WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 18, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES UKRAINE’S RICHEST MAN SNAPS UP A WINDOW ON HYDE PARK FOR £136M Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, has bought the UK’s most expensive flat at the One Hyde Park residential development in London’s Knightsbridge. Akhmetov was behind the purchase of the penthouse, which sold for £136.6m. The identities of buyers at One Hyde [...]
Levene waits for Lloyds sale April 13, 2011 PLANS to sell off more Lloyds Bank branches than the 600 already agreed could cause unhelpful delays to the launch of new banks, Lord Levene told City A.M. yesterday. Levene, who chairs new high street bank NBNK, said it would be “very keen” to bid for a bigger package of Lloyds assets if they were [...]
Prices soar, but don’t sell the family silver any time soon April 11, 2011 LAST week saw silver break the $40 a troy ounce barrier for the first time since 1980. Though contracts for difference (CFD) traders may be getting wide eyed about the potential for $50 silver prices, they should be cautious about setting their sights too high. In common with gold, flight into silver is primarily driven [...]
KROENKE CLOSES IN April 11, 2011 IT’S ALMOST four years to the day that American businessman Stan Kroenke first took a financial interest in Arsenal, but only now are the club’s supporters fully aware of his intentions with confirmation of a takeover bid set to be announced today. Kroenke, 63, first became involved with the north London club back in 2007 [...]
House prices continue to drop in the first-quarter April 6, 2011 THE cost of housing fell by 0.6 per cent during the first-quarter of 2011, marking the property market’s fourth consecutive quarterly decrease in prices, it was yesterday revealed. Research by the Halifax House Price Index showed an average reduction of 2.9 per cent for the first three months of 2011 in comparison to the same [...]
PAINFUL TRANSITION FOR HOUSING MARKET March 31, 2011 BRITAIN’S housing market is undergoing a “painful transition” in adapting to weaker credit conditions, Bank of England rate-setter David Miles said yesterday. Demand for housing is lagging following the end of “unsustainable” levels of mortgage debt availability, Miles said. Speaking at the Home Builders Federation conference, Miles said that first-time buyers would adapt to save [...]
SELLING March 31, 2011 Martin Bikhit MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PRIME CENTRAL LONDON ESTATE AGENCY KAY & CO. Q. I have had three agents value my home. Two were around the same level but one was much higher. What shall I do? A. It is always very tempting to go for the highest valuation. However, it might not be the [...]
PROPERTY NEWS March 31, 2011 PYRENEES SECOND HOMES PRICES SET TO SOAR A new flight path from London City to Pau, France is getting property agents excited. Andrew Hawkins of Chesterton Humberts says: “This will make the already popular area more accessible, making it more attractive for buyers.” Prices there are currently lower than Provence and the Cote D’Azur, so [...]
House prices turn upwards in London yet continue to slump in rest of the UK March 30, 2011 LONDON is the first UK region to register a rise in house prices for eight months, the Hometrack monthly national housing survey announced today. While prices across the UK fell by 0.1 per cent in March, in the capital they rose by 0.2 per cent. The upturn was driven by a 25 per cent increase [...]
Rambourg is cleared after probe by FSA March 29, 2011 A YEAR ago today Guillaume Rambourg was sitting pretty in Gartmore’s Fenchurch Street offices. He was among the firm’s standout performers and one of the brightest stars in the City’s glittering constellation. Alongside Roger Guy, co-head of European hedge funds, he was responsible for more than 20 per cent of Gartmore’s £21bn investment portfolio. By [...]