Hotel investment tops £1bn in bumper start to year April 1, 2026 UK hotels attracted more than £1bn investment in the first quarter of this year, as the sector defies business rate rises and market uncertainty caused by the Iran war. Hotel investment volume surpassed £1.1bn in the first three months of the year, marking a 63 per cent increase on the £680m recorded in the same [...]
Rightmove accused of ‘bullying’ estate agents in £1.5bn legal battle April 1, 2026 Property giant Rightmove has been accused of “bullying” its members into making payments, as hundreds of estate agents support a £1.5bn legal claim against the firm. The FTSE 100 company has been accused of charging excessive and unfair fees to the estate agents and new home developers that used its property listing portal as part [...]
Berkeley shares plummet as it ‘pulls up drawbridge’ and stops buying land April 1, 2026 Shares in leading housebuilder Berkeley plummeted on Wednesday after it paused housebuilding to protect its balance sheet against an “unprecedented increase in cost and regulation”. The firm’s share price fell by more than 17 per cent shortly after markets opened, to a decade low, leaving the stock down 28 per cent this year at 2,832p. [...]
Steele Raymond Expands Central South Footprint With Williams Thompson Acquisition, Continuing Ambitious, Demand-led Growth Strategy April 1, 2026 Steele Raymond has acquired Williams Thompson, the long-established Christchurch, Dorset law firm, strengthening Steele Raymond’s presence across the region and expanding the specialist support available to clients in Christchurch and the surrounding area. Williams Thompson has a respected local reputation for family, residential property and private client work. Its lawyers will join Steele Raymond’s existing [...]
Ukraine is turning West in its economic thinking April 1, 2026 Ukraine and Russia once shared a Soviet system but are now moving in opposite directions. One is becoming more aligned with the economic values of Western democracies; the other remains rooted in a tradition of state control, says Rainer Zitelmann A quiet but consequential shift is underway in Eastern Europe. While geopolitical attention has focused [...]
Exclusive: Databricks commits $850m in vote of confidence for UK tech March 31, 2026 Databricks is pouring more than $850m (£644m) into the UK over the next three years, City AM understands, in a major vote of confidence in Britain’s position as a European AI hub. The US data and AI group said it would quadruple its London office footprint with a new 137,000 sq ft headquarters in Fitzrovia, [...]
House prices pick up but property outlook remains ‘clouded’ March 31, 2026 House prices picked up in March as the property market gained traction after a slow start to the year, though experts warn the Iran war could “cloud” this momentum. The UK’s house prices rose by 2.2 per cent year on year in March, up from one per cent growth in the year to February, as [...]
On this day: The death of JP Morgan March 31, 2026 Today in 1913, John Pierpoint Morgan died in Rome having saved the United States from financial catastrophe not once but twice, writes Eliot Wilson Today in 1913, in Rome’s Grand Plaza Hotel, a 75-year-old American died in his sleep. He was a big man, 6’2” and heavyset, with sharp, unsettling eyes and a purple, swollen [...]
Mortgage approvals bounce back after two-year low March 30, 2026 Mortgage approvals have bounced back after slumping to a two-year low last month, suggesting the property market was regaining momentum before the Iran war shocked global markets. The number of approved mortgages for house purchases increased to 62,600 in February, up from the two-year low of 60,200 in January, according to the Bank of England. [...]
Housebuying demand falls as Iran war spikes mortgage rates March 30, 2026 Housebuying demand has fallen as Brits take a “wait and see” approach after the Iran war spiked mortgage rates and prompted lenders to take hundreds of deals off the market. Buyer enquiries were 13 per cent lower in March than a year ago, as mortgage rates climbed by an average of 0.4 per cent over [...]