Pension vehicle strikes £67m affordable housing deal with Bromley council August 31, 2021 The Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has invested £67m in an affordable housing deal with the London Borough of Bromley. The investment vehicle is aiming to help alleviate local emergency homelessness in the South London borough. The investment will be used to purchase up to 300 affordable properties outright. Through this it aims to reduce the [...]
Stamp duty taper triggers dip in mortgage approvals August 31, 2021 Mortgage approvals declined over the last month as the tapering of the stamp duty holiday deterred Brits from pushing ahead with homepurchases, according to official data published today. Data from the Bank of England shows there were 75,152 mortgage approvals in July, the first full month after the stamp duty taper, down from 80,272 in [...]
Lockdown pet boom: Demand for pet friendly homes surpasses garden space August 26, 2021 The demand for pet friendly homes has more than doubled during the pandemic, sailing well past garden demand as the lockdown pet boom took hold of freshly homebound Brits. Tenants eyeing pet friendly properties has surged 120 per cent compared to last summer, according to the latest research from Rightmove. While the demand for gardens [...]
Former Capco executives club together for £8m Proud Embankment deal August 26, 2021 A property investment firm led by former Capital & Counties executives has acquired London nightclub Proud Embankment for £8m in a show of confidence in the return to dancefloors. Castlebrooke Investments has taken a 17-year lease on 8 Victoria Embankment, the entertainment venue that plays host to Proud Cabaret. The former riverside tram shed entrance [...]
Property Special: London’s most affordable postcodes, up and coming areas, best for schools and to invest August 25, 2021 The property market has boomed over the past year, thanks to the stamp duty holiday which has given a lot of first-time buyers the opportunity to get their foot on the property ladder. Coupled with the introduction of the new government backed 5 per cent deposit scheme, designed to help home buyers, the market isn’t [...]
Inmarsat bids farewell to Old Street as it takes up new City HQ August 25, 2021 Inmarsat will be leaving its iconic headquarters in Shoreditch to take up new office space in the City. The British satellite giant has pre-let 121,00 square feet at 50 Finsbury Square, marking an end to its towering presence on Old Street roundabout. The move is the latest example of downsizing by a major British company [...]
London property managing platform Plentific bags $100m in fresh funding August 24, 2021 London-based Plentific, which operates a property management platform, has pulled in $100m (£72.8m) in its latest funding round. The Series C fundraiser, led by fresh investors Highland Europe and Brookfield Technology Partners, is set to finance its expansion plans across the US and the rest of the world. Investors old and new piled into the [...]
Fastest annual increase since 2004: House prices climb by 13.2 per cent August 18, 2021 House prices rose by 13.2 per cent over the year to June, the fastest annual increase since 2004, according to official figures. Across the UK, the average house price in June was a record £266,000. It increased from £255,000 in May and beat the former £256,000 record which was set in March, the Office for [...]
Persimmon forward sales up 9 per cent from pre-pandemic levels August 18, 2021 Housebuilding business Persimmon reported a 64 per cent leap in profits in the six months to June 30th, posting £480.1m in earnings up from £292.4m in the same period last year. The company expects a “good” forward sales of £2.23bn, up 9 per cent compared to £2.05bn from the same period in 2019. Forward sales [...]
London’s newly-listed LendInvest scores £150m partnership with Barclays and HSBC August 16, 2021 Property finance asset manager LendInvest has announced a £150m lending collaboration with two of Britain’s biggest banks, just weeks after its £255m IPO on London’s AIM index. The new tie-up is geared towards financing UK property entrepreneurs and will see the British banks provide funding for short-term mortgages through LendInvest’s digital platform. It’s the first [...]