Housebuilder shares rocket after Burnham revives Help to Buy September 28, 2026 Housebuilder shares have soared after the Prime Minister announced a new Help to Buy scheme, which it is hoped will boost the UK’s construction sector. FTSE 100 housebuilders Persimmon and Barratt Redrow jumped 15 and 13 per cent in early trading, lifting the blue-chip index to early gains. FTSE 250-listed Vistry took the biggest jump [...]
I’m a property developer – here’s why I’m still building in London September 25, 2026 Today’s housing market is hampered by higher interest rates, build cost inflation, weaker sales and headlines about war in the Middle East and Ukraine. But residential development has always been about managing cycles: with many projects taking more than a decade from conception through planning, construction to handing over the key to new homes. Property [...]
Ministers back City skyscraper plans after Tower of London row September 24, 2026 Ministers have given the greenlight to plans that will allow skyscrapers to be built in the area surrounding the Tower of London, ruling that proposals set out by the City of London corporation will do enough to protect the site’s Unesco status. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said on Thursday he will withdraw his objections to [...]
Vistry takes £500m hit as new boss downsizes housebuilder September 24, 2026 Vistry has taken a nearly £500m hit to its value, as the beleaguered housebuilder’s new chief executive sets out drastic plans to downsize the firm to ensure its survival. Adam Daniels, the new boss of the FTSE 250 housebuilder, told shareholders on Thursday that his review into the group revealed that its assets were worth [...]
How mansion tax changes could triple the number of payers in suburban London September 22, 2026 When she introduced the measure in her October Budget, then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves told MPs her new mansion tax would “deal with a longstanding source of wealth inequality in our country.” Reeves promised that the new levy, set to cost as much as £7,500 for the highest-value homes, would raise more than £400m and would affect [...]
Property tax uncertainty causes London luxury rents to soar September 21, 2026 Uncertainty over how the government might shake up property taxes at next month’s Budget is contributing to huge increases in the cost of renting a luxury house in London. Luxury property experts said fears that Andy Burnham could crack down on high-value homes, along with an influx of demand from the US and the Middle [...]
London house price slowdown worsens as luxury areas lose value September 16, 2026 House prices losses in London accelerated in June as the capital’s most sought-after postcodes shed value again. The average house price in London dropped by 3.3 per cent in July to £550,000, worse than June’s 2.5 per cent fall, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The capital’s most affluent postcodes have suffered sharp [...]
Winkworth warns on profit citing family boardroom bust-up September 16, 2026 London estate agent Winkworth has warned on profits for the year ahead, citing the legal costs tied to a boardroom family feud that has led its chief executive to take his father to court. The Aim-listed company, which is one of the UK’s oldest estate agents and specialises in high-end properties in boroughs like Pimlico, [...]
Barratt Redrow hopes to defy housebuilding gloom by splashing cash September 15, 2026 As some of London’s listed housebuilders take emergency measures to cut costs amid rising building costs and stagnant demand for homes, one firm is splashing the cash. Barratt Redrow, which will announce its full-year numbers on Wednesday, defied the miserly approach taken by its rivals earlier this summer when it said it will buy back [...]
500m bricks ‘just sitting there’ as 1.5m homes target looms September 14, 2026 There are half a billion bricks lying unused in Britain, it has been revealed, piling fresh pressure on the government’s “stretch target” of building 1.5m homes by the next election. As many as 500,000,000 bricks – enough to build 50,000 homes – are “just sitting there” in factory yards across the country, the GMB Union [...]