UK commercial property debt deals reach seven-year high November 17, 2014 THE COMMERCIAL property debt market bounced back in the past six months, according to research out yesterday, revealing the biggest rise in demand for debt finance in seven years. According to data from Laxfield Capital, the UK commercial mortgage investment firm, total loan requests were 27 per cent higher than in the previous six-month period, [...]
City Moves for 18 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 17, 2014 Barclays Andrea Delay has been appointed head of professional services at the bank. She has held several senior positions at Barclays, including head of industry for the facilities management sector. Delay has also held corporate banking roles at Wachovia Bank and Commerzbank. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management Munish Varma has been appointed head of structured [...]
Aim companies failing to create board diversity November 17, 2014 WOMEN made up just seven per cent of appointments to the boards of Aim-listed companies during the past three years, according to a report from executive recruitment firm Norman Broadbent. Of all non-executive appointments at FTSE 100 firms over the past three years, 37 per cent were women, while at FTSE 250 companies, 34 per [...]
London average house prices top £600,000 for the first time November 16, 2014 The average price of a residential London property has risen above £600,000 for the first time but signs of cooling are evident. The break through the £600,000 barrier in house prices in November marks just a 0.8 per cent increase on October’s figure, according to data released today by online property market platform Rightmove. Rightmove’s [...]
Save money on a property overseas November 14, 2014 NOW could be a great time to buy property overseas. The strength of the pound coupled with a depressed European housing market means that bargains are available on the continent. In Spain, for example, house prices are 35 per cent below their 2007 peak. And for UK based buyers the good news is that [...]
London housing market slower than rest of UK November 13, 2014 HOUSING market activity in London is now lagging behind the rest of the country, new figures reveal today. In the three months to September, the number of transactions in England and Wales was 15.4 per cent higher than the same period last year, according to LSL property services. However, the number of transactions in London [...]
Great Portland to start £500m building spree November 13, 2014 WEST End developer Great Portland Estates (GPE) said yesterday it would splurge £500m on its development pipeline as it looked to take advantage of London’s booming office market. The FTSE 250 property firm beat analyst expectations as it posted an 11.8 per cent rise in net asset value per share to 636p in the six [...]
Slum finance: We can build a new asset class by housing the desperately poor November 13, 2014 THE LATEST forecasts for global population growth continue to surprise. The number of people on our planet is thought likely to reach 11bn, or even 12bn, by the end of the century. Africa’s population is set to quadruple to 4bn. There are huge reasons for optimism, not least because world hunger has continued to fall [...]
Talent shortages could be the greatest threat to our economic health November 13, 2014 THIS week brought some long-awaited good news for Britons’ pay packets, as ONS data showed that average wages have beaten inflation for the first time since 2009. The jobs market outlook is rosier than it has been for years, but we are now facing the great irony of recovery. Having waited so long for it, [...]
London Barometer November 13, 2014 George Franks SALES DIRECTOR, DOUGLAS & GORDON New business was up over 100 per cent from August to October, demonstrating that politics hasn’t completely stymied the market. Applicants increased by 10 per cent while offers received increased by almost 30 per cent, indicating that buyers will commit to a purchase if they feel the price [...]