Developers looking at ‘legality’ of government demand to commit to funding cladding remediations February 7, 2022 Builders have accused the government of taking a disproportionate approach with its plans to relieve leaseholders of remediation costs for unsafe flats. Developers were sent a letter by the government last week calling on them to sign a legally binding agreement that committed them to covering the costs of fixing tower blocks with dangerous cladding. [...]
UK lags behind other European nations on new-build delivery February 7, 2022 The UK is lagging behind several other major European nations on the delivery of new-builds, in relation to its population size, analysis has found. The country’s construction sector was hammered by rising costs on supply and labour, as well as having works delayed or stalled due to Covid restrictions. Countries including France, Belgium, the Netherlands [...]
TfL property arm given green light for 350 homes near Cockfosters tube station February 7, 2022 Plans for 350 new rental homes near Cockfosters tube station have been given another seal of approval by council officials. Connected Living London (CLL), the partnership between property developer Grainger and Transport for London), is to move forward with plans for a new development near Cockfosters tube station. Four tower blocks will be built on [...]
Legal & General snaps up Spitalfields offices, with management fund portfolio now worth £3.8bn February 7, 2022 Legal & General’s investment portfolio has swelled to £3.8bn, with five fresh acquisitions across the office, leisure and industrial sectors. The new deals total £150m and cover around 600,000sq ft, including the purchase of 20,821 sq ft of offices at 45 Folgate Street in Spitalfields for £26.8m Through its management fund, L&G has also purchased [...]
Board member Jennie Daly to replace Pete Redfern at the helm of Taylor Wimpey February 7, 2022 Jennie Daly, board member and group operations director at housing giant Taylor Wimpey, will replace Pete Redfern as the company’s chief executive. The company announced the appointment this morning, saying it will be effective from the conclusion of the annual general meeting on 26 April 2022. “Jennie has extensive experience in the housebuilding sector and [...]
Exclusive: Ramboll injects multi-million pound investment into city planning platform VU.CITY February 7, 2022 Smart city planning platform VU.CITY has secured series A investment from consulting engineering group Ramboll. VU.CITY offers interactive 3D models to help architects, developers and planners in city design. An investment worth £5m will aid the firm in becoming a cross-market platform for data and solution providers, CityA.M. understands Ramboll joins existing shareholder Grosvenor Hill [...]
Rental stock concerns ahead of energy efficiency regulations for landlords February 7, 2022 Rental stock may be constrained in the coming years as a quarter of landlords have poor energy efficiencies, ahead of tougher tenancy regulations. Some 23 per cent of landlords said their properties were rated D or below, according to a report from Shawbrook Bank. The government is eyeing requirements to force landlords to improve their [...]
More than 1,000 London buildings require emergency fire measures including waking watches February 6, 2022 More than 1,000 buildings in London necessitate emergency measures, including security patrols, because of fire safety defects, five years on from the Grenfell Tower disaster. A total of 1,149 buildings in the capital need measures including ‘waking watches’, according to the latest data from the London Fire Brigade, which was first reported by the Evening [...]
Mayor of London calls for register of overseas property ownership to tackle money laundering February 6, 2022 The Mayor of London has called for a register of overseas property ownership to crack down on London being used for international money laundering. Properties in the capital owned by overseas individuals and firms could be sheltering billions of pounds of undeclared funds, Sadiq Khan said. It comes as a report by cross-party MPs found [...]
Focus on: Why magic Marylebone is the new prime hotspot February 5, 2022 Marylebone, known for its Georgian architecture, is an area that has carefully preserved its past. But how has the area changed over the last decade? “The Portman Estate has played a large part in the transformation of the area,” says Priya Black, head of Baker Street new homes at Knight Frank. “Marylebone has a broad [...]