Investment drives growth for Apex Hotels January 21, 2020 Apex Hotels reported that profit soared in its last financial year following increased investment at its hotels in London and Edinburgh. Profit after tax for the year to 30 April was £9.4m up 51.6 per cent from £6.2m in 2018, on increased turnover of £75.5m, up from £68.9m. The number of rooms sold rose 5.5 [...]
The £300m luxury hotel with a secret tunnel to Harrods January 21, 2020 A £300m luxury hotel development with a secret tunnel to Harrods has been given the green light by the local planning committee. The Knightsbridge hotel will be a one minute walk from the iconic London department store, but also includes a disused underground pedestrian and goods tunnel linking the two sites. Kensington and Chelsea’s planning [...]
Samuel Tak Lee announces plan to vote against Shaftesbury’s board at AGM January 21, 2020 Billionaire property magnate Samuel Tak Lee announced today he will vote against West End landlord Shaftesbury’s board at a meeting this month, as a long running dispute between the pair rumbles on. Lee, the owner of rival London landlord Langham Estate, is the largest shareholder in Shaftesbury, and launched legal action against the firm [...]
UK property transactions soar after General Election January 21, 2020 UK property transactions soared at the end of last year, according to government data, as both sellers and buyers made the most of renewed confidence following the General Election result. Residential property transactions in December jumped 6.8 per cent year-on-year to 104,670, a 6.2 per cent rise on November’s number. The total number of non-residential [...]
Central London office take up jumps in fourth quarter January 20, 2020 Office take up in central London jumped in the final quarter of last year, as the diversity of businesses operating in the capital provided resilience for the city’s commercial property market. Take up increased four per cent to 3.6m sq ft in the three months to the end of December, above the 10-year quarterly average [...]
Intu shares fall as it enters talks to raise more money January 20, 2020 Intu today confirmed it will seek to raise equity as it works to patch up its shaky balance sheet after a dreadful 2019 for retailers. The commercial real estate giant today insisted it was making “good progress” on improving its balance sheet, hailing a “busy” Christmas and saying footfall was 0.3 per cent up last [...]
UK house prices: Post-election surge breaks records January 20, 2020 The decisive result of the General Election sparked a record-breaking surge in UK house prices in December and January, in the latest sign that the UK housing market has been revitalised by a “Boris bounce” There was a 2.3 per cent monthly surge in the average price of property coming to the market between 8 [...]
Retail landlord Intu to seek £1bn of emergency cash January 19, 2020 Shopping centre landlord Intu is preparing to launch an attempt to raise £1bn in emergency funding following a torrid year for the UK retail industry. The property firm, which owns Manchester’s Trafford Centre, has been hurt by the challenges facing the retail industry, as brands such as Topshop, Debenhams and House of Fraser have closed [...]
Central London property investment soars after General Election January 17, 2020 Investment in central London’s office market soared in December, after the result of the General Election sparked a flurry of deal activity. The £4.9bn invested in the fourth quarter of last year was a 125 per cent jump on the amount invested in the previous quarter and was on par with 2018. The Conservative general [...]
It’s high time for London’s Low Line January 17, 2020 Plans for the new Low Line in Southwark have got Londoners a bit excited. The project to rejuvenate railway arches and convert them into shops and green spaces has inevitably drawn comparisons to the High Line in New York’s Meatpacking district, which became an instant hit with tourists when it opened in 2009. But the [...]