General Election 2015: Tory election victory triggers London luxury property market surge as mansion tax fears dissolve May 10, 2015 In the hours after it became clear that the Tories had won a majority government at the general election, London estate agents reported a surge in luxury property sales as buyers' fears over Labour's proposed mansion tax were allayed. Over £100m worth of top-end central London property was sold on a frenzied Friday as estate [...]
Construction growth drops on General Election uncertainty May 5, 2015 Growth in the building sector fell to its slowest pace in almost two years in April, according to an influential study from Markit yesterday. The purchasing managers’ index fell to 54.2 from 57.8 in March – still firmly above the 50-mark that indicates growth, but a sharp slowdown in the pace of rising output. The [...]
Co-operative Group sells off farming arm to Wellcome Trust for £249m August 4, 2014 The Co-operative Group continued offloading its non-core assets yesterday with the sale of nearly 16,000 hectares of British farmland, 15 farms and over 100 residential properties to health charity the Wellcome Trust for £249m. The sale comes just three weeks after The Co-op sold its 774-chain pharmacy business for £620m, as the group looks to [...]
Small investors offered Prime London market March 9, 2015 A PROPERTY crowdfunding start-up that aims to make prime UK property accessible to retail investors has launched a £1m offer today for a luxury flat in south west London. Property Crowd’s chief executive Scott Trapnell co-founded the company with a private investor in 2013 after first coming up with the idea while studying for an [...]
The rental revolution: changes in the private rented sector June 25, 2015 The UK’s rental market is undergoing a transformation as it continues to grow New investors including pension funds Legal & General and M&G are entering the sector, promising to add scale through major new apartment developments. And the government is backing the private rented sector as a key provider of new homes. Alongside UK developers [...]
Another milestone passed for the New Covent Garden Market site in Nine Elms April 9, 2015 Vinci St. Modren (VSM), and the Covent Garden Market Authority (NCGMA) have reached an agreement for the redevelopment of the 57-acre development in in Nine Elms, which will include a market, offices, swanky homes, and space for new start ups. Construction is expected to start this summer. The figures The project is a big one: [...]
Camden Markets takes step closer to transformation as contracts struck with consultants April 7, 2015 The transformation of Camden Markets into a retail and residential district took a step closer today as the three names behind the development were revealed. Market Tech, the holding company that owns and manages the markets, has struck three contracts that will kick-start work, the first stage of which will be completed by late summer [...]
Lucky Voice karaoke bar sold by British Land for £26m August 20, 2014 British Land has sold the site of Martha Lane Fox’s Lucky Voice karaoke bar in London for £26m. The UK’s second largest property company said yesterday it had sold the freehold of 52 Poland Street to Amazon Property – a company unrelated to the online retail giant – in order to focus on other projects [...]
Countrywide blames General Election uncertainty for first quarter slowdown April 29, 2015 Britain’s biggest estate agency Countrywide warned that market transactions would be “significantly below” last year’s levels, because of uncertainty over the outcome of the election causing prospective buyers to put their plans on hold. The company, which owns estate agencies including Hamptons, Blundells and John D Wood, said total income dropped by two per cent [...]
House building rises, but more homes needed August 21, 2014 Even after the past year’s spike in house building, England is still far short of an adequate level of construction, exacerbating the country’s enormous supply shortfall. Building firms started construction work on 137,000 residential properties during the year to June, an increase of 22 per cent on the same period last year, according to the [...]