Great Portland Estates launches £200m share buyback, but warns it could be stopped by Brexit November 15, 2018 Great Portland Estates has launched a share buyback to return £200m to its shareholders, it said today. The property developer is set to repurchase 42m of its own shares over the next 12 months, in a deal backed by Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Securities. The company said it had decided to re-invest £200m of [...]
Mortgage approvals up for first-time buyers as market moves away from large deposits November 15, 2018 The market share of first-time buyers and small deposit borrowers increased in October as young buyers take advantage of low rates and slowing house price growth. A total of 67,011 mortgages were approved last month, an increase of 2.7 per cent since September and 3.5 per cent above levels in the same month last year. [...]
Flexible offer provider Workspace hit by London property market slowdown November 14, 2018 Flexible office provider Workspace announced a nearly 20 per cent drop in profit before tax as a weakening London property market took its toll. The London-based firm said its profit before tax was £101.6m in the six months ended 30 September, down 18 per cent from £123.7m in the same period last year. The company [...]
London house prices: Homes in the capital lose value despite the UK’s resilient property market November 14, 2018 London house prices fell 0.3 per cent in the year to September, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today. Growth in the capital lagged far behind the UK-wide average, which was 3.5 per cent, a small increase from 3.1 per cent last month. The growth puts the average house price across the country [...]
M&G buys Financial Times headquarters from Pearson for £115m November 14, 2018 Publishing giant Pearson today agreed to sell the Financial Times's headquarters to investment firm M&G for £115m. The building at One Southwark Bridge, on the bank of the Thames, has been home to the Financial Times since 1987. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2018. Now the newspaper will move back to its [...]
New Bond Street named the third-most expensive shopping street in the world November 14, 2018 West End thoroughfare New Bond Street has been named as the world’s third-most expensive shopping street today in a new global survey. Rent on New Bond Street came in at $1,744 (£1,344) per sq ft per year, behind the main street of Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay on $2,671 per sq ft and Upper 5th Avenue [...]
Low-end offices face glut of demand as start-ups opt for fancy co-working spaces November 14, 2018 Office-sharing companies such as Wework are pressing down demand for lower-end offices in London as start ups move into plush new premises. The proliferation of co-working spaces is creating a “glut” in the secondary office space, research from Deloitte shows. Companies like Wework are taking some of the best offices in London, and represent about [...]
Profits crash again as ‘frail’ McCarthy & Stone outlines plan to cut costs November 13, 2018 Profits collapsed at retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone today as it posted its full year results. Profit before tax fell 37 per cent year on year to £58.1m, down from £92.1m in 2017, as the housebuilder blamed a rise in building costs, rising operating costs, as well as extra marketing to promote its latest homes. [...]
Landsec profits rise despite retail’s property slump November 13, 2018 Property developer Landsec recorded a rise in profits in its half-year results today, despite a fall in property values caused by the struggling retail sector. The figures Profits before tax rose to £42m, up from £34m last year. Revenue rose 10.3 per cent to £224m compared to the same period of 2017. Dividend per share was [...]
Wework bags $3bn in additional funding from Softbank November 13, 2018 Flexible workspace provider Wework has secured an additional $3bn (£2.3bn) in funding from Softbank, as it pushes ahead with its global expansion plans despite continuing to report losses across the board. The new funding builds on the $1bn that Wework received from the Japanese mega-investor in the form of a convertible bond earlier this year. Today's investment will be granted [...]