Bovis Homes’ chief executive is stepping down January 9, 2017 Housebuilder Bovis Homes said today that its chief executive, David Ritchie, will step down with immediate effect. Shares rose 1.3 per cent as the market opened, to 821.5p. Ritchie joined the company 18 years ago, and has been chief executive for eight years. At the end of last month shares in the company fell as it admitted profits [...]
Construction firms hit brick wall as depreciation in sterling pushes up costs of building materials January 9, 2017 Building projects could be about to shoot up in price, as figures out today show more than seven in 10 UK builders have seen an increase in the cost of materials. Thousands of smaller building firms are now grappling with rising material prices caused by the depreciation of the pound since the EU referendum in [...]
Focus On Bayswater: Why Notting Hill’s overlooked neighbour is the next big central London investment opportunity January 6, 2017 Around any piece of prime central London, you’ll find a forlorn district on the outskirts whose fortune has improved immeasurably in recent years. Priced out of premium areas, buyers are increasingly moving to these formerly unpopular areas in search of space and affordability – and changing these areas in the process. Bayswater is a prime [...]
Holiday Homes: We travel to one of Spain’s most exclusive sports and leisure resorts to see how it’s been transformed to appeal to modern investors January 6, 2017 When La Manga Club opened in 1972, it was at the forefront of sports and leisure destinations across Europe. It took only two years to build the ground-breaking project in Murcia, south-east Spain, but it quickly became a celebrity hangout for sports and showbiz stars alike. Guests included Kenny Dalglish, Gordon Strachan, Juliet Binoche, Salma [...]
Opinion: Agents are turning into party planners to entice buyers and investors to buy new homes in London January 6, 2017 Last year marked a shift in the central London market. The buyers are still out there – only now they have a broader choice of new homes to buy. This poses a challenge for developers: how do you target a particular group of buyers with precision and make them remember your homes above all the [...]
Bag a bargain: Here’s how much high-end London house prices fell last year January 5, 2017 Got a couple of million going spare? You could bag a bargain in the capital, after new research suggested top-end house prices fell 6.9 per cent year-on-year in the final quarter of 2016. Research by Savills suggested house prices in so-called prime central London, high-end areas including Mayfair, Belgravia and Chelsea, fell 2.2 per cent during [...]
Government opens bidding for £7bn affordable housing fund January 5, 2017 Bidding has started for housebuilders looking for a slice of a £7bn government fund for affordable housing. As part of its commitment to get would-be homeowners on the housing ladder, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is inviting housing associations, local authorities and other developers to apply for funding to build the homes [...]
Persimmon lays strong foundations for 2017 January 5, 2017 Persimmon is kicking off 2017 with some good news, as it reported today that its revenues and sales were up. And the markets certainly seem to be happy with the housebuilder – the company's share price was up 4.42 per cent at the open. The figures The housebuilder's trading update has laid some strong foundations for the [...]
Middle Eastern investor buys up Sullivan & Cromwell’s European HQ January 4, 2017 A Middle Eastern investor has snapped up 1 New Fetter Lane, the European headquarters of international law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. UBS Triton Property Fund sold the Grade A property, which is located just south of Holborn Circus, for £69m. Sullivan & Cromwell recently agreed a new lease on the building which will end in 2026. Read [...]
Bat boxes and playgrounds are holding back property development, says industry group January 3, 2017 A property industry group has called for changes to the planning system because bat boxes and playgrounds are holding back house building in the UK. Housebuilders are forced to meet various conditions before building, called pre-commencement conditions, some of which are halting development unnecessarily, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has said. Read more: These are the [...]