Kier Group negotiating sale of its housing maintenance business in a bid to reduce debt January 27, 2019 Kier Group, the troubled outsourcing company, is nearing an agreement to sell its housing maintenance division. The deal, if agreed, would be part of a previously announced plan to shore up the balance sheet of the construction and building services provider by selling non-core assets. Read more: Short sellers release pressure on construction outsourcing giant Kier [...]
Interiors: Stacks of stones and giant pebbles will be filling your living room before you’ve even realised what happened January 25, 2019 There’s nothing like a statement piece of furniture to break the ice when new guests arrive – something quirky and interesting to get conversation flowing. Have you considered picking up a pebble? Pebbles and stacked stones are having a moment in interior design this year. And when you see all the fun ways furniture-makers are [...]
Holiday Homes: The best places to snap up a ski home in Austria before Brexit restrictions apply January 25, 2019 Ski resorts are rapidly discovering that it is actually the summer months that keep the cash tills ringing. This is why those offering year round Alpine appeal are proving to be the winners in the fickle property market, too. The Austrian Tyrol is no exception and while many of Europe’s ski resorts lie empty once [...]
Opinion: Why we need to let go of our prefab prejudices and embrace modern factory built homes to solve the housing crisis January 25, 2019 We currently find ourselves in the midst of a housing crisis, where people are questioning the property industry’s ability to deliver the quantity of homes required. Whether you call them pre-fabs, modular construction, precision off-site manufacturing or modern methods of construction (MMC), building homes in factories and then delivering them to the development site is [...]
Property of the week: This £30m Belgravia mega-mansion is so big it could be an art gallery and a boutique hotel January 25, 2019 Have a collection of artistic masterpieces but no space to put them? If you have a spare £30m in the bank, then you could be in with a chance of purchasing this mega-mansion in Belgravia that’s not just an enormous home but has enough space to spare to double up as a boutique hotel. Originally [...]
New homes: Our pick of the new builds going on sale in London this weekend January 25, 2019 New developments on the market this week Pontoon Reach, Royal Docks From £315,000 The first new homes at a riverfront location in east London are going on sale tomorrow. Close to London City Airport and Thames Barrier Park in an area earmarked for £314m of investment over the next five years, this 13 storey building [...]
DEBATE: Should London impose rent restrictions, as suggested in Sadiq Khan’s campaign plans? January 25, 2019 Should London impose rent restrictions, as suggested in Sadiq Khan’s campaign plans? Dan Wilson Craw, director of Generation Rent, says YES. Londoners are paying some of the highest rents in the world. Building more homes will plug the shortage at the root of this, but that will take a decade or more. We need urgent action [...]
Legal Q&A: I bought a leasehold house 10 years ago and I am worried I may have difficulties selling it. What should I do? January 24, 2019 Firstly, please do not assume that a leasehold house is bad news. There are many parts of the UK, especially in London, where there are a considerable number of leasehold houses that are perfectly saleable and mortgageable. You need to look through the documents you received from your solicitor to check if whether there are [...]
Super-prime time: London surge in high end house sales January 24, 2019 Wealthy buyers have been on a spending spree for multi-million pound trophy houses during the last year, with demand for London’s ‘super prime’ residences bucking a wider slowdown in the capital’s property market. Despite political uncertainty ahead of Britain’s imminent departure from the EU and plans for a new stamp duty on international buyers, activity [...]
West End landlord Great Portland reports robust leasing amid growth in tenant demand January 23, 2019 Fresh signs of strength in London’s leasing market emerged today, as listed property giant Great Portland Estates (GPE) posted rising rental values and low vacancy levels amid continued demand for office space in the capital. The West End landlord signed 16 new lettings totalling than 50,000 square feet in the quarter to the end of [...]