Cladding repair bill hits £1.5bn as Redrow and Barratt latest builders to sign up to fire safety pledge April 6, 2022 The total cost for cladding works for the big nine listed housebuilders has hit £1.5bn, as London-listed firms sign up to a government fire safety pledge. According to analysis from AJ Bell, the country’s biggest builders are planning to set aside another £802m in total to tackle unsafe buildings in the wake of the Grenfell [...]
Camden building becomes first ‘net zero carbon’ residential home in the UK April 6, 2022 Camden is home to the first ‘net zero carbon’ residential house in the country, marking a watershed moment in the drive for cleaner energy. Max Fordham House uses a mixture of saving measures, including insulation and renewable energy, to achieve net zero. The building, designed for and lived in by designer Max Fordham, was validated [...]
Anytime Fitness eyes 20 new gyms as high street welcomes fitness tenants April 5, 2022 Anytime Fitness is planning to open 20 new gyms this year as it will reap the benefits of the post-lockdown real estate landscape. The gym operator said it had seen landlords drop rents and view the sector more favourably after the pandemic. Anytime Fitness UK’s Ben Dixon said: “It’s fair to say that we’ve often [...]
London property director hit with 11 year ban after conning investors out of millions April 5, 2022 A London property director has been given a 11-year ban from the top position, after scamming investors out of millions. Sam Eustace, from Sutton in south London, was formerly director of Kingsman Property, which promised landlords guaranteed rent all year around. The company also offered investors the opportunity to receive annual returns of 30 per [...]
Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey sign up to government’s cladding pledge April 5, 2022 Housebuilders Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey have signed the government’s developer pledge to remove unsafe cladding in tower blocks installed within the past three decades. The pledge commits house builders to fix dangerous cladding and other fire safety issues in buildings over 11 metres. Taylor Wimpey revealed it was signing up to pledge on Tuesday afternoon, [...]
Purplebricks delays appointment of new CEO as due diligence checks continue April 5, 2022 Online estate agent Purplebricks has delayed the appointment of its new CEO amid reports of probes of a historic personal insolvency. The troubled real estate firm revealed a delay in appointing Helena Marston on Monday, in an update to the London Stock Exchange. Purplebricks stated that “due diligence checks required by the AIM Rules are [...]
Number of properties available for purchase before being constructed soaring to levels ‘never witnessed before’ April 5, 2022 Record numbers of homes sold will be “off plan” by the end of the year, a property group told City A.M. this morning. The National Association of Property Buyers believe the number of properties available for purchase before they have been constructed will soar to levels never witnessed before. According to data shared with this [...]
Record revenue for Belvoir with 25 years of profit growth April 4, 2022 Estate agency Belvoir has posted record revenue, hitting 25 years of unbroken profit growth. The firm revealed a 39 per cent increase in profit before tax to £9.3m, sending shares up five per cent on Monday afternoon. Group revenue hit £29.6m, up 37 per cent, versus £21.7m in 2020. Last year was the “busiest year [...]
Exclusive: The boss of London’s oldest office provider returns from retirement to drive the City’s bounce-back April 4, 2022 As we passed the two-year anniversary of the first lockdown last month, City A.M. sits down with the CEO of London’s oldest office provider, who came out of retirement to drive the business’ post-Covid recovery. Shedding light on how the business and City has suffered, Argyll CEO John Drover reveals to this paper how his [...]
Prime London rent hits double-digit growth for first time since 2010 April 4, 2022 The priciest areas to rent in London have seen double-digit annual rental growth for the first time in more than a decade. According to figures released by Savills, growth in prime London hit 11.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year, against a backdrop of low stock levels. It is the first time [...]