nearly 50 per cent due to soaring mortgage rates. The housebuilder group, whose headquarters are in Newcastle, reported underlying pre-tax profits falling 4.6 per cent to £312.1 million for the six months to January 31. It delivered record revenues, up 1.6 [...]
Moorgate moves: Why a Malaysian property fund is betting big on Deutsche’s London HQ March 28, 2023 A MALAYSIAN property fund has teamed up with London-based Castleforge to buy Deutsche Bank’s current London base in Moorgate for just over a quarter of a billion – in what amounts to a big bet on London’s commercial property market and the ‘flight to quality’ in office space. Castleforge and its Malaysian partner Gamuda plan to refurbish [...]
Complaints over unsafe housing taking a year to resolve after campaign to speed it up March 28, 2023 Social housing tenants are being forced to wait 12 months or more for the housing ombudsman to deal with complaints of unsafe conditions, despite a government campaign to speed up the process. Earlier this year, Michael Gove, the Housing Secretary, launched the “Make it Right” advertising campaign, directing people to complain to the housing ombudsman [...]
Exclusive: Home REIT’s biggest tenant dished out £1.2m to bosses before bankruptcy March 27, 2023 The three bosses of Home REIT’s now-bankrupt biggest tenant pocketed over £1.2m last year even as the firm struggled to pay rent and slumped to a multi-million-pound loss, City A.M. can reveal. Gurpaal Judge, the chief of Wolverhampton-based social housing provider Lotus Housing, hiked his own and two directors’ pay to £1.2m in 2022 – [...]
Belvoir weathered mini budget interest rate storm with small dip in profit March 27, 2023 Belvoir reported a small dip in pre-tax profit this morning as its chief cited a “general pressure on interest rates” from the mini-budget for its results. For the year, the London-listed property firm reported pre-tax profits dip two per cent to £9.1m from £9.3m, saying the budget from Liz Truss shook the market. The Lincolnshire headquartered [...]
Michael Gove: Four more firms signed up to Grenfell safety contracts after being named and shamed March 24, 2023 Michael Gove said four more companies have signed up to post-Grenfell building safety contracts after he named and shamed some of the firms earlier this month that had not signed up to the agreement. The Communities Secretary had given companies until March 13 to sign up to the agreement aimed at addressing cladding issues following [...]
Exclusive: Home REIT investors draw up plans for ‘landlord of last resort’ as tenants collapse March 24, 2023 Investors in beleaguered social housing investor Home REIT are drawing up plans for a ‘landlord of last resort’ as the firm’s cash dries up and its tenant base collapses, City A.M. has learned.
London renters forking out ‘unseasonable’ £570 a week as supply of homes dwindles March 22, 2023 London rent prices have shown no sign of cooling in February, with renters in the capital now forking out up to £570 per week on affordable accommodation costs. According to figures by letting agent Foxtons, a limited pool of supply and challenging economic outlook has forced rent prices up five per cent in the capital [...]
Vistry: Shares rise on positive outlook despite falling profit from ‘exceptional expenses’ on Grenfell fire safety changes March 22, 2023 Vistry’s shares rose this morning despite a fall in profit as the company set out a positive outlook for the coming year. The Kent-based housebuilder’s pretax profit fell to £247.5m from £319.5m the year before, a fall of 23 per cent. It set aside cash to make buildings fire safe in the wake of the [...]
New 32-storey building to tower over iconic Leadenhall Market and showcase City of London’s Roman past March 21, 2023 Plans to build a 32-storey tower over the City’s iconic Leadenhall Market have been given the green light by city planners. The City of London Corporation’s planning applications sub-committee approved plans this week for the new tower that will house 27,000 sq m of new office space and will look to boost the Square Mile’s [...]