Plans for five-storey office block above Farringdon Crossrail station win approval January 25, 2016 Plans to build a major new office building above Farringdon Crossrail station have been given the go-ahead by City planners today, with construction expected to start next year. Designed by PLP Architecture – the architects behind Lipton Rogers and Axa Real Estate's 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper – the five-storey building will sit above the station's eastern ticket hall on [...]
Funds under management reach a record high of £871 billion despite the commodity rout and uncertainty over China’s economy January 25, 2016 Funds under management reached a record £871bn in 2015, up from £835bn the year before, according to the latest data from the Investment Association, the investment managers trade body. Equities were the best-selling asset class for the second consecutive year, with sales to retail investors of £8.4bn. UK equities did particularly well, with net retail sales worth £4.3bn. Property was the [...]
Where will Generation Rent live? Purpose-built private rentals go on sale in Lewisham January 25, 2016 Large deposits and rising house prices have left many young professionals floundering at the bottom of the property ladder, forced into the private rented sector for far longer than they ever intended to be there. This leaves a gaping hole in the market for good quality PRS housing and some developers, such as charitable housing [...]
UK house prices: This is how luxury property owners are selling their homes quicker January 25, 2016 Making a fresh batch of coffee and croissants isn't enough to convince people to part with their cash for your property anymore – at least not if you're in the top end of the market. As the super-prime market starts to cool, luxury home-owners are increasingly looking to "home styling" in order to secure the asking [...]
City Moves for 25 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 25, 2016 Cushman & Wakefield Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has recruited Derrick Bock as head of workplace strategy in Germany in the firm’s global occupier services EMEA team. With over 20 years’ experience in corporate workplace design, Derrick will focus on workplace strategy for clients in Europe, assisting multinational corporations to devise and [...]
M Restaurant’s Martin Williams on Wagyu, division bells and building a brand January 25, 2016 There is something of the Midas touch about Martin Williams. Forty minutes into an interview about his restaurants, M Threadneedle Street and M Victoria Street – currently two of the capital’s trendiest hangouts – he mentions his previous life as an actor. Despite being successful on stage and TV in his early twenties, the on-off [...]
The FTSE crash is not Armageddon – but investors should still be light on their feet January 23, 2016 We all know that "hindsight" is the most successful trader in the world. Its performance has always been exemplary since time immemorial. However, alarm bells should have started ringing after the Shanghai Composite had added 150 per cent in value between June 2014 and June 2015, just when it was becoming decidedly obvious that China’s economy [...]
London house prices: Crossrail has made Hounslow Emoov’s top tip for first-time buyers who don’t want to break the bank – but would like a healthy return January 22, 2016 The UK property seesaw consists of two influential factors, with house prices at one end and the demand for said housing at the other. The changing face of the London property landscape means there is a tussle between boroughs, as the once desirable become unaffordable, and the not so desirable become the new hotspots – Brixton, for example. [...]
UK house prices: Property prices increased by as much as the average salary – but in London it’s more than double that January 22, 2016 The property market might be cooling, but last year still gave home-owners a solid boost to their wealth, with new research suggesting UK properties gained in value by as much as the average salary. Throughout 2015, the average homeowner made £27,264 – or £16 for every working hour of the year. Those who own property in London, [...]
City Moves for 22 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 22, 2016 RateSetter Marketplace lender RateSetter has appointed Paul Marston as head of SME lending and Angela Yotov as head of legal. Paul joins from Secure Trust Bank, a challenger bank, where he was managing director of the business and commercial division which provides funding for SMEs and property development loans. Prior to that he was a [...]