Lloyds eyes 50,000 homes in push to become UK’s largest landlord August 19, 2021 Lloyds Banking Group is eyeing up buying 50,000 homes in the next decade to let out to renters as it pushes to become one of the UK’s largest landlords, according to reports. Reports in the Financial Times say Lloyds has launched the Citra Living brand in a bid to move into the private rental market. [...]
UK’s biggest pub chain Stonegate to promote Spanish football after agreeing deal with LaLiga to show its matches in 100 pubs August 18, 2021 The UK’s biggest pub group, Stonegate, has struck a deal with Spanish football league LaLiga to show and promote its matches. Stonegate will showcase the LaLigaTV channel, which broadcasts all live games and recently announced Gary Lineker as a presenter, in almost 100 key pubs including its London-based Sports Bar and Grill chain. The move [...]
Persimmon forward sales up 9 per cent from pre-pandemic levels August 18, 2021 Housebuilding business Persimmon reported a 64 per cent leap in profits in the six months to June 30th, posting £480.1m in earnings up from £292.4m in the same period last year. The company expects a “good” forward sales of £2.23bn, up 9 per cent compared to £2.05bn from the same period in 2019. Forward sales [...]
Franco Manca’s Fulham Shore eyes expansion despite sliding revenue August 17, 2021 Hospitality group Fulham Shore, which owns Franco Manca, has seen its annual revenue nearly sliced in half due to the restrictions on restaurants for most of the year. The group pulled in £40.3m in revenue in the year to 28 March, after it had plunged 41.3 per cent from the £68.6m it raked in last [...]
The City will bounce back: Royal Exchange owners on the future of retail August 17, 2021 Is London over? There are plenty of doom-mongers ready to make that case after the pandemic flipped the world on its head. But for answers, it helps sometimes simply to follow the money. Two new skyscrapers approved recently for the City of London and occupancy increasing at pre-existing buildings like 22 Bishopsgate bode well. And [...]
Boxpark CEO: ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity for expansion August 17, 2021 Boxpark CEO Roger Wade has said the post-lockdown property market offers a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to expand. The founder of the food and leisure park concept told CityA.M. it was the “best time to expand” in London as there had been a “major clear out” of hospitality businesses and many empty spaces available. [...]
HSBC buy Axa’s Singapore operations in bid to boost Asia fee income August 16, 2021 HSBC has agreed to acquire Axa’s Singapore operations in a bid to boost its fee incomes in the Asia market. HSBC said in a statement that the combined unit comprising HSBC Life Singapore and Axa Singapore would be the seventh-largest life insurer and the fourth-largest retail health insurer in Singapore. HSBC currently ranks 10th in [...]
London’s newly-listed LendInvest scores £150m partnership with Barclays and HSBC August 16, 2021 Property finance asset manager LendInvest has announced a £150m lending collaboration with two of Britain’s biggest banks, just weeks after its £255m IPO on London’s AIM index. The new tie-up is geared towards financing UK property entrepreneurs and will see the British banks provide funding for short-term mortgages through LendInvest’s digital platform. It’s the first [...]
The future of the office: How one property firm is using virtual reality to create the new normal August 16, 2021 The future of the office has never been more richly discussed. For all the benefits of flexible working, most firms seem determined to bring people back in to reap the benefits of collaboration and creativity. But the co-founder of one property firm, Kitt, is determined to make sure that when we get back to the [...]
Rightmove: First monthly dip in UK house prices this year recorded in August August 16, 2021 The average price tag on a home dipped by just over £1,000 this month. Across the UK, the average asking price in August was £337,371, down by 0.3 per cent or £1,076 compared with July, Rightmove data out this morning shows. It marked the first monthly fall in the average price of property coming to [...]