Undercover landlords: One in six renters sublet their home but a third keep it under wraps February 24, 2016 Rents as well as house prices may be rising but tenants are not missing a trick, with more than one in six admitting to having sublet their home, new research today shows. Insurance provider Direct Line for Business said 17 per cent of tenants surveyed said they have rented out part or all of their property to someone [...]
Soaring university student admissions helps housing provider Unite stay ahead of the game February 23, 2016 Investors piling into student housing and soaring university admissions helped one of the sector’s biggest property firms Unite Group deliver a leap in net asset value (NAV) and profits last year. The FTSE 250 company, which owns 46,000 beds across the UK valued at £3.8bn, said EPRA earnings, the industry benchmark, leapt by 84 per [...]
London ranks 39th in the world for quality of living because of smog and traffic, says Mercer February 23, 2016 London may pride itself on being the world’s top financial centre. However the capital falls short in terms of quality of living, ranking just 39th according to Mercer’s latest annual study. The global consulting firm surveyed 450 cities worldwide based on 38 different factors such as the political and economic environment, public services and healthcare. [...]
London house prices: Londoners need a 266 per cent pay rise to be able to afford a property in the capital February 23, 2016 Londoners need a 266 per cent pay rise to be able to afford a mortgage on a home in the capital, a leading industry body has claimed, painting a bleak picture for prospective buyers. The National Housing Federation (NHF), which represents affordable housing providers, said the average London home now costs £526,085 – more than [...]
UK house prices: the number of mortgage products soars to eight-year high in January February 23, 2016 Fierce competition between lenders has seen the number mortgage products available to homebuyers balloon to a near-eight-year high in January, new figures show. The Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) has counted 17,132 products on the market in January, which is 34 per cent ahead of the 12,771 products available in January last year and the highest [...]
UK house prices: Homeowners rush to remortgage in January as activity reaches highest level in seven years February 23, 2016 Remortgaging activity has bounced back in January to reach its highest level in seven years as homeowners take advantage of a surge in mortgage products being offered at record low rates. Remortgage lending surged by 49 per cent to £6.2bn in January from £4.2bn in December and was 45 per cent ahead of the same [...]
Stella McCartney, Huge Boss and Yoox Net-a-Porter in talks to move to Stanhope and Mitsui’s White City Place February 22, 2016 Three leading fashion brands are in talks to move their London headquarters to new offices being developed inside the former BBC Media Village in White City, City A.M. understands. Designers Stella McCartney, Hugo Boss and online fashion website Yoox Net-a-Porter have separately approached developers Stanhope and Mitsui about taking office space inside White City Place. [...]
West End residential sales jump despite stamp duty fears, says CBRE February 22, 2016 CBRE said it has seen no let-up in demand for homes in London’s West End despite concerns over stamp duty reforms and that overseas demand may be slowing. A third of homes (33 per cent) sold by CBRE in the fourth quarter reached prices of more than £2,250 per square feet, which was 23 per [...]
Sainsbury’s expected to ask for more time over Home Retail Group bid as Christo Wiese’s Steinhoff International joins the party February 21, 2016 Sainsbury’s is expected to ask for an extension to tomorrow’s deadline for making a firm offer for Home Retail Group after a South African retail conglomerate waded in at the eleventh hour with a higher offer. The supermarket chain revealed earlier this month that it had reached an agreement with Home Retail over a possible cash [...]
Anglo American mulls sale of De Beers’ London headquarters as part of asset sell-off February 21, 2016 Anglo American is considering selling its diamond subsidiary De Beers’ headquarters in Farringdon as part of major cost-cutting plans revealed last week. The FTSE 100 miner posted a $5.4bn loss for 2015 – the largest in its history – prompting chief executive Mark Cutifani to set out an aggressive restructuring plan to boost its cash [...]
