Guy Hands’ Terra Firma is set to battle with buyout behemoths for Network Rail railway arches properties March 1, 2018 Guy Hands, one of the UK’s most well-known buyout firm bosses, is set to make a £1bn swoop for Network Rail’s commercial property portfolio. Hands’s private equity firm, Terra Firma, will be battling against giants such as Blackstone, the billionaire Pears family’s Telereal Trillium and funds associated with Goldman Sachs, Sky News has reported, as [...]
Property gloom is not really justified February 28, 2018 The amount of construction going on in the City of London makes the British capital look like a boomtown. Yet, following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, the market has been distinctly downbeat on the value of London office space and the share prices of London-listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) has collapsed. [...]
UK mortgage lending rose in January February 26, 2018 Mortgage lending jumped in January as buyers raced to get ahead of looming interest rate rises – but mortgages for house purchase fell sharply. Borrowers took out mortgages worth £21.9bn in January, up 9.8 per cent on the same month the year before, according to data from UK Finance. However, while the number of people [...]
Arbuthnot Latham has poached a Shawbrook managing director to run its new asset-based lending division February 26, 2018 Arbuthnot Latham, the historic City private bank, has poached a managing director from Shawbrook Bank to run its new asset-based lending division. Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending, which launches today headed by Tim Hawkins, will specialise in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-cap businesses. Confidential invoice discounting will be its core offering, [...]
Easyjet’s billionaire founder has launched fintech platform Easymoney offering an Innovative Finance Isa February 24, 2018 Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the billionaire who founded low-cost airline Easyjet, has today launched a financial services business called Easymoney in the UK. Haji-Ioannou said the fintech platform’s first product, an Isa targeting a 4.05 per cent annual interest rate, that will “take on the big boys” and offer something new. “Financial services in the UK [...]
Opinion: London’s buyers market is a consequence of estate agents irresponsibly over-pricing properties February 23, 2018 The average London home is now sold at 4 per cent below its original asking price, according to the Hometrack Cities Index, up from just 0.5 per cent in 2014. Many are taking it as a sign that homeowners are desperately discounting their homes in an effort to sell, and that the capital has now [...]
Holiday Homes: Get away from the chaos of Chamonix and find a quieter ski retreat in Le Grand-Bornand February 23, 2018 The Alpine towns of Courchevel and Val d’Isere, are as well known for their nightlife as their pistes, but if you’re more interested in skiing than apré-ski it’s worth checking out the quieter French resorts. Le Roc des Tours, France, from €195,833 One hidden gem is Le Grand-Bornand, a picture-postcard area in the Haute-Savoie region, [...]
Commodity outlook in the Year of the Dog February 23, 2018 We are now in the Chinese Year of the Dog. With China being the main driver of commodity markets – and Britain’s blue chip miners enjoying a long bull run – what is the outlook for commodities for the rest of the year? China’s seemingly insatiable desire for commodities will slow. The country is seeking [...]
Billionaire’s paradise: Ever wanted to own a private island in the Caribbean? Here’s your chance to be the Branson of the Bahamas. February 21, 2018 When asked what they would do if they had all the money in the world, most people put buying a private island at the top of the list. Sadly, these dreams usually go unrealised, because most people aren’t eye-wateringly rich, and because even if they were, they rarely come up for sale. It’s especially rare [...]
The risers and fallers of London boroughs ranked on house price growth as wider UK demand remains robust February 19, 2018 Housing demand remains resilient fuelling "cautious optimism" among new sellers in most regions of the UK, according to a new report fromRightmove. Average asking prices were up by 0.8 per cent (£2,414) this month, with all regions but one recording the price of newly-marketed property rising this month. The south west was "a very marginal [...]