Countrywide shares just hit an all-time low after it warned on its earnings November 24, 2016 As if Countrywide didn't have a bad enough day yesterday after Philip Hammond's decision to ditch letting fees, today shares in the UK's largest estate agent hit an all-time low following a decidedly downbeat assessment of the property market. In a statement this morning the company, which owns estate agent brands including Hamptons International and Bairstow [...]
Nic London says government planning procedures are impeding small housebuilders November 24, 2016 Figures released earlier this month show that nearly 200,000 homes were added to the housing stock in 2015-16 – a good start to delivering the 1m homes the government has pledged this parliament. But more needs to be done if we’re going to continue to build enough houses for our burgeoning population, and we will [...]
Stock market winners and losers after Autumn Statement: Estate agents hit after chancellor scraps letting fees November 23, 2016 Estate agents Foxtons, appear to have been the biggest losers from the Autumn Statement on the stock exchange today after chancellor Philip Hammond announced plans to scrap letting agents’ fees. Estate agents: losers Foxtons' share price fell 14 per cent to 105pon the day of the Autumn Statement. The estate agent’s shares were already down [...]
Architect Daniel Libeskind on returning to Poland to reshape its skyline, NYC’s World Trade Center masterplan, and President-elect Trump November 23, 2016 To Daniel Libeskind, architecture is a political act. Every building he creates is intertwined with a sense of place, culture and national identity. “Every project deserves a sensitivity to history, tradition, to something that isn’t completely visible to the naked eye, in terms of the spirit of the place,” he tells me. “There is no [...]
Estate agent and housebuilder shares are being demolished after the Autumn Statement November 23, 2016 Shares in some of the UK's biggest estate agents dived today ahead of the Autumn Statement, in which the chancellor is expected to scrap fees for letting agents. Foxtons' share price was down a whopping 14.8 per cent at 104.5p in mid-afternoon trading, after Philip Hammond scrapped letting agents' fees, saying landlords should pay instead. [...]
Soho House has unveiled an online interiors business – we catch up with Jayne Demuro, the brains behind the project November 23, 2016 If you’re one of the 30,000 people currently on a waiting list for membership of Soho House, there may be an easier way to bask in the studied cool of its private members’ clubs. The worldwide hospitality brand launched an online retail business this summer that aims to ‘bring the House home’. Your home, specifically. [...]
Claudio Silvestrin, architect to Kanye West and Calvin Klein, unveils his newest project in Hampstead, north London November 23, 2016 This brand new, ultra-contemporary mansion looks like it belongs in the sunny peaks of the Hollywood Hills. In fact, it’s nestled away in a quiet, exclusive corner of Hampstead, but its starry aesthetic is the creation of an award-winning architect who’s used to bringing the lavish home-stylings of the rich and famous to life. Claudio [...]
Getting ready to decorate this year? Well it’s time to get serious about your bauble game November 23, 2016 If you enjoy idly browsing the shelves of high street stores, you have American entrepreneur Frank Woolworth to thank. The 19th century dime-store magnate pioneered the practice of self-service shopping, whereby customers can handle goods without the assistance of a clerk. Woolworth also enforced the idea of fixed pricing, rather than haggling, as the common [...]
From Charles Rennie Mackintosh to Renzo Piano: how top architects have helped to reinvent the chair November 23, 2016 Architects have been adding chairs and other items of furniture to their design repertoire since the beginning of the 19th century. The relationships and similarities are often surprising, and raise some interesting questions. What is it that distinguishes a chair designed by an architect, rather than a furniture designer? Why would an architect want to [...]
Hammond says landlords should pay letting agents fees November 23, 2016 Landlords should pay letting agents fees, chancellor Philip Hammond said in his first Autumn Statement today. "We’ve seen these fees spiral despite our attempts to regulate them," Hammond said, confirming that the government will ban letting agents fees. Read more: Hammond pledges more than £1bn for broadband and 5G “I can announce today that we [...]