Institutional West End property sales sizzle to record high as investors capitalise on weaker pound and foreign interest December 5, 2016 Institutional sales of commercial property in the West End have topped £2.7bn in the year-to-date, the highest volume ever recorded, according to estate agent Savills. Standard Life, Aberdeen Asset Management, DTZ Investors, TH Real Estate, Blackrock and Aviva have each sold more than £100m of assets since January, with vendor institutions making up 55 per [...]
Interiors: Embark on a ‘tipples and trees’ tour to get festive inspiration from London’s hotels and restaurants December 5, 2016 Now the merry month of December is upon us it’s time to fire up the festive spirit and prepare to entertain descending hordes of relatives. But what to do with them? A Christmas-themed afternoon tea or a festive cocktail at one of London’s landmark venues is a surefire way to impress. This time of year, [...]
Focus On Maida Vale: Why financiers and celebrities flock to the birthplace of the London mansion block December 5, 2016 The London mansion block has never been so popular, yet there are only a finite number in existence. While many luxury property developers are seeking to reinvent them for the 21st century for a tidy profit, the birthplace of the original – the real white-stuccoed deal – is still Maida Vale in north west London. [...]
Property of the Week: Former seminary and Call the Midwife location now an impressive property for sale December 5, 2016 Space is in short supply in London, which is why this chapel, the centrepiece of a former college in north London, is such hot property. Spanning over 8,000sqft – over twice the size of a generous Georgian townhouse – this Grade II Listed building has surveyed the surrounding area of Mill Hill Village from the [...]
Invesco Real Estate and Aareal Bank AG agree a lending facility of up to €1bn December 5, 2016 Invesco Real Estate and Aareal Bank AG have agreed a loan facility of up to €1bn over a 10 year period, one of the biggest loans sealed in the real estate sector this year. The loan will be used to grow Invesco Real Estate's European portfolio, which already comprises €3bn worth of investments, and it can be [...]
House prices are already shooting up along the Elizabeth line December 5, 2016 Property prices along the much-anticipated Elizabeth line – formerly known as Crossrail – are already shooting up. Average house prices near the stations along the route have up gone up by 22 per cent over the last two years, according to research by Lloyds Bank, even though the line won't be fully-functioning until the end [...]
This is why Purplebricks’ share price is up 20 per cent December 5, 2016 Purplebricks' share price has shot up 19 per cent this morning after the company announced a total revenue growth of 159 per cent. The figures The estate agents reported a UK gross profit of £10.2m for the six months ending 31 October, up from £4.1m during the same period last year. UK revenues grew from [...]
Building more homes will not solve London’s housing crisis – here’s why December 5, 2016 Let's be clear, the housing crisis is not a crisis just because there is a shortage in housing. It's a crisis because there is a real problem with our access to affordable housing and not enough is being done about it. London homes are the second most over-priced in the world, according to a recent [...]
Ownership of over 40,000 London properties shrouded in secrecy December 5, 2016 Thousands of London's properties are held by overseas companies registered in so-called secrecy havens, obscuring the details of their true ownership, a report out today has found. The report from Transparency International UK and Thomson Reuters identified 44,022 land titles owned by 23,653 overseas companies in Land Registry data. Of these, 91 per cent of companies, holding 40,098 of the land [...]
This housing chief thinks EU regulation protecting newts is holding back housebuilders December 4, 2016 Housebuiding in the UK is being held back by newts and other animals protected by EU regulation, one leading housebuilder has said. John Tutte, chief executive of housebuilder Redrow, has said that "we haven't got a shortage" of great-crested newts. But, due to shortages in places such as Spain, the amphibians are protected by EU [...]