Student housing giant Unite faces £400m loss amid property value slump Property Unite Students has plunged to a more-than £400m loss after being hit by a £500m revaluation of its properties and “extremely challenging” building costs. The UK’s largest student landlord slumped to a £417m pre-tax loss in the six months to June, reversing a £186m profit the year before, as its earnings slipped by two per [...]
UK economy grows despite Iran war hit Economics The UK economy grew marginally in May after strong performance in parts of the services sector helped soften the impact of Iran war and narrowly prevented a contraction. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed the economy grew 0.1 per cent in May, broadly in line with market expectations. The services [...]
UK economy tipped to stall as Iran war chokes growth Economics The UK’s economy is expected to stall another month as the Iran war continues to choke growth and some industries face slowing output. Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to have slipped again by 0.1 per cent in May, according to some economists. The UK’s growth update, delivered by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) [...]
Construction sector cuts jobs again as house building slumps July 6, 2026 The construction industry shed jobs for the 18th consecutive month in June following “sharp declines” in house building and a slowdown in new home sales. The latest S&P Global Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) for the construction sector showed more cutbacks to employment with another period of “sustained job shedding”. Subcontractors were also hit by the [...]
London councils won’t be able to sue their way to more homes being built June 25, 2026 Last week I asked the chief executive of one of the country’s largest housing developers to sum up the state of housebuilding in London, and the answer was “dire.” If I’d allowed two words I suspect one of them would have been unprintable. The situation is so disastrous that Sadiq Khan was forced to lower [...]
Housebuilder Bellway warns mortgage rate hikes dampening housing demand June 9, 2026 Bellway has said that recent rises to mortgage rates as a result of the Iran war are dampening demand for housing, on top of rising building cost inflation due to the conflict. The FTSE 250 housebuilder said it has seen a “moderation” in customer demand in April and May, bringing an end to a “positive” [...]
Balfour Beatty emerges from US oversight scheme after fraud against military June 8, 2026 There was a “landmark moment” for FTSE 250 firm Balfour Beatty on Monday, with the announcement that its US subsidiary emerged from special scrutiny from the Department of Justice (DoJ). The news came as both a reminder of the global reach of London’s major support services sector and the pitfalls it can face from complex, [...]
‘Dire’: Rapid decline in construction as sector slashes jobs June 4, 2026 A rapid decline in construction companies’ activity has forced bosses to cut employment, according to new data. S&P Global’s construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed that business activity declined at the fastest pace for six years. Putting the pandemic aside, the decline in construction output was the lowest since March 2009. The PMI reading was [...]
Watchdog slaps BDO with £2m fine over serious audit failings May 28, 2026 Accountancy giant BDO and the former head of its London audit group have been slapped with sanctions by the accounting industry watchdog over its work on the construction engineering firm NMCN. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) imposed sanctions on the firm and its former partner, Geraint Jones, for significant and serious breaches during the 2019 [...]
‘Downright offensive’: Southwark council slammed for blocking 900 homes May 19, 2026 Southwark council has been blasted for celebrating the blocking of an 867-home development on the site of a Peckham shopping centre. The local authority hailed a “great day for Peckham” after housebuilder Berkeley failed to overturn a ruling against the development, which would have delivered retail, leisure and commercial space alongside the hundreds of homes. [...]