Landsec sinks to £835m loss but backs London’s office sector November 10, 2020 Commercial real estate owner Landsec sunk to a £835m loss in its half-year results due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but reported strong investor interest in London’s office market. Landsec’s share price jumped 7.37 per cent to 690.9p despite mounting losses after the landlord revealed its optimistic outlook on the central London office [...]
Westfield owner rejects €3.5bn rights issue after shareholder backlash November 10, 2020 Shareholders in the owner of Westfield shopping centres have voted against a controversial €3.5bn (£3.1bn) rights issue, the company said today. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield said its proposals for a capital increase had failed to win the required two-thirds majority following a remote vote that closed yesterday. The Paris-headquartered company faced fierce opposition over the plans from a [...]
Persimmon to pay extra dividend on back of ‘robust’ summer performance November 10, 2020 Housebuilder Persimmon today announced that it would pay an interim dividend of 70p per share in December after fending off the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. The extra payout comes on top of a 40p per share dividend paid in September, and means that the company will have fully replaced its previously delayed 110p per [...]
Global flight to risk-free income good for London: BNP Paribas RE’s UK chief November 9, 2020 A frantic search among global investors to pump capital in relatively safe investments is increasingly driving allocations across London, according to the CEO of BNP Paribas’ real estate division in the UK. Etienne Prongué, since July CEO of BNP Paribas Real Estate UK, said that a range of recent transactions are clear indicators that foreign [...]
Taylor Wimpey shares surge as housebuilder hikes profit forecast November 9, 2020 Shares in housebuilder Taylor Wimpey soared this morning after the property developer said it expects to beat profit forecasts in 2021. The FTSE 100 firm said that a strong recovery of the housing market means it will beat analysts’ top operating profit forecast of £626m. Profit will be “materially above” previous expectations as demand for [...]
Countrywide in takeover talks with rival estate agent Connells November 9, 2020 Countrywide is in talks with rival estate agency Connells over a potential takeover that would value the company at roughly £82m. The firm today said it had received an initial offer of 250p per share from Connells, well above its closing price of 145p last week. Countrywide said the offer was at an early stage [...]
Housing market fends off significant hit of second lockdown November 9, 2020 While the second lockdown in England has had a detrimental effect on the country’s hospitality and leisure industries, the housing market is having an entirely different experience. The early impact of the second lockdown is bearing little resemblance to the hit it took in March, according to estate agent Knight Frank. UK house prices have [...]
Wellcome Trust offers to buy developer Urban & Civic for £506m November 6, 2020 The Wellcome Trust has made a £506m offer for housing developer Urban & Civic for £506m, as the health research charity’s investment arm bets on the residential property sector in the south of England. The charity, which has an investment fund worth around £26.8bn, said the recommended offer is “fully aligned with our existing strategy [...]
Redrow plans to reinstate dividend as London exit progresses November 6, 2020 Redrow announced it has made progress on pulling out of the London market as the developer focuses on the post-pandemic changes in consumer behaviour, saying it will reinstate its dividend at its half-year results. The housebuilder said it has exited three of the six London sites it had decided not to develop and is continuing [...]
UK house prices see fastest growth in four years but monthly rate slows November 6, 2020 UK house prices grew at their fastest annual rate since 2016 in October, new figures have shown, although month-on-month price growth slowed considerably. House prices jumped 7.5 per cent in October, according to the Halifax house price index, compared to 7.3 per cent in September. Yet growth slowed to just 0.3 per cent when looked [...]