The government’s assault on buy-to-let landlords is hurting tenants February 10, 2017 The bill for the government’s misguided war on buy-to-let is coming due. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said yesterday that rents are likely to rise by 25 per cent over the next five years, outpacing house price growth, as landlords pare back their portfolios and tenants are left to fight over a diminishing supply [...]
Revealed: London’s 40 first-time buyer hotspots February 9, 2017 Looking for a place to call your own in the capital is tough if you're a first-time buyer – although house price growth is lower, most places are still out of reach. But new research has listed the 40 areas in London where first-time buyers are still thriving, with prices in some of the most [...]
“Really, is that it?” – reactions to the government’s housing white paper February 7, 2017 In the year that the US President signed an executive order to build a wall, UK politicians got together to write a housing paper that was lacking in concrete ideas. There were some general indicators of where the government is going on housing, however. Here's how the property industry reacted: On the lack of content [...]
Here’s how much you need to save each month if you want to buy a home in London in the next four years February 2, 2017 If you're a first-time buyer in London hoping to get yourself somewhere to call home in the next four years, look away now – for a new study has suggested the average first-time buyer should be saving £2,300 each month if they want to buy a house in the capital by 2021. Yikes. The National Housing [...]
Why Tesco could be better off leaving Booker on the shelf February 1, 2017 The stock market’s initial reaction to takeover deals can often be a poor indicator of how those deals work out. Just look at the market’s sceptical response to Sainsbury’s purchase of Argos owner Home Retail Group as a recent example. Now we have another unexpected deal in the supermarket sector with Tesco bidding to take [...]
How to buy a classic car: The Ferrari 328 GTS is a sound investment and a surprisingly sensible classic January 30, 2017 Welcome to the first in an occasional series of classic car reviews. We’ll highlight some of London’s most desirable used cars, classics that are great to drive and likely to offer a healthy return on investment. And where better to start than with one of motoring’s blue-chip brands? Ferraris make up seven out of the [...]
The NASDAQ of advertising: Reprogramming programmatic with Infectious Media January 30, 2017 About 10 years ago, programmatic advertising was but a twinkle in the eye of some Silicon Valley bods, determined to bring about a sea change to digital advertising transactions. They were unaware, perhaps, of the flood that opening this sluice would bring to AdLand, nor the landscape that would remain when the new tide washed [...]
Retail M&A slowdown as private equity backs away from high street January 30, 2017 The value of UK retail mergers sunk to a three-year low in 2016, with just 36 mergers agreed – down from 47 in 2015 according to law firm RPC. The new figures released today suggest that total deal values have also slumped from £20.7bn down to just £4.7bn, a decline which outpaced a post-Brexit slowdown [...]
More than 12 offers on the table for Agent Provocateur January 29, 2017 At least a dozen offers have been made for troubled lingerie brand Agent Provocateur, according to sources familiar with the chain's owner. Private equity company 3i put the retailer up for sale this month following disappointing December trading. The firm is seeking an offer which exceeds the brand's £30m debt pile. Sources close to the [...]
Opinion: Considering buying a place above a shop? Don’t do it unless you’ve thought about these factors first January 27, 2017 Whether high street or side street, look up above any shop-lined street in the capital and you are bound to see apartments. Accessed by narrow doors tucked between the various operators, these spaces are proving an increasingly tempting living proposition. More and more, we are seeing developers turning the ground floor of their new schemes [...]