Scrap stamp duty for pensioners to free up homes for youngsters, says thinktank December 3, 2018 A UK thinktank has called for the government to scrap stamp duty for pensioners to encourage downsizing and free up homes for younger families. Policy Exchange’s new report reveals that 1.1m homes in England with two or more spare bedrooms are lived in by a single person aged over 65. The report says the lower stamp [...]
Orchard Street snaps up £55m building in Soho’s filmland December 3, 2018 Property investment firm Orchard Street has snapped up a £55m Soho building home to a British film production company. The office space in the property at 141 Wardour Street is fully let to Moving Picture Company, while retail space on the ground and basement floors is home to Princi, an Italian restaurant and bakery part-owned [...]
Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman drives away with £30m funding for used car startup December 2, 2018 Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman wants to cut out the awkward tyre-kicking from buying a used car with a new startup. Chesterman, who sold Zoopla for £2.2bn earlier this year, said Cazoo aimed to make buying a car “no different to buying any other product online today”. The entrepreneur, who will serve as Cazoo’s CEO, has [...]
Focus On Acton: This once ‘unloved’ part of west London is transforming thanks to the imminent arrival of Crossrail November 30, 2018 For some places in London, the housing market is a complicated beast; riding high in some streets, but not in others; a tale of two postcodes; a slow-burning demographic change subtly altering the character of an area; the promise of new transport links. In Acton, it’s more straight-forward; it was once an unloved pocket of [...]
The former Stasi headquarters in Berlin has turned into luxury flats – but will it ever really get over its murky past? November 30, 2018 After the headquarters of the East German Secret Police was stormed in 1990, the building it was housed in has understandably struggled to find a place in modern, vibrant Berlin. But now it’s been renamed 2052 Industrie Lofts and turned into luxurious apartments that boast some of the largest outside terraces in the German capital, [...]
Interiors: Don’t put up your tree this weekend without first checking out the best designer efforts in London’s luxury hotels November 30, 2018 As December gets under way, London has lit up and is ready to party with yuletide cocktails aplenty. For visiting family, I planned half a dozen pitstops around the capital to show off the best of our installations – venues that ramp up the festive atmosphere without being naff. It’s the Tipples ‘n’ Trees tour [...]
New Homes: Our pick of the new builds and conversions going on sale in London this weekend November 30, 2018 New developments on the market this week Fitzroy Gate, Old Isleworth From £1.4m Why shouldn’t Christmas shopping include browsing for a new home? There’s a festive-themed open day tomorrow from 10am to 4pm at this seven acre development in south west London. There are three show homes to peruse and 39 Victorian and neo-Georgian style [...]
Grenfell-style combustible cladding ban to cost high-rise developers and owners £337m over next decade November 30, 2018 The government’s ban on the use of Grenfell-style combustible materials on new high-rise buildings will cost the industry up to £337m, it has emerged. In an impact assessment of the legislation, Whitehall revealed the direct cost to developers and owners is expected to be between £249m and £337m over 10 years. The Ministry for Housing, [...]
DEBATE: After one lender launched a six-times-salary deal, are we headed towards a mortgage timebomb? November 30, 2018 After one lender launched a six-times-salary deal, are we headed towards a mortgage timebomb? Andrew Hagger, personal finance expert at MoneyComms, says YES. A shortage in UK housing supply means that property prices continue to increase, albeit at a slower rate in recent months. This means that lenders must stretch their lending criteria in order to [...]
UK house price growth recovers from five-year low in November, Nationwide figures show November 30, 2018 UK house prices grew by an average of 1.9 per cent in November, up 0.3 per cent month on month to recover from a five-year low in October, Nationwide announced this morning. The figure is expected to improve if economic and political uncertainty surrounding Brexit lifts over the coming months and employment continues to rise, the [...]