Debate: Is the recent rule change for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) fair on tenants? October 3, 2018 Debate: Is the recent rule change for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) fair on tenants? YES – Dan Wilson Craw is the director at Generation Rent. Many people can only afford to rent in a shared house. But some landlords exploit their desperation for a place to sleep by cramming dozens of people into houses [...]
UK house prices show modest growth for September October 2, 2018 UK house prices grew two per cent year on year for September, according to new figures released today, but London house prices declined. Homes in the capital fell by less than one per cent compared to the same period of 2017, Nationwide reported today, against a fairly stable picture for the whole of the UK. [...]
South Korean backers splash out £100m for Microsoft HQ October 1, 2018 Microsoft’s vast HQ campus in Reading has been snapped up by a London-based real estate investor and a Korean asset manager for £100m today. Valesco Group and Seoul-headquartered AIP Asset Management have bought the tech firm’s 245,000 square foot park in the run-up to the arrival of Crossrail’s Elizabeth line, which is set to strengthen [...]
DAC Beachcroft unveils plans to merge offices in new City HQ October 1, 2018 Global law firm DAC Beachcroft is to merge its City offices under one roof next year, in a move to create a new global headquarters in the heart of the Square Mile. Roughly 50,000 square feet will be taken up in Beachcroft’s move to The Walbrook building, where its team of lawyers are expected to [...]
Self-storage giant Shurgard gears up for €2bn-€2.4bn listing amid plans to fund Kensington store October 1, 2018 Europe’s largest owner and operator of self-storage centres revealed plans for a €2bn (£1.78bn) float on Euronext Brussels this morning. Luxemburg-based Shurgard, which owns a swathe of European facilities, including 28 in London and the Thames Valley, is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) which will partially go towards financing the expected acquisition of a Kensington [...]
Mortgage approvals hit seven-month high but caution lingers as year-on-year growth dips October 1, 2018 The number of mortgages being approved hit a seven-month high in August, suggesting a modest pick-up in buyers after the traditional summer slowdown. According to the latest Bank of England (BoE) statistics out today, mortgage approvals climbed to 66,440 last month, marking the highest level since January 2018. However, housing experts remained cautious on the [...]
May’s stamp duty tax on foreign buyers forces down FTSE developers’ share prices October 1, 2018 More than half a billion pounds was wiped off the value of some of the UK’s largest housebuilders today, as the City digested news of Theresa May’s planned property tax on foreign buyers. Shares in Berkeley Group, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey all slid in the wake of the Prime Minister’s weekend announcement to slap [...]
Ranked: The cheapest and most expensive countries to buy a second home September 29, 2018 For many, the thought of packing in the day job and moving to a place in the sun is a distant dream. But new analysis has revealed the cheapest countries in the world to buy a house for those wanting to pack up and move out of the UK. FairFX analysis found that Bulgaria is the [...]
The guardians of the art industry: How a former trader is giving old buildings a new lease of life September 28, 2018 Scott Franklin is like the popular kid at school. When the former City trader shows me around the renovated Victorian warehouse in Clerkenwell, everyone we pass seems pleased to see him – which strikes me as unusual for someone whose role resembles that of a landlord. Franklin, who is the founder of Property Guardian [...]
Interiors: Robert Brain is saving London’s trees from the chipper and turning them into beautiful furniture September 28, 2018 When trees in London are felled, they often meet their end in a chipper. But what a waste of beautiful wood – oak, beech, ash and even London plane. As a carpenter, the aptly named Robert Brain put his mind to the task of how it could be reused. After two years working on his [...]