Property giants suffer £2.7bn write-down after retail values plunge July 1, 2019 Britain’s biggest landlords suffered a £2.7bn write-down in the value of their investment properties in the last 12 months, as a sharp downturn in the retail sector sent shockwaves throughout the property industry. Real estate giants including Intu, British Land and Land Securities nursed significant losses in the overall value of their assets last year [...]
City Moves for 1 July – Who’s switching jobs at BT, Apex Airspace and Lewis Silkin? July 1, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes BT, Apex Airspace and Lewis Silkin. BT BT Group has announced that Leena Nair will be joining as a non-executive director and as a member of the Remuneration Committee, the Nominations Committee and the Digital Impact & Sustainability Committee. Leena is joining BT from Unilever, where she has been chief human resources [...]
Focus On Canary Wharf: there’s more than just money in E14 June 28, 2019 Most parts of London have had their ups and downs, but few areas have experienced shifts as seismic or profound as Canary Wharf. With the advent of the London Docklands, it went from being uncultivated marshland to the site of the world’s largest port. Following the docks’ closure in 1960, Canary Wharf became an economic [...]
DEBATE: Should London follow Berlin and introduce rent freezing? June 28, 2019 Should London follow Berlin and introduce rent freezing? Gina Miller, founding partner at SCM Direct, says YES. I appreciate that many economists say rent control forces rent down, which can lead to landlords reducing the stock of rental property. But as the economics professor Richard Arnott has stated: “real-world rent control, at least in its [...]
Oxford University strikes £4bn partnership with Legal & General June 27, 2019 Legal & General has signed a £4bn partnership deal with Oxford University in its latest bid to tap into the growing market of student accommodation. The property giant has struck a 10-year partnership with the country’s oldest university as part of a plan to deliver 1000 subsidised home for university and college staff, 1000 units [...]
Greene King posts robust sales growth despite fall in profit after summer washout June 27, 2019 Pub chain operator Greene King has posted a robust rise in sales for the full year, despite a slump in profit and the impact of unseasonable weather in the first eight weeks. The figures Group revenue rose 1.8 per cent to £2.2bn in the 52 weeks to the end of April. Pre-tax profit dropped 12.5 [...]
Pizza Express losses widen amid strain on casual dining sector June 26, 2019 Pizza Express has reported hefty losses for the full year as it battles with increased competition in the casual dining sector. The restaurant chain posted a loss of £55.8m in 2018, an increase of more than 40 per cent from £31.6m the previous year. Read more: China expansion and UK troubles take slice out of [...]
UK property market: Mortgage approvals dip from 26-month April high June 26, 2019 The number of residential mortgages approved by banks dipped last month, easing back from a 26-month high in April but remaining above the monthly average. Seasonally adjusted figures show that banks in Britain approved 42,384 house purchase mortgages in May, falling from roughly 42,900 in April but beating the consensus of 41,000. Read more: London [...]
DEBATE: Is the obsessive focus from politicians on increasing home ownership misguided? June 26, 2019 Is the obsessive focus from politicians on increasing home ownership misguided? Clive Docwra, managing director of McBains, says YES. Politicians are obsessed with home ownership, including both contenders for Prime Minister. Jeremy Hunt has put a new “right to own” policy at the heart of his bid, while Boris Johnson has backed replacing Help to [...]
Revealed: The top 10 most affordable London boroughs for first-time buyers June 25, 2019 The City of London is the least affordable London borough for first-time buyers, according to new research that has ranked the capital’s best and worst spots for hopeful homeowners. Hackney, Haringey, Brent and Camden joined the Square Mile as the five most unaffordable boroughs in London based on the net wage and time taken to [...]