London remains top investment location for Middle East despite Brexit fears March 16, 2016 Wealthy Middle Eastern investors still rank London as their top city of choice for real estate investment, despite increased uncertainty in the market ahead of the EU referendum, new research shows. A joint survey conducted by estate agency Cluttons and YouGov of 127 high net worth investors from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and [...]
London office rents may be high – but there’s still plenty of fuel in the tank for growth as businesses look outside the centre March 14, 2016 Central London’s property market has been booming now for half a decade. Values and rents for the capital’s offices have risen steadily, by 88 per cent and 44 per cent respectively between April 2010 and January 2016, and those investing in the market have enjoyed total returns of 140 per cent over the same period. As ever, many [...]
“We were the first ever agents to sell a building through Twitter” – Meet the social media moguls dragging commercial property sales into the 21st century April 29, 2016 While residential estate agents have been dragged into the internet age, their commercial counterparts have – mostly – continued to resist such a move. There’s no Rightmove for office blocks, or warehouses. And it was this inherent conservatism that seemed to offer a great opportunity when three young surveyors decided to set up shop in [...]
Bank of England poised to announce new measures to clamp down on the buy-to-let market March 28, 2016 The Bank of England appears poised to introduce new rules to clamp down on the buy-to-let property market amid fears that the sector poses big risks to the UK economy. Chancellor George Osborne told MPs last week that it is “highly likely” that he will give the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) powers over the buy-to-let [...]
Phoenix Spree Deutschland IPO: German rental property fund eyes a float on the London Stock Exchange May 18, 2015 German real estate investment vehicle Phoenix Spree Deutschland will today announce it intends to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange next month. The company, which focuses on German residential property, will list in the second week of June, with 69.9m shares on the block. The firm, which was founded by a [...]
Flats with no windows are now on sale in Brixton for £465,000 February 26, 2016 Flats with no windows have gone on sale in Brixton for £465,000 as part of a development that estate agents have described as a “sanctuary of calm”. The “luxury development” is an office conversion on Acre Lane, near Brixton tube station. The property developers Build Consultants have been working on the block of one and two-bed [...]
UK house prices: Prime central London rents are polarising between east and west, says Knight Frank April 6, 2016 London's prime rental market is becoming more polarised. Prices in the east are accelerating faster than those in the west as financial services tenants move closer to the City in search of cheaper rents, new research shows. Annual rental value growth in prime central London fell by one per cent in March – the lowest rate since May 2014, according to [...]
London house prices: Chelsea garage sells at auction for £360,000 – the price of a three-bedroom flat in Camberwell February 17, 2016 It's cosy and well-located – but doesn't come with a lot of natural light. Still, such is the madness for property in London that a 146 sq ft garage in Chelsea has just sold at auction for £360,000 – just shy of the price of a three-bedroom flat in Camberwell. The garage, just off Brompton Road, [...]
Goldman Sachs agrees to pay $5bn to settle mortgage claims April 11, 2016 Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $5.06bn (£3.6bn) to settle claims that it mis-sold mortgage backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis. The settlement with the US Justice Department relates to residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) sponsored or underwritten by the US investment bank between 2005 and 2007. Goldman Sachs has agreed to [...]
JLL’s UK boss Guy Grainger takes top European job at property firm in management reshuffle February 24, 2016 The UK boss of property services giant JLL Guy Grainger has been promoted to chief executive of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as part of a management reshuffle at the company. Grainger, 48, who has headed up the UK business for three years, will succeed current EMEA chief Christian Ulbrich, who will become president of the New [...]