Outlook 2018: Another good year for investors? December 14, 2017 As investors look ahead to a new year, they could be forgiven for wondering whether they will be as pleasantly surprised in 2018 as they were in 2017. A number of political worries on the horizon this time last year signally failed to materialise, including the likely shape of President Trump’s trade policies, the rise [...]
Heathrow Airport to unveil plans to deliver expansion “more responsibly and affordably” December 14, 2017 Heathrow has today announced it will unveil plans to deliver airport expansion “more responsibly and affordably”, with the launch of its planning consultation into its long-awaited new runway next month. The airport’s consultation, which is a separate one to the government’s on its airports national policy statement, will cover aspects such as airport design and [...]
The UK drove a recovery in European private equity activity this year as UK buyout value doubled, according to CMBOR December 13, 2017 European private equity activity saw a rebound this year, thanks to a bull-run in the UK where the value of buyout deals almost doubled. The total amount spent by private equity firms on new buyouts in Europe hit €90.2bn (£79.4bn), up 50 per cent from last year and on a par with pre-Brexit referendum levels, [...]
The Labour danger: Pricing in the possibility of a Corbyn-led government December 12, 2017 It has been 18 months filled with political surprises, and at a time when nothing seems to be off the cards, the possibility of a Corbyn-led government perhaps isn’t as farfetched as some of us imagined. While many businesspeople are praying this never comes to light, it’s still a risk that can’t be ignored. [...]
UK house prices: Property price growth has fallen for the third month in a row December 12, 2017 House price growth in the UK dropped again in October, according to official figures, the third month in the row it has fallen. Property prices rose 4.5 per cent in the year to October, down from 4.8 per cent in September and 5.1 per cent in August. On a monthly basis, prices fell 0.5 per [...]
Unibail-Rodamco to buy Westfield in $24.7bn shopping centre mega-merger | City A.M. December 12, 2017 Shopping centre giant Westfield is to be sold to a European rival, just days after two other major industry players struck a takeover deal. Unibail-Rodamco, a French property investor which owns Paris’s iconic underground shopping mall Carrousel du Louvre, has entered into an agreement to buy Westfield for $24.7bn (£18.5bn). It comes after Hammerson offered [...]
Philip Hammond joins European finance ministers to call for a rethink of Trump’s proposed US tax reform December 11, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond has joined with his counterparts across Europe to urge US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin to rethink a proposed tax reform. In a letter addressed to Mnuchin, seen by City A.M., the finance ministers of the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain warned that the tax reform promised by President Donald [...]
Marc Vlessing, CEO of Pocket Living on his mission to provide affordable compact homes for young Londoners December 8, 2017 Marc Vlessing’s eyes were first opened to millennials’ struggle to get on to the housing ladder when he was working in theatre. As CEO of Crescent Entertainment, which went on to become the largest group of theatres and cinemas in the UK, he was surrounded by passionate, hard-working people in their 20s and 30s, “but [...]
Finally, all UK banks pass the stress tests: is now the time to invest? December 8, 2017 Imagine you emerged blinking from your bunker in the wake of this: interest rates up to 4 per cent the value of the pound down more than a quarter unemployment up almost 10 per cent residential property prices down by a third commercial real estate prices down by two-fifths world and UK GDP down 2.4 [...]
New homes going on sale in London this weekend in Barnes, Aldgate, Woolwich, Kensington and Balham December 8, 2017 New developments on the market this week Goodman’s Fields, Aldgate From £1.04m Walk to work from these new homes on the edge of the City where the final collection of one and two bedroom apartments has gone on sale. Situated in Cassia House, a 22-storey tower, there’s a two bedroom show apartment designed by Scott [...]