Countrywide shareholders approve £223m Connells takeover February 16, 2021 Shareholders of estate agent chain Countrywide last night approved a takeover offer from rival firm Connells, valuing the company at around £223.1m. Countrywide, which owns high street estate agent brands including Bairstow Eves and Hamptons, said 99.58 per cent of scheme shares backed the proposals, while just 0.42 per cent opposed the deal. In December [...]
UK house prices record surprise jump despite looming stamp duty deadline February 15, 2021 UK house prices recorded a surprise jump this month as buyers were undeterred by the looming stamp duty holiday deadline. After three consecutive monthly falls the average price of property coming to market increased 0.5 per cent – or £1,511 – this month. The number of new buyers has continued to grow despite the fact [...]
London property developer Avanton launches £500m build-to-rent fund February 15, 2021 London property developer Avanton has launched a £500m fund to build new rental homes in the capital. The company said the fund will be used to buy land in inner London boroughs and deliver 5,000 build-to-rent homes by 2023, in a vote of confidence in the city’s recovery after Covid. It said that “despite the [...]
Rishi Sunak mulls six-week extension to stamp duty holiday February 13, 2021 Rishi Sunak is said to be considering a six-week extension to the stamp duty holiday to prevent thousands of house sales from falling through. The chancellor is mulling a time-limited extension to mid-May in a bid to ease fears that buyers could be caught in a “completion trap” as the current March 31 deadline looms, [...]
Key worker demand for affordable homes boosts sales at MJ Gleeson February 11, 2021 Affordable housing developer MJ Gleeson reported a jump in homes sold in the first half due to demand from key workers and first time buyers. MJ Gleeson said revenue was up 35.8 per cent to £142.6m and profit before tax increased 52.6 per cent to £20.3m. Earnings per share in the six months ended 30 [...]
Westfield London owner posts €7.6bn loss after rent squeeze as UK tenants go bankrupt February 10, 2021 The shopping centre landlord that owns Westfield London, Stratford City and a swathe of similar mega-malls across Europe and the US has seen its like-for-like rental income drop 24 per cent.
London pubs and restaurants face ‘bombshell’ without action on business rates, Khan says February 10, 2021 London pubs, restaurants, shops and other hospitality firms have saved more than £3bn due to the business rates holiday, it was revealed today, as pressure mounted on the government to extend the break. Figures showed that 73,140 retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in the capital had benefited from the business rates holiday during the pandemic [...]
Persimmon takes £75m hit on dangerous cladding costs February 10, 2021 Persimmon will take a multimillion pound hit on costs associated with cladding safety issues that have been discovered since the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The housebuilder said it has made a £75m provision in its 2020 results to pay for dangerous cladding to be removed or investigated at 26 high-rise buildings in its legacy development portfolio. [...]
Greene King pubs boss pleads for reopening date as industry wrote off 2020 with £7.8bn sales hit February 10, 2021 The boss of FTSE-listed pubs giant Greene King is among brewers asking the UK government for reopening dates and a way out of restrictions that have left a £7.8bn hole in industry sales.
Bellway revenue soars as first-half housing completions break records February 9, 2021 UK housebuilder Bellway reported that completions rose to record-breaking levels in the first half of the year, sending revenue soaring. Housing revenue jumped more than 12 per cent to £1.72bn in the first half, up from £1.52bn the previous year. The number of homes sold rose 6.3 per cent to 5,656, compared to 5,321. Bellway [...]