City office rents propped up in uncertain times by low supply March 15, 2017 Rents in the City's offices are being propped up by low supply, with only three buildings set to be completed in the capital's financial quarter this year. This year 1 Angel Court, 45 Cannon Street and the Scalpel will be finished, and Chris Vydra, City leasing agent for CBRE, said that the dearth of new [...]
JLL boss calls out government on business rates “disaster” March 15, 2017 The UK boss of JLL has hit out at the government's revaluation of business rates, calling the arrangements around the tax changes due to start in April a "disaster". Speaking at global property conference Mipim, Chris Ireland said that despite flaws in the system, he did not expect the government to make any significant changes [...]
Remember this tiny Chelsea house on sale for £600,000? It just sold for £100,000 above asking price March 15, 2017 Rumours of Chelsea's demise are greatly exaggerated, it seems – after a miniature house in the London neighbourhood sold for a whopping £713,823. That's more than £100,000 above asking price. The tiny home, which we wrote about back in February, was on sale at £600,000. Sounds like a bargain for a home in the heart of Chelsea overlooking [...]
Battersea Power Station boss issues rallying call to property industry over stamp duty March 15, 2017 The head of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, Rob Tincknell, has issued a rallying call to property industry bosses, saying they must join forces to fight rises in stamp duty. Speaking to property developers and investors gathered at Mipim, a global property conference in Cannes, Tincknell said that he was forming a group to battle stamp duty [...]
UK house prices: A third of first-time buyers now spend half a decade saving for their first home March 15, 2017 Nearly a third of first-time buyers now spend more than half a decade saving for their first home, new figures have shown. A report by Which? Mortgage Advisers showed 30 per cent of first-time buyers had spent five years saving for a house, with seven per cent saying they had saved for a property for more than [...]
“Paypal of renting” proptech startup Goodlord just landed millions more from investors Ribbit Capital, LocalGlobal and Global Founders Capital March 15, 2017 A startup aiming to be the Paypal of renting, making lettings easier for tenants, landlords and agents, has landed millions more in funding from top investors. Goodlord has landed £7.2m from Silicon Valley's Ribbit Capital and existing investors: Robin Klein's LocalGlobal and Global Founders Capital, the fund founded by Rocket Internet's Samwer brothers, following on from £2m raised in May [...]
Forterra share price rises as brickmaker reports strong activity from housebuilding sector in 2016 March 15, 2017 Forterra's share price nosed up this morning after the company said it had experienced "strong activity levels" from housebuilders. Britain's second largest brickmaker posted modest annual growth, which its boss said was "good progress in the delivery of our strategy". The figures Revenue rose by 1.5 per cent to £295m while earnings jumped 4.6 per cent [...]
Apple’s move to Battersea Power Station sparks hopes of paying off infrastructure debt early March 15, 2017 The council leader heading up the development around the Battersea Power Station is hoping a possible boost to business rates income from Apple’s move to the site could help pay for the Northern Line extension early. The funding for the Northern line extension, which will create two new tube stations at Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station, [...]
Brexit could cost the construction sector thousands of workers and increase the skills shortage March 15, 2017 While the UK grapples with a skills shortage in the construction industry, new figures suggest Brexit will threaten eight per cent of the sector's workforce. Losing access to the EU's Single Market will put nearly 200,000 construction jobs at risk, a survey of construction professionals by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) will today reveal. According [...]
Tony Pidgley on Berkeley Group’s demotion from FTSE 100, giving up his six-figure salary and solving London’s housing crisis March 15, 2017 Berkeley Homes bowed out of the FTSE 100 following the Brexit vote last year but founder and chairman Tony Pidgley CBE isn’t perturbed. “I don’t run Berkeley for whether it's in or out of the FTSE 100. I run Berkeley because Berkeley does what it does well,” Pidgley tells City A.M. “I couldn’t control Brexit [...]