Retailers pay less than 15 per cent of rent for June quarter as property crisis deepens June 25, 2020 Britain’s retailers paid just 13.8 per cent of their rent for the last quarter, in a sign of how hard the coronavirus pandemic has hit the sector. Rent receipts on 24 June, the day commercial tenants’ payments were due for the quarter, were even lower than those three months ago, according to commercial property management [...]
Builders urge government to target 30,000 new houses for elderly a year in pandemic recovery June 25, 2020 The three largest retirement home providers have warned Boris Johnson that Britain’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will be “running on empty” if he does not urgently build new houses for older people. The chief executives of McCarthy & Stone, Churchill Retirement, and Lifestory Group have written to the Prime Minister urging him to [...]
Rent day: Landlords braced for as little as one-sixth of quarterly payments June 24, 2020 Commercial property owners are braced to receive as little as 15 per cent of the rent they are owed today, with quarterly payments due by the end of today. Experts have warned of an impending crisis on both the landlord and tenant side without further government support, with businesses across the spectrum unable to pay [...]
Crest Nicholson cuts 130 jobs as it suffers £51m loss in first half of the year June 24, 2020 Housebuilder Crest Nicholson is looking to axe around 130 jobs after reporting a £51m loss in the first half of the year. The figures Crest Nicholson suffered losses of £51m in the six months to April, compared to a £64m profit in the same period last year. Operating profit sunk 162.1 per cent from a [...]
National Express chief quits to lead housebuilder Persimmon June 24, 2020 Housebuilder Persimmon has this morning announced that Dean Finch will succeed David Jenkinson as the group’s chief executive at the end of this year. Finch joins the FTSE 100 company from transport firm National Express, where he has spent a decade as chief executive. Prior to that, he held a number of senior roles at [...]
UK house prices to fall five per cent this year June 23, 2020 UK house prices will continue to fall and won’t recover those losses until the end of 2022, analysts have forecast. Buyers are likely to be nervous about big purchases and house prices as personal finances come under scrutiny amid the coronavirus pandemic, forcing house prices to drop five per cent this year, the 9–22 June [...]
Wework makes second round of redundancies in the UK June 19, 2020 Wework has triggered a second round of redundancies in the UK as part of its global restructuring efforts, according to reports. The embattled company made over half of its community managers and community leads, around 82 people, redundant earlier this week, according to Wired. There will reportedly be further cuts in the design, IT, sales, [...]
Taylor Wimpey takes a punt on £500m land buying splurge June 18, 2020 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has raised £522m from investors to help it buy up land which has been made cheaper by the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 250 company raised funds from both new and existing shareholders in a share placing, where shares were bought at 145p each. This represented a four per cent discount on yesterday’s [...]
Nationwide to triple deposits for first-time buyers June 17, 2020 Nationwide is to triple its minimum required deposit from first time buyers for mortgages, as it steadies itself to avoid a crisis should the economy worsen. The country’s second largest mortgage lender said it would be increasing its minimum deposit from five per cent to 15 per cent, withdrawing loan deals for new customers. “The [...]
Berkeley Group profits fall by a third after coronavirus lockdown June 17, 2020 Berkeley Group, the housebuilder, has pushed back a £455m payout to shareholders by two years because of the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 100 company saw sales fall dramatically over April and May, pushing its full-year profit and revenue down more than one-third each. However, shares in the company rose 3.6 per cent this morning as [...]