Hostel chain Safestay reports strong start to 2020 February 3, 2020 Boutique hostel brand Safestay said it had “momentum” going into this year after sales surged in 2019 following its portfolio expansion. Total revenue increased 25 per cent to £18.3m last year as the hostel chain opened eight new venues, taking its total portfolio to 21 sites and more than 5,100 beds. Like-for-like revenue was up [...]
Flexible office firms push ahead with growth in competitive market February 3, 2020 The UK’s biggest co-working office firms grew rapidly last year, despite operating in an increasingly competitive market. Shared office providers grew their portfolios by 22 per cent in the last year, as major players such as Wework expanded into new global markets. The value of Wework’s UK portfolio jumped 30 per cent from £3.05bn to [...]
Property of the Week: Old or new? Take your pick on Portobello Road January 31, 2020 It may be home to the world’s largest antiques market; but Portobello Road in Notting Hill is surely just as renowned for its property. Tourists and influencers alike make the pilgrimage to W11 to take pictures with the row of brightly coloured Georgian houses, which have become such a symbol of London that they feature [...]
Square Mile police station to be transformed into five-star hotel January 30, 2020 The City’s Grade II* listed Wood Street Police Station is set to be transformed into a five-star hotel. The City of London Corporation has sold the building to Magnificent Hotels, after deciding the police station was “surplus to operational requirements”. The police force will be based at the Wood Street station until around December this [...]
Retail property market misses out on ‘Boris bounce’ January 30, 2020 London’s retail property market has continued to struggle, despite a bounce in the wider commercial real estate sector driven by the General Election result. Occupier demand in the retail sector fell in the fourth quarter of last year, according to research published today that found 70 per cent of chartered surveyors in the capital had [...]
UK house prices rise 1.9 per cent as buyers hail 2020 ‘Boris bounce’ January 29, 2020 UK house prices grew at their fastest rate in over a year at the start of 2020, according to Nationwide, as experts hailed Boris Johnson’s election victory. The housing market posted a 1.9 per cent annual rise in January, beating December’s 1.4 per cent climb. That followed 12 months of consecutive growth below the one [...]
House sales to bounce as buyer confidence improves January 29, 2020 House sales in UK cities are expected to jump this year as buyer confidence improves due to greater political certainty, according to the latest research. Buyer demand across UK cities in the first few weeks of 2020 was 26 per cent higher than in the same four week period last year and in 2018. London [...]
Waterside renting with Folio London in Royal London Docks, E16 January 28, 2020 | Sponsored For those looking to escape the city hustle and bustle without actually leaving the capital, Folio London has launched a brand new collection of contemporary homes to rent at Royal Albert Wharf in London’s Royal Docks, E16, with plenty of calming blue space for a peaceful outlook within the City of London. Comprising a collection [...]
Intu sells Spanish shopping centre for £245m to pay off debt January 28, 2020 Retail landlord Intu has sold a shopping centre in Spain for €290m (£245.3m), as the company seeks to fix its balance sheet and repay debt. Intu, and its joint venture partner Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, has sold the Asturias shopping centre to ECE European Prime Shopping Centre Fund II, with Intu’s share of the [...]
Profit tumbles at retirement specialist McCarthy & Stone January 28, 2020 Profit at UK retirement home-builder McCarthy & Stone dropped sharply last year against the backdrop of “a challenging market” and costs related to a new strategy, the firm announced today. Shares in the company were up 0.5 per cent in morning trading at 154.6p, however, indicating that investors were anticipating weak results. The figures Profit [...]