Tories call for Sadiq Khan to scrap rent control push after policy ‘failed’ in Berlin November 25, 2020 City Hall’s Conservatives are calling for Sadiq Khan to drop his rent control policy, after new analysis this week showed similar measures depleted Berlin’s supply of new flats. The new study showed the supply of rental apartments fell by 41 per cent while demand soared by 172 per cent within a year of Berlin’s rent [...]
Stunning Airbnb market debut drives valuation past $100bn in biggest IPO open of 2020 December 10, 2020 Shares of Airbnb soared in its stock market debut today, valuing the firm at $101.6bn and marking the biggest US floatation of 2020. Shares open at $146 on the Nasdaq, far above the initial public offering (IPO) price of $68 apiece. The stock then hit a high of $165, rising 142.6 per cent after the [...]
Saturday Sitdown: Soho Housing’s chief on why ‘we need to rethink the way we use central London’ March 19, 2022 Insurance giant Admiral recently warned that nearly nine out of ten Londoners can no longer afford the average cost of rent in the capital. The demand for rooms to rent is much higher than the available supply, thereby leading to such increases that most Londoners cannot keep up with, the company cited as the main [...]
Airbnb targets $35bn valuation in blockbuster float December 1, 2020 Airbnb is targeting a $35bn (£26bn) valuation in what is set to be one of the final blockbuster stock market listings this year. In a filing today the holiday rental firm said it will look to raise up to $2.6bn from its initial public offering on the Nasdaq exchange, which is set to take place [...]
Screenshot: Will a streaming overhaul tidy up the UK’s messy music sector? July 16, 2021 This week: **Media Moment of the Week: ‘Oh fiddlesticks’ **Could a streaming crackdown tidy up Britain’s messy music sector? Media Moment of the Week: ‘Oh fiddlesticks’ In a situation you wouldn’t have thought possible in 2021, the BBC somehow found a man in Nottingham on Monday morning who still didn’t know the result of the [...]
We need a London housing strategy that doesn’t ignore the squeezed middle August 10, 2020 The UK — and London in particular — faces a housing crisis. This is not news, and nor has the need for more affordable housing been ignored by politicians. Last week, the government announced an overhaul of planning rules to make it easier to build, while earlier this month, a House of Commons committee published [...]
Coronavirus: What firms will survive the pandemic? April 20, 2020 The coronavirus outbreak has created clear winners in businesses such as Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, Google and Apple, and losers such as Uber, Airbnb, and WeWork. The vast majority of industries are losers as they are effectively shut by the lockdown. Taxi usage has collapsed which means it may be a long time before Uber approaches [...]
UK house price growth hits six-year low as experts warn of ‘Brexit downward spiral’ March 20, 2019 London house prices fell 1.6 per cent in the year to January, official data revealed today, as experts warned a mix of Brexit uncertainty and the death of buy to let are hurting the value of homes. The sharp price drop in the capital's housing market meant overall UK house prices rose just 1.7 per [...]
Butlin’s owner Bourne Leisure plans bid for Sykes Holiday Cottages October 22, 2019 Bourne Leisure Group, the owner of Butlin’s and Haven Holidays, is planning to make a bid for rental property provider Sykes Holiday Cottages. The company is expected to submit a bid for the holiday rental chain before the deadline tomorrow, Sky News reported. Read more: Micro Focus shares sink as Open Text denies it might [...]
Sadiq Khan’s rent control pledge is a minefield of unintended consequences March 4, 2020 There is no denying that London faces a housing crisis. Similarly, there is no denying that many people feel that their rents take too high a proportion of their income. If you are Sadiq Khan, the solution is obvious: if people object to high rents, the state should cap them — problem solved. It is [...]