London Zoo’s aviary and an iconic City of London church right by Bank station have been added to the at risk buildings register October 21, 2016 An iconic City of London church and London Zoo's aviary are among the buildings added to the "Heritage At Risk" register by Historic England. The organisation said settlement in the tower of the Church of St Mary Woolnoth, right next to the Lombard Street exit of Bank Station, has caused cracks, while parts of the [...]
Barratt Developments’ London boss in bribery scandal shed his £2m stake last year October 20, 2016 The boss of Barratt Developments in London, who was today released on bail until 2017, sold his £2m stake in the company this time last year, it has emerged. Alastair Baird was arrested yesterday by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of bribery, along with one other former employee of the company. The arrest was relating to alleged [...]
Gross mortgage lending down seven per cent in September October 20, 2016 Gross mortgage lending fell seven per cent last month, but hit the highest September figure since 2007. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), gross mortgage lending was £20.5bn in September, down seven per cent month-on-month. Read more: London boss of Barratt Developments arrested on suspicion of misconduct The figure represented a two per [...]
London construction slowing after the Brexit vote October 20, 2016 Construction in London is undergoing a slowdown following the Brexit vote, according to chartered surveyors. A survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that nine per cent of surveyors have reported that construction had risen rather than fallen in the capital this quarter – but this was the lowest reading from the survey since [...]
London boss of Barratt Developments arrested on suspicion of misconduct October 19, 2016 A top executive at Barratt Developments has been arrested this morning along with another former employee of the housebuilder. Barratt said today that it had referred regional director Alastair Baird to the Metropolitan Police in April for possible misconduct in awarding supply contracts. Read more: Barratt Developments defies Brexit doomsayers with "confident" outlook The referral followed an internal [...]
Foxtons reports decline in revenue in third quarter due to reduced activity in the London property market October 19, 2016 Reduced activity in the London property market hit Foxtons revenues during the third quarter of the year. The estate agents said total group revenue for the three months to 30 September had fallen to £37.5m from £43.5m last year, while sales revenue was down to £12.2m from £18.5m – reflecting a continuation of reduced activity [...]
Tech sector drives demand for London’s offices post-referendum October 18, 2016 The tech sector is driving a return to health for the commercial property sector in central London. According to Knight Frank, there was demand for 9.5m square feet (sq ft) of office space in central London between June and September. This is ahead of the long-term quarterly average of 7.5m sq ft. Read more: How [...]
Tax changes to force 440,000 landlords up a tax bracket October 18, 2016 More than 400,000 landlords will be pushed up a tax bracket from April next year. By 2021, landlords will not be able to deduct mortgage interest payments or other financial costs from their turnover before declaring their taxable income. Read more: Watch out, tenants: Landlords threaten to hike rents because of new taxes The changes [...]
House prices up 8.4 per cent in the UK as a whole October 18, 2016 House prices have continued to rise over the past year, with an average of 8.4 per cent across the UK. Figures released from the Office for National Statistics this morning show that the average UK house price was £219,000 in August 2016 – that's £17,000 higher than in August last year, and £3,000 higher than [...]
Houses priced below £100,000 are officially extinct in London October 17, 2016 Houses priced below £100,000 are now an extinct species in London. According to research by Jackson-Stops and Staff, all London homes worth less than £120,000 will disappear this year, with properties worth less than £150,000 set to vanish by 2020. Read more: This is how sterling's unstoppable slide will affect UK house prices Ninety-three per [...]