Buy-to-let bonds could be hit by falling rents in London and the south east, Moody’s warns March 16, 2017 Falling rents in London and the south east could hurt buy-to-let bonds, ratings agency Moody's has said. Earlier this week it emerged rent increases for tenants across the UK have fallen to their lowest since 2013 as prices in London dropped for the ninth month in a row. Average rents in London declined 4.7 per cent year-on-year while [...]
Canary Wharf Group is selling its stake in the Walkie Talkie – which could value it at £1.2bn March 16, 2017 Got a hankering to own one of the capital's most iconic (and controversial) landmarks? You could be in luck, after it emerged Canary Wharf Group, Morgan Stanley and others are planning to put a 50 per cent stake in the building on sale. City A.M. understands Canary Wharf Group has approached agents to sell its [...]
Move over, suits – the new kids on the block are coming to the Square Mile March 16, 2017 Imagine you are the founder of the latest, cutting-edge tech startup. Perhaps you’ve been backed by a private equity firm, or an angel investor. You might have even got a good old-fashioned bank loan. Either way, you’ve graduated out of your parent’s basement and are on the hunt for an office you can call home. [...]
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 [...]