Short supply of homes fuels rocketing UK rents and house prices March 19, 2015 A short supply of housing and a recovery in economic fortunes is pushing up rents and house prices. Average monthly rates stood at £766 in February, up 3.1 per cent on last year, according to figures released today by estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains. London saw the second greatest annual rise in the [...]
General Election 2015: Uncertainty hangs over UK mortgage lending data April 14, 2015 The uncertainty surrounding the General Election hit mortgages in February, as lending dropped, with the total number of loans falling one per cent on January’s figure and 16 per cent compared to last year. The figures According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML),a total of 40,600 loans valued at £6.8bn were granted in February, meaning the [...]
Focus on Poplar: There’s good reason it’s getting so popular, you know May 21, 2015 It hasn’t always been so popular to live in Poplar. Its postcode, E14, has held the dubious honour of being the most unequal in the UK, as its East End estates sit a stone’s throw away from the shimmering towers of Canary Wharf. It’s now best known in the nation’s mindset as the impoverished setting [...]
HSS Hire breaks the mould and publishes prospectus on time January 22, 2015 TOOL rental firm HSS Hire yesterday unveiled the prospectus for its forthcoming float alongside its price range – breaking the much-criticised convention of delaying publication until shares start dealing. Last year’s record flurry of flotations was accompanied by a widespread lag in the disclosure of information by companies coming to the market. HSS, which will [...]
Eurozone woes can’t hurt IKEA as sales build January 28, 2015 FLATPACK furniture giant IKEA has said its revenues in Europe will keep growing this financial year, despite an underwhelming Eurozone economy. The privately-held Swedish firm was buoyed by a lift in sales at its Spanish, Italian and Portuguese stores, which had picked up in the financial year ended 31 August 2014. Boss Peter Agnefjall said [...]
Focus on Battersea: Home of dogs, cats, families and riverside living March 12, 2015 Battersea’s venerable institutions – from its power station to its Dogs and Cats Home – often overshadow its considerable success as a residential destination. While houses easily soar over the £1m mark in this part of south-west London, UK buyers still account for 76 per cent of the market, 80 per cent of whom use [...]
Paragon Group banks on shift from home owning as Britain becomes nation of renters November 25, 2014 Britain is increasingly becoming a nation of renters rather than home owners, Paragon Group’s boss told City A.M. yesterday. The lender increased its buy-to-let mortgage loans by more than 80 per cent this year, as homes become increasingly unaffordable. On top of sharp price rises in London, the mortgage market review (MMR) rules put in [...]
Architects of the future: How young designers are taking on space constraints, the cost of living and technology April 30, 2015 As property prices continue to rise and land available for development dwindles, architects and designers are tasked with devising ways to recommission and re-purpose spaces to make them suitable for modern life. Five architects and designers under 40 explain how they are taking inspiration from these challenges, and how they see their industry changing in [...]
Landlords’ property wealth on track to climb to £1 trillion in 2015 November 6, 2014 Private landlords’ property is worth £930bn – and is set to reach £1 trillion next year on the sustained rise in UK house prices, according to estimates by Kent Reliance. London has seen the biggest rises in wealth over the past seven years. From 2007 to 2014, landlords in the capital saw the value of their [...]
HSS Hire IPO: Equipment rental company tools up for float with retail offer January 12, 2015 The equipment hire firm is banking on UK economic growth. Equipment rental company HSS Hire yesterday started the engine on a £103m float aimed at selling a quarter of the company’s stake and reducing its £200m debt pile. The listing, like that of the Trainline.com, announced last week, will include a retail offering to [...]