Countrywide and LSL confirm ‘ongoing’ merger talks February 24, 2020 Estate agent Countrywide has confirmed discussions over a reported £500m merger with rival LSL are “ongoing” after news of the possible tie-up leaked over the weekend. If Countrywide and LSL do tie the knot, they could create the UK’s biggest estate agent company with numerous brands under one umbrella. Countrywide made a brief announcement today [...]
Estate agents Countrywide and LSL ‘plot £500m merger’ February 23, 2020 Countrywide and LSL Property Services are said to be in talks over a £500m merger that would create the largest estate agency group in the UK. The companies, which are two of Britain’s largest listed estate agents, are in discussions over a potential all-share deal, Sky News reported. The negotiations are said to be “serious”, [...]
Interest in Milan is going beyond fashion week, as second home market booms in this chic ‘pocket metropolis’ February 21, 2020 This week, the world’s fashionable people descend on Milan as the city hosts the third of the four international fashion weeks. But the global crowd – and UK nationals in particular – are starting to show an interest in Italy’s second city that extends beyond the runway shows. Once known for being dull and industrial [...]
FTSE 250 property firm Daejan to be taken private in £1.3bn deal February 21, 2020 Property company Daejan Holdings saw a surge in share price in Friday morning trading after revealing it would be taken private in a deal with Centremanor. The FTSE 250 firm has agreed a deal worth 8,050p per share and saw its share price soar by 2,830p as a result. The deal values the loss-making property [...]
Hammerson sells seven retail parks to Orion for £400m February 21, 2020 Hammerson has sold seven retail parks to Orion’s European real estate fund for £400m, the largest sale of its kind in the UK for a decade. The parks are dotted around the country in places such as Didcot, Falkirk, Rugby and Telford. The deal, which is expected to raise proceeds of £395m, takes the total [...]
Designers Guild at 50: A joyful journey through the doyenne of design’s bold, bright creations February 21, 2020 Tricia Guild OBE doesn’t do same-y; she doesn’t do greige and she doesn’t do minimal. But looking back at the influential interior designs, fabrics, wallpapers, paints, upholstered furniture, homewares and books her company Designers Guild has produced over the past 50 years, it’s clear that what she does do, is happy. Guild conceived Designers Guild [...]
London homeowners save almost £4,000 more than renters February 21, 2020 Homeowners in London save almost £4,000 a year more than renters, according to the latest research. Renters in the capital are paying 18 per cent more each month than those that own their own homes, losing out on annual savings of £3,727. The research, which looked at the housing costs associated with a mortgage on [...]
Morgan Sindall profit builds 10 per cent February 20, 2020 The boss of construction group Morgan Sindall has put the company’s profit jump down to long term planning and strong orders. The company, led by John Morgan, posted adjusted profit before tax at £90.4m, an 11 per cent increase from 2018’s figure of £81.6m. Dividends rose 11 per cent to 59p per share and revenue [...]
Cushman & Wakefield enters UK’s flexible office market February 20, 2020 Commercial property agency Cushman & Wakefield has entered the UK’s growing co-working market with the launch of a new flexible workplace service. The service – named Indego – will offer landlords design and build, marketing, sales and on-site operations services under a management agreement with Cushman & Wakefield. The service was set up to offer [...]
City of London office leasing hits all time high February 20, 2020 Office space leasing in the City hit an all time high in 2019, rising to 43 per cent of all take up across London, according to the latest research. Leasing in the City reached 6.4m sq ft last year, a jump of three per cent on the previous year. Total office leasing in London reached [...]