Focus On Croydon: The affordable South London hotspot that’s getting a £1bn facelift January 8, 2016 If there’s one thing we learnt from the London property market in 2015, it was not to underestimate the outer boroughs. Some of the largest house price growth increases were to be found in these supposed backwaters. Growth in places like Haringey and Hillingdon far outstripped traditionally prime areas like Kensington & Chelsea and Camden, [...]
Investec: Challenger banks including OneSavings Bank, Aldermore are undervalued as investors are spooked by worries over buy-to-let regulation January 7, 2016 Concerns over increased regulation of the buy-to-let residential property market have prompted investors to undervalue some of Britain’s leading challenger banks, analysts at Investec have claimed. In a new note out today, Investec analysts upgraded their recommendation on OneSavings Bank, a FTSE250-listed lender, from “hold” to “buy” off the back of recent share price fluctuations. [...]
Warnings over global instability gather pace as George Soros compares climate to 2008 January 7, 2016 Warnings over global stability gathering are pace, with legendary fund manager George Soros comparing the climate to that of the financial crisis in 2008. Speaking in Sri Lanka, Soros warned China is struggling to move away from export-led growth towards a more sustainable, domestic consumption-led economic model. The billionaire investor said the People's Bank of China's [...]
Halifax house price index: UK house prices rose 9.5 per cent last year. Yawn January 7, 2016 Another day, another confirmation that homes in the UK are increasingly unaffordable. House prices have risen 9.5 per cent in the year to December, according to figures from Halifax, which showed the average house price is now a £208,286. Ouch. Still: the UK's house prices are nothing if not dependable. The figure meant annual price growth stuck between [...]
More to capitalism than good economic growth January 7, 2016 What are the hallmarks of capitalism? Typically you might think of cities, skyscrapers, banks, insurers, people in sharp suits, and so on. These are some symptoms of a market-orientated economy, for sure, but they do not tell the whole picture. There are two factors that accurately signal the degree to which a society is free [...]
Interest rates, a Fintech revolution and more investment in the UK: what former Lord Mayor Roger Gifford predicts for the City of London January 6, 2016 Sir Roger Gifford, member of Multrees Investor Services Board and former Lord Mayor of London, tells City A.M. what he expects for the City of London in 2016. The Fintech revolution The importance of Fintech to London can perhaps be seen most clearly through the 44,000 plus people who are employed in the sector – [...]
Pub sector raises glass to economic recovery as more properties change hands January 5, 2016 The pubs property sector enjoyed a resurgence in deal activity last year thanks to the economic recovery and improved consumer confidence, new research shows. The number of significant corporate deals that took place last year was similar to the number in the previous year, according to Fleurets, a commercial estate agent specialising in selling pubs. However [...]
Commercial property company insolvencies jump as banks call in loans January 4, 2016 The number of insolvent property investment companies has surged over the last year as banks took advantage rising commercial property values to claw back loans they have held onto since the crisis. The number of insolvencies, where a company can no longer pay its debts, rose by eight per cent to 346 in 2015 from 319 [...]
Brookfield Property Partners buys Potsdamer Platz in central Berlin January 4, 2016 Canary Wharf and Center Parcs owner Brookfield Property Partners has bought a chunk of central Berlin in partnership with an Asian sovereign wealth fund for an undisclosed sum. The Canadian and US listed property giant announced the pair have completed a deal to buy Postdamer Platz, a busy junction at the heart of the city [...]
Grainger sells Retirement Solutions business to private equity firms Electra and Patron in £325m deal January 4, 2016 Residential landlord Grainger has sold off its equity release division to two private equity firms in a £325m deal, as it turns its attention to the private rental market. Patron Capital Partners, which owns housebuilder Cala Homes, and Electra Private Equity, have exchanged contracts to buy Grainger Retirement Solutions, a portfolio of over 3,600 homes [...]