Spiking business rates will lead to an East London tech exodus February 23, 2017 Much has been written about the upcoming business rates revaluation and the significant additional burden that this will place on businesses, large and small. Comparatively little, however, has been said about the impact that this in turn will have on our town centres and business districts. Ultimately, business rates are a property tax rather than [...]
Purplebricks reveals share placing to raise up to £50m to build on US plans February 22, 2017 Purplebricks Group this evening revealed it would be issuing a new slew of shares in a bid to raise up to £50m to support its dreams of expanding across the Atlantic. The placing shares have been priced at 220p, which represents a 0.6 per cent discount on Tuesday's closing price. The online estate agent, which [...]
Globalworth buys mammoth Renault site in deal worth €42.5m February 22, 2017 An Aim-quoted real estate firm is set to be the new landlord of one of carmaker Renault's largest distribution centres. Globalworth Real Estate Investments has agreed to pay €42.5m (£35.7m) for a Romanian warehouse that Renault currently leases to subsidiary Dacia. Read more: French is the sexiest accent in the world, according to Renault The site covers approximately 68,000 square [...]
This London developer has slashed its land value by 20 per cent February 22, 2017 London developer Capital & Counties Properties (Capco) has cut the value of its Earl's Court development by 20 per cent. In its results for the year, the company said the value of its Earl's Court site had fallen from £1.4bn to £1.1bn. However, analysts were expecting it to be worse. JP Morgan has predicted a 30 [...]
This one graph explains the horrors of London house prices – and why London renters are trapped February 22, 2017 If thinking about the London housing market is likely to give you a brain haemorrhage, do not read this. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show just how ridiculous house price rises have been in the capital over the last six years, and why London renters are also being screwed. Read more: [...]
London home buyers down three per cent in fourth quarter of 2016, CML says February 22, 2017 The number of home buyers in London dropped to a four-year low last year, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Home buyers in London borrowed £24.5bn for house purchase, down 0.4 per cent on 2015, and took out 75,800 loans, down seven per cent compared to the year before. The CML [...]
Barratt hikes dividend as profits edge higher February 22, 2017 It's been a decent six months for housebuilder Barratt, which today announced it was hiking its divi after profits edged up in the final half of last year – despite a fall in revenues. The figures Although revenues fell 3.2 per cent to £1.82bn in the six months to the end of December, pre-tax profits rose 8.8 per cent to £321m, partly thanks to [...]
Blame restrictions on the supply of land for new homes for rising wealth inequality February 22, 2017 Official data released last week on house price increases in 2016, which among other things showed the Shetland Isles as the part of the UK which posted the biggest jump in prices last year (at 26 per cent), generated a lot of interest. Given that housing represents by far the most important component of wealth [...]
“Skills gulf” means Britain will need to recruit one worker every 77 seconds to meet construction needs February 22, 2017 The UK needs to recruit 400,000 people each year until 2021, or one worker every 77 seconds, if it's to meet house building and construction needs. And London and the South East will need to employ 110,000 people, more than any other part of the UK, making up nearly 30 per cent of the total. A [...]
Property groups warn £20bn of development finance at risk from government’s finance bill February 21, 2017 The property industry is calling on the government to change its finance bill, warning that measures to clampdown on multinational tax avoidance will also put £20bn of finance for UK developments at risk. The UK government is cracking down on tax avoidance in its annual finance bill by limiting companies claiming interest as a tax-deductable [...]