House price fall fuels fear of double-dip July 29, 2010 FEARS of a sustained double-dip in Britain’s property market intensified yesterday after mortgage lender Nationwide reported that house prices fell this month for the first time since February and the Bank of England revealed that mortgage approvals dropped to a four-month low in June. The latest figures from Nationwide showed that house prices fell by [...]
HSBC in talks with Pinnacle consortium July 25, 2010 THE GROUP hoping to build the Pinnacle skyscraper on Bishopsgate is close to securing financing from HSBC, it emerged at the weekend. Arab Investments (AI) plans to raise £600m from the financing deal, to add to £130m secured from a 60-strong consortium of backers. AI boss Khalid Affara has been courting banks for months in [...]
PROPERTY NEWS July 15, 2010 BISHOPS AVE SITE SOLD FOR £30M One of London’s best development opportunities in Hampstead’s Bishops Avenue has sold for more than £30m. The 2.47 acre site has two planning consents in place – either for a house of 33,000 sq ft or for a block of 16 luxury apartments. This indicates the competition and rising [...]
Land Securities in record sale June 17, 2010 PROPERTY developer Land Securities yesterday set a record for the sale of an undeveloped chunk of land in London, forward-selling a retail, office and residential development on Oxford Street to the Qataris. Barwa Real Estate, in which Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is the biggest shareholder, agreed to stump up a total of £250m for the [...]
Land Securities in record sale June 17, 2010 PROPERTY developer Land Securities yesterday set a record for the sale of an undeveloped chunk of land in London, forward-selling a retail, office and residential development on Oxford Street to the Qataris. Barwa Real Estate, in which Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is the biggest shareholder, agreed to stump up a total of £250m for the [...]
Bridges Wharf £275m purchase June 8, 2010 London & Stamford Property has exchanged contracts with Weston Homes to buy the remaining 57 residential units at Bridges Wharf on the Southbank of the River Thames next to Battersea Heliport. The acquisition also includes 57 car parking spaces. London & Stamford is acquiring a long leasehold interest in the apartments and the car parking [...]
Holiday homes win tax break June 22, 2010 THE government has reinstated tax breaks for furnished holiday lettings, though the chancellor warned yesterday that it would consult on changing the allowances in 2011. The restored rules apply to around 120,000 landlords who run holiday homes. Osborne stressed the importance of tourism to the UK economy in his Budget speech. “There are many small [...]
Holiday homes win tax break June 22, 2010 THE government has reinstated tax breaks for furnished holiday lettings, though the chancellor warned yesterday that it would consult on changing the allowances in 2011. The restored rules apply to around 120,000 landlords who run holiday homes. Osborne stressed the importance of tourism to the UK economy in his Budget speech. “There are many small [...]
This is a year for old-fashioned stock picking January 31, 2010 Just the other day, I was sent some research on global trends over the next decade. While it made for interesting reading, many players are indicating that the year at hand will be more about stock picking rather than trying to chase trend money. Michael Browne, portfolio manager at Sofaer Global Research, says that if [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 10, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES SHINSEI IN CAPITAL DRIVE AS MERGER FALTERS Shinsei, the Japanese bank, is preparing to raise about Y75bn ($830m) in fresh capital as a merger with a rival domestic lender once seen as a lifeline is in danger of collapse. Shinsei has concluded that a merger with Aozora, the Japanese bank part-owned by Cerberus [...]