Topshop seals US future with J Crew owner December 4, 2012 RETAIL magnate Sir Philip Green is close to selling a stake in his family’s fast-growing Topshop fashion empire to a US private equity firm. Sir Philip is in advanced talks to sell up to 25 per cent of his family’s interest in high street labels Topman and Topshop, in a deal which values the two [...]
Middle Eastern investors drive office demand October 29, 2012 A WAVE of new investors from the Middle East and Far East seeking a safe haven for their cash are helping to fuel demand for London office properties, according to new research by BNP Paribas. The French bank’s property arm said overseas investors made up 61 per cent of London office investment in the third [...]
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ESTATE AGENTS March 21, 2012 PRESIDENT “This Budget week is proving to be a double whammy for first time buyers: not only has the chancellor failed to offer any real help to lower and middle income homeowners and first time buyers, but from Saturday, the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers will be coming to an end. Property is [...]
First time buyer market may ease July 14, 2011 WITH the Bank of England keeping interest rates at the record low of 0.5 per cent, the outlook should be good for those looking to buy a home. But with renting in London costing 50 per cent more than the rest of the country and banks requiring higher and higher deposits, the picture for those [...]
London still outperforms the rest of the country June 28, 2012 Q What is happening to London prices at the moment? A London property continues to outperform the rest of the UK market. The latest official data showed that average house prices across the capital are up 5.1 per cent year on year, compared to a one per cent fall across England and Wales. The average [...]
London house price growth set to outstrip rest of UK for years November 8, 2012 London house price growth will be well ahead of the UK average for at least the next five years, estate agent Savills predicted yesterday. Central London housing will get 25.6 per cent more expensive over the five years to the end of 2017, the estate agent said, compared to 10.2 per cent growth in the [...]
House prices in the capital are detached by location May 20, 2012 London’s property market is outperforming but some boroughs are well off the pace LONDON Neither London, nor England and Wales, have returned to their 2008 peaks – but London is close. From March 2009, prices have grown 16 per cent in London compared to 6 per cent in England and Wales as a whole. However, [...]
End of tax break prompts house price jump April 4, 2012 HOUSE prices sprang upwards last month as first time buyers rushed to beat the expiry of a temporary break on stamp duty, yet the market as a whole remains sluggish. Prices jumped by 2.2 per cent in March, the Halifax reported yesterday, bouncing back from February’s 0.4 per cent monthly decline. Yet the average cost [...]
Mortgage loans plummet as tax break expires May 21, 2012 MORTGAGE lending plunged in April after the stamp duty holiday expired, industry data showed yesterday, while economists warned the underlying state of the housing market is weakening. Gross mortgage lending slumped from £12.6bn in March to £10.2bn in April – a 19 per cent fall to an 11-month low, according to data from the Council [...]
Double dip set to push house prices lower April 29, 2012 House prices slowed to a crawl this month and will slump again through the second half of 2012, a new report warns today. The double dip recession is dragging down demand and consumer confidence is draining out of the market, according to Hometrack, just as supply is starting to pick up. Prices rose just 0.1 [...]