Barratt Redrow shares soar after UK’s biggest housebuilder trims targets September 16, 2026 Shares in Barratt Redrow soared after the housebuilder, the UK’s largest, trimmed its targets to deal with the “challenging” outlook that has faced the sector since the Iran war broke out. The FTSE 100 housebuilder said it is cutting back on spending and slashing costs to keep up with the surging building costs and slump [...]
London-listed builder exits ‘challenging’ housing sector after property market slowdown September 15, 2026 A top listed construction firm has pulled out of the UK’s “challenging” housing sector after a slump in demand for new homes across the country. FTSE 250 firm Kier told shareholders on Tuesday that it is pulling all capital out of the residential property sector in a bid to “de-risk” its portfolio. The group’s pre-tax [...]
Barratt Redrow hopes to defy housebuilding gloom by splashing cash September 15, 2026 As some of London’s listed housebuilders take emergency measures to cut costs amid rising building costs and stagnant demand for homes, one firm is splashing the cash. Barratt Redrow, which will announce its full-year numbers on Wednesday, defied the miserly approach taken by its rivals earlier this summer when it said it will buy back [...]
500m bricks ‘just sitting there’ as 1.5m homes target looms September 14, 2026 There are half a billion bricks lying unused in Britain, it has been revealed, piling fresh pressure on the government’s “stretch target” of building 1.5m homes by the next election. As many as 500,000,000 bricks – enough to build 50,000 homes – are “just sitting there” in factory yards across the country, the GMB Union [...]
Battersea Power Station enters final ‘playful’ phase of £5bn project September 14, 2026 Battersea Power Station has entered the final phase of its £5bn regeneration project after its Malaysian owners submitted plans for the site’s remaining 16 acres. The neighbourhood’s newest development will add as much as 3.2m sq ft of residential, commercial and leisure space to the area, more than 15 years on from the original plans [...]
Mortgage rates at five-month high ahead of Bank of England decision September 14, 2026 Borrowers are bracing for more mortgage woes ahead of the Bank of England’s interest rate decision this week. Mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level in nearly five months after some 25 lenders hiked their deals in the last week including the likes of HSBC, Lloyds and Nationwide. The average two-year fix has risen [...]
Stamp duty reform is ‘urgent,’ Berkeley tells Burnham September 11, 2026 Berkeley has urged Andy Burnham to commit to “urgent reform” to stamp duty, which it says has become a “binding constraint” on housebuilders and buyers. The FTSE 250 firm said that stamp duty is to blame for the slump in demand for new homes, because it makes first-time-buying unaffordable and dissuades existing homeowners from moving [...]
City policymakers push to end ‘old-school’ ban on tower logos September 10, 2026 Square Mile policymakers are ramping up pressure on the City to drop “old-school” rules which block firms from displaying logos on their buildings, in a move which they say could drive growth. The City of London Corporation, which governs the historic financial district, has long blocked companies from displaying their logos on the top of [...]
The aristocratic landowner taking record rent from ‘cradle-to-grave’ health empire September 10, 2026 One of London’s biggest landowning families raked in record rent from its Marylebone property empire last year, helped by a surge in demand at its ‘cradle-to-grave’ private healthcare district. Howard de Walden Estates, which owns the Harley Street health district and the residential Marylebone Village, grew its rental income from the estate by 9.3 per [...]
Open House Festival: The best guided walks in the Square Mile September 8, 2026 As we celebrate the Square Mile with our Toast the City Awards 2026, here are some amazing City-based Open House Festival tours, including close looks at some of our nominees. Money, money, money What is the City of London most famous for? Money, of course. This Open House tour, of the Square Mile’s financial past [...]