City Moves for 10 February 2017 – who’s switching jobs? February 10, 2017 Squire Patton Boggs Squire Patton Boggs has appointed Ian Wood as a partner in its global energy and natural resources practice group in the London office. Ian joins the firm from the energy and infrastructure group at King & Wood Mallesons in London, along with senior associate Rebecca Slater from his previous team. Ian has expertise in power [...]
The government’s assault on buy-to-let landlords is hurting tenants February 10, 2017 The bill for the government’s misguided war on buy-to-let is coming due. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said yesterday that rents are likely to rise by 25 per cent over the next five years, outpacing house price growth, as landlords pare back their portfolios and tenants are left to fight over a diminishing supply [...]
City Moves for 9 February 2017 – who’s switching jobs? February 9, 2017 McGuireWoods McGuireWoods London has added firepower to its debt finance and derivatives practice with the arrival of partner Jennifer Kafcas, who brings 17 years of experience advising lenders and borrowers in complex structured and cross-border transactions in Europe and the US. She has specialist knowledge of the bond, leverage finance and derivatives markets and documentation [...]
Home sales were sluggish in January February 9, 2017 Home sales stayed sluggish in January, according to industry experts, with central London suffering a decline in sales. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), house sales lacked "momentum" in January, but an overall shortage of housing stock is still pushing up house prices and rents. The gloomy outlook comes after the government [...]
“Really, is that it?” – reactions to the government’s housing white paper February 7, 2017 In the year that the US President signed an executive order to build a wall, UK politicians got together to write a housing paper that was lacking in concrete ideas. There were some general indicators of where the government is going on housing, however. Here's how the property industry reacted: On the lack of content [...]
Bellway boosted by strong affordable housing demand in London February 7, 2017 Bellway's share price has climbed three per cent this morning after the company reported a boost in sales due to a "significant" requirement for affordable housing in London. The figures Bellway increased its housing completions by 6.5 per cent for the six months ending 31 January; volumes reached 4,462, up from 4,188 during the same [...]
This is how far house prices fell in January February 7, 2017 House prices fell month-on-month in January, reversing the strong house price growth recorded at the end of last year. According to Halifax's house price index, house prices fell 0.9 per cent last month. Year-on-year growth was 5.7 per cent, down from an annual growth of 6.5 per cent in December. Read more: This is how [...]
We’ll never solve the housing crisis if we continue to blame it on house-builders and migrants February 7, 2017 England's housing disaster is well-publicised. Construction has not kept pace with demographic change and successive governments have failed to address the consequences. The hotly-anticipated housing White Paper, out today, will sound an attempt to address this and some backlash against its proposals seems inevitable. It’s commonplace for us to blame greedy house-builders or uncontrolled immigration, [...]
This is how far house prices have plunged in Chelsea February 6, 2017 Chelsea house prices fell by as much as 13 per cent year-on-year in January as vendors were forced to drop prices due to higher transaction taxes. Data from estate agents Knight Frank shows prices on high-end homes have dropped sharply in London's most sought-after neighbourhoods. In Kensington and Notting Hill, prices have fallen by 12 per [...]
Yo Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe: I want to be the next Richard Branson February 6, 2017 It took a life crisis for Simon Woodroffe to set up restaurant chain Yo Sushi. “I got divorced in the early nineties and was out in the wilderness for a long time. I was down to my last £200,000 tied to my flat and was desperate to do something with my life. That’s when I set [...]