UK’s biggest care home provider Four Seasons Health Care to be sold October 29, 2018 Four Seasons Health Care has been put up for sale in a bid to pay off debt owed to US hedge fund controllers H/2 Capital Partners. H/2 effectively controls the UK’s largest care home company, which is still owned by private equity veteran Guy Hands’ Terra Firma. Four Seasons’ parent company Elli Investments notified the [...]
Interiors: London’s newest retail and design hub Coal Drops Yard is now open in a revamped King’s Cross October 29, 2018 Dressed in high-vis, I stood in the autumn sunshine in King’s Cross for my sneak peak of the newest district to open within its regeneration project – Coal Drops Yard, which opens today. While I waited for my tour, I was diverted by a hording plastered with covers of The Face from 1991 – magazines [...]
Opinion: When is the best time to extend the lease on my flat? October 29, 2018 This month commemorates the 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment bank and the start of the worst crisis in the international financial system since the Great Depression. I bring this up because, after 10 years of austerity, you’d have thought that property prices in London would have taken a battering, but it [...]
Property of the Week: Mary McCartney’s family home near Abbey Road Studios is on sale in west London October 29, 2018 It must be strange enough, having a Dad as famous as Sir Paul McCartney, without having to walk past hordes of tourists darting out in front of the crossing outside Abbey Road Studios. Clifton Hill, St John’s Wood, £3.95m But it’s a sight that must have been familiar to Mary McCartney, Paul and Linda’s eldest [...]
New homes: Here are the new developments going on sale in London this week October 29, 2018 New developments on the market this week Dalmeny Avenue, Islington From £480,000 Brand new one, two and three bedroom apartments are on sale in Islington, with a private balcony or patio for each home. Housebuilder Southern Spaces has fitted all kitchens with SMEG appliances, ample power points and the flats are also Sky + enabled. [...]
World’s most expensive houses suffer growth slowdown as London slump persists October 29, 2018 Prices for the world’s most luxurious houses have slipped to their lowest annual levels in nearly six years, as stricter regulations and growing political uncertainty deter wealthy buyers in a number of cities. Prime property prices across the globe climbed 2.7 per cent in the last 12 months, marking the slowest rate of annual growth in [...]
Consumer credit growth stutters to three-year low as UK house purchases fall back October 29, 2018 Consumer borrowing grew at its lowest rate for three years last month after car sales dropped 20 per cent, the Bank of England revealed today. The annual growth rate of consumer borrowing hit 7.7 per cent last month, the lowest it's been since June 2015, and far below the 10.09 per cent growth rate in [...]
Singaporean developer snaps up City tower in £385m deal October 26, 2018 Singaporean-listed City Developments Limited (CDL) has acquired a 26-storey tower overlooking the Bank of England for £385m from Blackstone Group. The deal, announced today, represents one of the largest single asset sales in the City of London this year. The property at 125 Old Broad Street occupies a site of 0.7 acres directly overlooking the [...]
No-deal Brexit would hit house prices – but not as hard as the financial crisis, says Moody’s October 24, 2018 UK house prices could tumble in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but would not fall as far they did during the financial crisis a decade ago, rating agency Moody’s said. There would be “outright declines in house prices nationally” if Britain crashes out of the European Union without a deal next March, analysts said. [...]
Mortgage approvals fall to six-month low in September as experts warn of ‘fragile’ housing market October 24, 2018 Mortgage approvals fell to their lowest value in half a year in September, according to the latest data from UK Finance, meaning every month of 2018 so far has dropped against 2017 approval numbers. Lending amounted to £21.5bn for the month, the lowest since the £20.6bn recorded in April and a drop of 1.2 per [...]