Falling rents delay plans at Cheesegrater August 15, 2008 Analysts yesterday said they were not surprised by British Land’s decision to postpone the development of its flagship City skyscraper, the “Cheesegrater”. The developer, which saw the value of its portfolio slide by 5 per cent to £6.3bn in the three months to June, said it now expects the 225 metre tower in the heart [...]
Suite returns: why it’s a good time to check yourself into the hotel industry August 14, 2008 Hotel rooms are one area of property investing that are bucking the credit crunch, writes Timothy Barber If we’re thinking positive, the slowing economy presents an opportunity to get a bit creative with investments. The alternative asset market has become more and more prominent in 2008 as investors look for areas offering stable returns in [...]
The shape of things to come August 14, 2008 Government rules on green homes mean that eco-houses are coming. It’s time to get used to the idea, says Alex Delmar-Morgan Nobody denies that if the world heats up, we will have to change the way we live, build and get around. As recently as five years ago, phrases like “global warming” and “carbon emissions” [...]
Grainger cuts costs to ride out the gloom August 13, 2008 Residential property company Grainger said yesterday it had sold £122m of assets and is slashing costs as it hunkers down to ride out the credit crunch. Shares in the listed company, which owns and manages more than 20,000 properties in Britain and Germany, edged up nine per cent as the firm outlined measures to cut [...]
Property fillip for Mapeley August 12, 2008 Property outsourcing and investment firm Mapeley bucked the trend in the battered property market and saw its funds from operations (FFO) rise 129 per cent to £63.1m yesterday. The firm, which counts HM Revenue & Customs as one of its clients, posted the large rise in funds from operations – a key measure that demonstrates [...]
Halifax piles on woe August 8, 2008 The drip feed of bad news for the property market continued yesterday when Britain’s biggest lender Halifax revealed that house prices have fallen back to mid-2006 levels. House prices are now 8.8 per cent lower than they were this time last year, Halifax said, with an average home in Britain costing £21,733 less than July [...]
Quintain cuts Wembley jobs August 6, 2008 Developer Quintain unveiled plans to slash costs yesterday, saying it was cutting jobs at its Wembley project and will pay no dividend for up to two years. The property company, which is redeveloping the 85 acres surrounding the north London Wembley stadium into a large retail, leisure and residential scheme, said it was axing over [...]
More pain for homes August 1, 2008 The clouds gathering over the housing market darkened yesterday when Britain’s biggest building society reported the biggest annual drop in house prices since records began. Mortgage lender Nationwide said property values were now 8.1 per cent less than last year ago, almost a £15,000 decrease. The average cost of a home in Britain is now [...]
Buying property on a golf course can be an above par investment July 31, 2008 Look to the States or Morocco for a sporting second home, writes Alex Delmar-Morgan As the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale reached its nail-biting conclusion recently, with Irishman Padraig Harrington pipping veteran Aussie Greg Norman to win the claret jug, many around the country were surely visualising themselves ambling round a gold-course, driver in hand, [...]
Crosby review fails to please industry July 30, 2008 Property industry experts yesterday sharply criticised the government commissioned Crosby report on the crippled state of the mortgage market for failing to take immediate action to relieve the problem. In his interim report, published yesterday afternoon, Sir James Crosby, the former boss of HBOS, said the mortgage markets would remain jammed another three years, possibly [...]