Retail sales slow as consumer confidence now lower than horsemeat scandal April 12, 2022 Retail sales slowed last month as consumer confidence has taken a hit as shoppers feel the bite of rising cost inflation. According to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG, sales increased by 3.1 per cent in March. This was worse than a three-month average growth of 6.9 per cent. What’s more, retail [...]
Cladding repair bill hits £1.5bn as Redrow and Barratt latest builders to sign up to fire safety pledge April 6, 2022 The total cost for cladding works for the big nine listed housebuilders has hit £1.5bn, as London-listed firms sign up to a government fire safety pledge. According to analysis from AJ Bell, the country’s biggest builders are planning to set aside another £802m in total to tackle unsafe buildings in the wake of the Grenfell [...]
Energy giants fuel London indexes ahead of government white paper April 5, 2022 London’s top indexes were boosted by investors pouring into energy stocks yesterday ahead of the UK government publishing its much-awaited energy strategy. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index rose 0.72 per cent to 7,613.72 points, while the domesticall-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, edged 0.13 [...]
Housebuilders goose London indexes after dodging £4bn cladding bill April 4, 2022 Reports of the UK government footing most of the bill for fixing the cladding scandal strengthened sentiment toward London-listed housebuilders today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index added 0.28 per cent to reach 7,558.92 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed 0.53 [...]
Abrdn urges housebuilders to go further than legal requirements in coughing up cladding cash March 23, 2022 FTSE 100 asset manager Abrdn has called on housebuilders to do more than the bare minimum to foot the bill to fix blocks with unsafe cladding. According to a report from Sky News, the City investor has written a letter to big players in the construction sector, urging them to do more than they are [...]
Housebuilder shares boosted by fresh cladding estimate March 14, 2022 Housebuilders saw their share prices lifted on Monday after optimism that the bill foisted on developers for cladding remediations would be much lower than initially forecast. It had been thought that property firms would have to pay £4bn to rectify unsafe cladding on 11-18metre tower blocks. However, the potential bill was estimated to be closer [...]
Barratt boss confirms over 200 buildings fall under cladding safety review February 9, 2022 The boss of housebuilder Barratt has confirmed that more than 200 legacy properties fall within its safety review in a bid to fix the UK’s cladding crisis. Chief executive David Thomas said the company was in talks with government around its plans to get housebuilders to fork out the cash to undergo safety works on [...]
Housebuilders drag London markets down as investors flee stocks January 24, 2022 London markets took a beating yesterday driven lower by most sectors tumbling as investors fled stock markets on US Fed rate hike fears. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index closed 2.63 per cent lower at 7,297.15 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250, which is more aligned to the health of the UK economy, lost 3.64 [...]
Cladding suppliers shares tumble after Gove threat on remediation costs January 24, 2022 Building material manufacturers and property developers’ shares plummet on Monday morning as the government toughens up on firms unwilling to pay to fix unsafe homes. Housing secretary Michael Gove threatened a UK trading ban on manufacturers of combustible cladding and insulation in a letter to the Construction Products Association. In the letter, Gove said more [...]
Grenfell: Gove tells dodgy developers ‘we are coming for you’ as they’re forced to foot the bill for cladding crisis January 10, 2022 Michael Gove has sent a stark warning to property developers that have profited from installing dangerous cladding, like that was used in the Grenfell tower, telling them that “we are coming for you” as he unveils his plan to make them pay for cladding refurbishments across the UK. Gove told MPs today that the burden [...]