Exclusive: Argyll Club COO on the future of the City of London July 19, 2021 As England lifts most Covid-related restrictions from today, City A.M. sits down with Emily Smith, chief operating officer of flexspace provider The Argyll Club, to zoom in on the future of the Square Mile post-pandemic. Smith is a true industry veteran, with 20 years’ experience and stints at IWG, Regus, The Crown Estate and Grosvenor. Now, she sits at the helm of The [...]
Shortfall of 225,000 properties as average house price jumps to £338,447 July 19, 2021 Across Britain, the average asking price for a home is now £21,389 higher than it was just six months ago. The average price tag has jumped to a new record high for the fourth month in a row, reaching £338,447 in July, according to property website Rightmove. The website said the first half of this [...]
Lenders set to increase interest-free periods on credit cards July 15, 2021 Households could be offered longer interest-free periods on credit cards over the summer, according to a survey of lenders. Banks and building societies also anticipate that mortgage availability to households will rise, according to the survey published by the Bank of England. The Bank’s Credit Conditions Survey is carried out every quarter to help it [...]
City suburbs, commuter towns and coastal locations record biggest jumps in rent July 15, 2021 City suburbs, commuter towns and coastal location have recorded the biggest rises in rent for tenants last year. Property portal Rightmove said that towns such as Rochdale, Folkestone and Farnham have seen asking rents jump by more than 25 per cent. Their survey showed that as Covid restrictions started to ease, there was a greater [...]
High risk clients: Furloughed workers and self-employed with Covid grants refused mortgages July 15, 2021 Furloughed workers and self-employed people who have received government grants during the pandemic have been refused mortgages by some of the UK’s major banks. This comes as some brokers argued that banks see people who have received Covid-related grants as high risk. Two of the UK’s biggest high street banks, NatWest and the Royal Bank [...]
Blackstone locks eyes on property market with $5.1bn AIG housing assets deal July 15, 2021 Private equity firm Blackstone is set to splash $5.1bn on housing assets from the American International Group (AIG), as it locks eyes on the affordable property market. AIG is also set to sell a 9.9 per cent stake in its life and retirement business to Blackstone for a further $2.2bn. Blackstone agreed to a “long-term strategic [...]
Savills suspends manager over racist tweet as social media firms enter hot water July 14, 2021 Estate agent Savills has suspended a manager after he posted a racist tweet after England’s Euro final defeat on Sunday. The investigation is now being spearheaded by the Greater Manchester Police, as the manager claimed his Twitter account was hacked. People took to Twitter to share the employee’s LinkedIn page which showed where he worked [...]
House prices: Property market slowdown good for long term stability July 14, 2021 Long-term stability in the housing market could be on the cards thanks to a gradual slowdown in house price growth and easing of government support, according to industry observers. Figures published by both Zoopla and Rightmove show that, although house prices are still outperforming the same period in 2019, growth compared with April and May [...]
Aviva warns government on building safety hit to UK property market July 14, 2021 Aviva warns the government that institutional investors could be scared away from the UK residential property market because of its new safety proposals for high-rise buildings, prompted by Grenfell. The UK insurer asked the government to consider how its new “Building Safety Bill” would financially affect their owners last year in a letter in November [...]
UK house prices swell 10 per cent year-on-year July 14, 2021 The average price for a home has swelled 10 per cent, according to official data today, as house price inflation continues. London’s homeowners however might not feel the benefit, with prices jumping just 5.2 per cent in the year to May, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Property prices in the capital have the [...]