UK house prices: Brexit clouds lift, but coronavirus threat looms March 6, 2020 UK house prices rose 2.8 per cent in February compared to the same month last year, Halifax data showed today. Homes’ values increased 0.3 per cent month on month and 2.9 per cent on a quarterly basis, Halifax’s House Price Index found. That left the average UK house price at £240,677 in February. But while [...]
Property of the Week: A Camden gothic mansion with ties to surrealist artist Nancy Fouts and Ally Pally March 6, 2020 Slip behind Mornington Crescent station in Camden, take the second left, and you’ll find yourself on Oakley Square. Walking alongside the manicured gardens, you’ll pass a row of stucco-fronted Georgian townhouses, identical save for the odd red door. When you get to the end of the block though, there’s a bit of a surprise. With [...]
Airbnb signs data sharing partnership with European Commission March 5, 2020 Airbnb has signed a data sharing partnership with the statistical office of the European Commission. The agreement with Eurostat will give European public authorities access to independently published data on short-term rentals on Airbnb. “The agreement will for the first time permit access to reliable data about holiday and other short-stay accommodation offered via these [...]
Aggressive hiring by US law firms in London winning market share March 5, 2020 The aggressive hiring pursued by US law firms in London is winning them market share at the expense of their UK rivals, research published today said. US law firms operating in the UK averaged 5.8 per cent lawyer headcount growth last year, according to the report from Thomson Reuters and Acritas. Demand for American law [...]
Property fund outflows slow as investors seek safe havens March 4, 2020 Property funds had their best performance since September 2018 as net outflows decreased to just £18m last month, down from £80m in January. In the final week of February, when global markets slumped as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, investors bought a net £24.6m of real estate funds according to Calastone’s Fund Flows Index. [...]
Intu shares plunge after it cans £1bn emergency cash call March 4, 2020 Shopping centre-owner Intu has cancelled an emergency fundraising after it was unable to persuade enough shareholders to put money into its business. Its shares crashed 38 per cent this morning to 6p following the announcement, before recovering to 9p – down 15 per cent on last night’s close. The company last month said it was [...]
Watchdog warns consumers over online travel agents March 3, 2020 Travellers can get a better deal by booking directly with hotels rather than through online travel agents, a consumer rights watchdog has found. The investigation found that eight out of 10 hotels were able to offer a better price or other incentives such as free breakfasts or upgrades when customers booked directly over the telephone. [...]
Short-term rentals firm Hostmaker heads for administration March 2, 2020 Hostmaker, a London-based lettings company, has entered administration. The company’s staff are now facing potential redundancy, while Houst — formerly known as Airsorted — is believed to have bought Hostmaker’s client base, according to industry website Shorttermrentalz. The news followed a week after the Sunday Times reported Hostmaker was facing a potential insolvency battle. Sign [...]
City workers snap up central London homes as Brexit uncertainty fades March 2, 2020 The number of City workers snapping up property in prime central London areas surged last year as the uncertainty surrounding Brexit began to clear, according to the latest research. The percentage of buyers from the financial services sector buying properties worth more than £2m jumped to 34.6 per cent of total sales in 2019, the [...]
Teddy Sagi’s Labtech sells Holborn Links Estate for £245m March 2, 2020 Labtech, the property investment firm owned by billionaire businessman Teddy Sagi, has completed the sale of Holborn Links Estate, which includes the historic Sicilian Avenue, for £245m. Investors Tristan Capital Partners and Cording Real Estate Group have bought the West End office and retail portfolio to capitalise on the opening of Crossrail stations at Tottenham [...]