Reforms to planning and Help-to-Buy unveiled by government June 27, 2019 A shake-up of Britain’s planning system that will let councils approve applications more quickly and enforce tougher Help to Buy rules on developers was unveiled today. Housing secretary James Brokenshire has revealed plans to introduce new quality controls on housebuilders, while also pledging to prevent developers from selling leasehold houses through its Help to Buy [...]
Oxford University strikes £4bn partnership with Legal & General June 27, 2019 Legal & General has signed a £4bn partnership deal with Oxford University in its latest bid to tap into the growing market of student accommodation. The property giant has struck a 10-year partnership with the country’s oldest university as part of a plan to deliver 1000 subsidised home for university and college staff, 1000 units [...]
UK property market: Mortgage approvals dip from 26-month April high June 26, 2019 The number of residential mortgages approved by banks dipped last month, easing back from a 26-month high in April but remaining above the monthly average. Seasonally adjusted figures show that banks in Britain approved 42,384 house purchase mortgages in May, falling from roughly 42,900 in April but beating the consensus of 41,000. Read more: London [...]
DEBATE: Is the obsessive focus from politicians on increasing home ownership misguided? June 26, 2019 Is the obsessive focus from politicians on increasing home ownership misguided? Clive Docwra, managing director of McBains, says YES. Politicians are obsessed with home ownership, including both contenders for Prime Minister. Jeremy Hunt has put a new “right to own” policy at the heart of his bid, while Boris Johnson has backed replacing Help to [...]
Revealed: The top 10 most affordable London boroughs for first-time buyers June 25, 2019 The City of London is the least affordable London borough for first-time buyers, according to new research that has ranked the capital’s best and worst spots for hopeful homeowners. Hackney, Haringey, Brent and Camden joined the Square Mile as the five most unaffordable boroughs in London based on the net wage and time taken to [...]
Dunelm shares: Upgrade cycle not over June 25, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor Up 70% already in 2019, this quality operator is well-fancied and tipped to keep outperforming. Dunelm (LSE:DNLM) continues to defy expectations after another profits upgrade extended the home furnishing chain’s remarkable share price rally for 2019 to a whopping 81%. One of the stand-out performers in the FTSE 250 index so far this [...]
Queen set for an extra £3m after strong profits for Crown Estate June 25, 2019 The Queen is set to receive a £3m revenue boost after The Crown Estate today announced its income for 2018/19 grew 4.3 per cent. The Crown Estate said it was returning £343.5m to the Treasury, up from £329.4m in 2017/18. The Royal Family is set to receive 25 per cent of that money through the [...]
Capco investment boss to quit as Earl’s Court de-merger speculation mounts June 19, 2019 The investment chief at Capital & Counties (Capco) revealed plans to step down this morning, sparking fresh speculation over the future of the property giant’s struggling Earl’s Court development. Managing director and chief investment officer Gary Yardley is leaving the company at the end of this month, as the firm prepares for a potential split [...]
London property market drags down UK house prices June 19, 2019 UK house prices were dragged down by subdued demand in London last month, as buyer caution continued to linger in the capital during April. London witnessed the lowest annual growth out of any region, with prices falling by 1.2 per cent over the year to April 2019, up from a fall of 2.5 per cent [...]
Berkeley Homes reports slump in profits June 19, 2019 Housebuilder Berkeley Homes outlined plans to ramp up new developments despite reporting a slump in pre-tax profit this morning. The figures Pre-tax profit fell 20.7 per cent to £775.2m in the year ended 30 April, but was higher than analysts’ expectations of £730m. Revenue was £2.95bn, up 4.1 per cent from £2.84bn the previous year, [...]