Bullhorn’s Art Papas explains why a good deal isn’t all about the money October 3, 2016 Four years ago I was approached by several private equity (PE) firms intent on investing in my company. Bullhorn’s valuation was higher than it had ever been. However, the decision to partner with a financial sponsor was more about enabling our strategic vision for the business than realising a financial goal. As companies get bigger, [...]
Landlords threaten to hike rents after tax changes kick in October 1, 2016 Landlords have claimed they will be forced to raise rents as a result of the government's string of tax changes and crackdowns on the buy to let sector. A new survey also revealed private sector landlords will not be able to invest as much in improving their properties as a result of the extra charges [...]
Nationwide house price index: House prices grew 0.3 per cent in September but growth slowed on an annual basis September 30, 2016 House prices increased by 0.3 per cent in September, according to the Nationwide house price index. Data for the month revealed that annual house price growth slowed to 5.3 per cent, down from 5.6 per cent in August. The rate of price growth in London slowed to 7.1 per cent in the three months to [...]
Focus On Camberwell: The area’s cool neighbours and artistic connections make up for the lack of Tube September 29, 2016 Gentrification is taken to be a fairly modern concept; the word conjures up images of property developers covertly following artists home to scout out the area for substantial profit. In fact, the Victorians have been at it ever since the first railways began connecting previously far-flung districts to the capital and Camberwell was one of [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond to close Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme at end of 2016 September 29, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond has confirmed that he will be closing the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme at the end of this year. In a letter to Bank of England governor Mark Carney, he said the scheme's purpose has been "successfully achieved" and he will close it to new loans at the end of 2016. [...]
The number of mortgage completions made through Help to Buy fell year-on-year in June September 29, 2016 The number of mortgage completions made with the government's Help to Buy scheme has fallen by eight per cent year-on-year in June, according to figures from the Treasury. Completions made through Help to Buy reached 3,118, a monthly increase of 27 per cent. Read more: Government Help to Buy Scheme under fire over deposit clauses [...]
Brexit isn’t a Woolworths moment for commercial property in the City September 28, 2016 In the days following the EU referendum, I found myself looking back to one of the seminal moments of 2008: images showing hundreds of Woolworths shops closing their doors for the final time. At that point, no other event seemed to better illustrate the effects of the global financial crisis on the UK high street. With hindsight, [...]
Why more private developers are looking to buy up the air rights above your building and make a fortune September 28, 2016 It isn’t hard to find a property expert claiming the future of the London housing market is up in the air. But there’s a growing band of developers who agree with them, albeit in a more literal sense. Smaller housebuilders have to get creative when looking for viable development opportunities, and for an ambitious few, [...]
The EU Commission has opened an in-depth probe into the massive London Stock Exchange – Deutsche Borse merger September 28, 2016 The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation in to whether the planned £21bn merger between Deutsche Borse AG (DB) and London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) would reduce competition in financial markets. The proposed merger would combine the exchanges of Germany, the UK and Italy, as well as several of the largest European clearing houses, and create by [...]
Zoopla wants to bring property investment to the masses with a new “Invest” channel September 26, 2016 Housing portal Zoopla is making the move into property investment by allowing customers to invest as little as £100 into the market. The website is known for being an online shop-window for property buyers, but has teamed up with lending platform Landbay to provide a service for investors. Customers will be able to fund buy-to-let [...]