City of London poised to step in over 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper “rights to light” battle March 9, 2016 The developers behind City skyscraper 22 Bishopsgate have called on the City of London for help fighting a fierce "rights to light" battle with neighbouring landlords that threatens to derail the scheme. AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets and Lipton Rogers have been locked in a row with its neighbours and campaign groups, who argue that the 62-storey tower overshadows their [...]
Zara owner Inditex to slow down store openings as consumers shift online March 9, 2016 Inditex shares rallied this morning after the world's largest fashion retailer posted a strong start to the year and said it will be slowing down the pace of store openings as consumers shop increasingly online. The Zara and Massimo Dutti owner said it plans to grow store space by six to eight per cent in the coming year compared with eight per cent [...]
Global house prices accelerate in 2015 as low interest rates help buyers shrug off economic concerns March 9, 2016 Concerns over the global economy has failed to dent buyer confidence as house price growth accelerated last year, new research shows. Knight Frank's global house price index increased by three per cent in 2015, up from 2.3 per cent the previous year, boosted by the low interest rate environment. “Forty-three of the 55 housing markets tracked in our global [...]
UK house prices: MPs show cross-party support for emerging build to rent sector March 9, 2016 Cross-party MPs have thrown their weight behind build to rent, with a survey released today showing that more than four in five support the sector as a means of tackling Britain's housing crisis. A new poll of 150 MPs, commissioned from ComRes by the British Property Federation (BPF), found that 91 per cent Conservative MPs and 71 per [...]
London Cocktail Club launches £750,000 crowdfunding campaign to open more bars March 8, 2016 London Cocktail Club is tapping margarita lovers and party-goers for £750,000 after launching a crowdfunding campaign to help fund more bar openings across the capital. The company, which counts restaurateur Raymond Blanc and Dragons Den judge Sarah Willingham among its backers, has turned to Crowdcube to raise new equity, with £135,000 raised so far. It currently has five basement [...]
Supermarkets abandon more schemes as pressure mounts on Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Tesco March 8, 2016 The number of developments ditched by Britain's supermarket titans has jumped since the first half of the year, with construction and planning applications also in decline, new research shows. Property advisory firm CBRE's latest analysis of the grocery property market shows that the number of abandoned schemes rose by 13.3 per cent in the second half of 2015. Proposed projects [...]
Pizza Express serves up strong half-year sales as it ramps up expansion March 8, 2016 Pizza Express sales have jumped by 15.9 per cent over the last six months, boosted by new menu launches and its expansion both in the UK and abroad. The chain, which was sold to Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital in 2014 for £900m, said turnover grew to £267.2m in the 28 weeks to 10 January compared with [...]
UK house prices: More than £63bn properties have been bought using cash instead of mortgages since 2011 March 8, 2016 More than £63bn has been spent on £1m-plus homes over the last five years by buyers using hard cash as opposed to mortgages, new figures show. High net worth adviser Bower Private Clients said 7,200 homes worth more than £1m are being bought on average each year alone without the help of a mortgage. This is [...]
Burberry’s share price jumps as mystery investor shops at the luxury group March 8, 2016 Burberry lead the FTSE 100 this morning after reports last night that a mystery investor has built up a five per cent stake in the luxury goods company. Regulatory filings show that the shareholder's stake went over the five per cent disclosure threshold on 11 February, with HSBC acting on behalf of the investor. A separate [...]
Neighbourhood drones, virtual reality tours and holograms: Here are five ways we will be buying property by 2025 March 8, 2016 Dashing across town to visit a property for sale after work? According to trend analysts, The Future Laboratory, the days of paying a physical visit will be long gone by 2025 and replaced by virtual reality devices such a holograms instead. The report, commissioned by online estate agent easyProperty, has predicted several ways that buying, selling and redecorating [...]
