Knight Frank increases profits, despite volatile markets and politics October 8, 2018 Estate agent Knight Frank increased its profit before tax by 14 per cent last year, seeing off challenges from volatile markets and politics. The company increased turnover by £50m to £526m in the year ending March – a ten per cent rise. The increase is payoff for its investment in staff over the last five [...]
Tax cut plan shows Tory MPs are focused on winning back young professional voters October 8, 2018 Oasis playing to more than 100,000 fans at Knebworth. John Major clinging on to power in Downing Street. England’s footballers crashing out of the European Championships on penalties to Germany. The year, of course, was 1996. It may seem like yesterday to many of us, but life in Britain is markedly different today. This morning the [...]
Home ownership becomes increasingly out of reach for young adults as average prices rocket 173 per cent in two decades October 8, 2018 The dream of home ownership is becoming increasingly out of reach for young people, as average house price increases have massively outpaced wage growth, a new study out today has found. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found average house prices in England have risen 173 per cent since 1997, while wages went up [...]
Ministers urged to give tax breaks to landlords who sell to long-term tenants in push to get renters onto housing ladder October 8, 2018 Ministers have been urged to get private renters onto the housing ladder by offering big incentives to landlords who sell their property to long-term tenants. Campaigning think tank Onward laid out proposals to give buy-to-let properties 100 per cent capital gains tax relief if the home is sold to a tenant who has lived there [...]
Property bosses clamp down on the white van man in bid to protect London business October 7, 2018 London’s landlords are declaring war on vehicle deliveries, amid fears that overcrowded and polluted streets are jeopardising business. Property heavyweights fear that worsening congestion is driving commuters, shoppers and tourists away from major destinations in the capital, as the rise of online purchasing leads to ever more delivery vans, motorbikes and lorries. Moves to pedestrianise [...]
Kensington and Chelsea councillor calls for new powers to take over ‘ghost homes’ October 6, 2018 Kensington and Chelsea council have reportedly signed off on a request for ministers to give them the mandate to take over so-called ghost homes, left empty by overseas buyers waiting for their value to increase. Deputy council leader Kim Taylor-Smith has written to housing minister Kit Malthouse to call for a change in legislation, according [...]
Wework triples its losses in Europe as London begins to turn a profit October 5, 2018 Co-working property powerhouse Wework tripled its losses in 2017 across Europe, while taking its flagship building in Moor Place, London to a profit. In accounts published to Companies House today, reports put Wework International's losses at £32.3m for the year ending December 2017 from £11m the year before. However its revenues, which account for only the UK [...]
Interiors: The story of a Chinese twenty-something who created a best of British flat in Shanghai October 5, 2018 Anyone casting an eye around this spacious contemporary apartment would find its elegance reassuringly familiar. English joinery, heritage brands, bespoke handcrafted furniture – you could be visiting One Hyde Park. But look outside the 18th-floor panoramic windows and it’s not the sweeping green of central London you see, but the majestic Huangpu river, snaking through [...]
Opinion: Brokenshire’s £1bn plan to get SME developers to build more houses won’t work if the economy is unstable October 5, 2018 While it may seem as if all of our politicians are spending most of their time fretting over Brexit, James Brokenshire, the latest secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, recently announced an initiative to encourage more small and medium-sized (SME) developers into the market. The Government will be partnering with Barclays to [...]
Focus On Blackheath: New development is thin on the ground in this quintessential London village October 5, 2018 T here’s a lot of development going on in South East London, but you won’t find it in Blackheath. This little enclave is on the borders of Greenwich, Kidbrooke and Lewisham, which are all undergoing Joan Rivers-level facelifts in the next few years, but there’s nothing going on in Blackheath by comparison. Housebuilding behemoth Berkeley [...]