Remember this tiny Chelsea house on sale for £600,000? It just sold for £100,000 above asking price March 15, 2017 Rumours of Chelsea's demise are greatly exaggerated, it seems – after a miniature house in the London neighbourhood sold for a whopping £713,823. That's more than £100,000 above asking price. The tiny home, which we wrote about back in February, was on sale at £600,000. Sounds like a bargain for a home in the heart of Chelsea overlooking [...]
Private equity firm Privet Capital cuddles up with Care Bears maker Vivid Toy Group March 14, 2017 Private equity firm Privet Capital has snapped up a toymaker behind Care Bears, Thunderbirds and Moshi Monsters. Vivid Toy Group sells its products to major retailers across the UK, France, Benelux, Germany and the US, including in Tesco, Argos, Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us and Amazon. Headquartered in Guildford, the firm also has operations in Paris, Frankfurt and [...]
Holiday Homes: Finding a property investment at Courchevel 1850 on the slopes in the Rhone-Alpes that will pay off March 14, 2017 In the rarefied air of Courchevel 1850, known as France’s ski playground for the wealthy, the word “only” quickly takes on a new meaning. A burger, for example, is “only” €30 on the slopes, and a duplex apartment is “only” €9.65m. But in the Rhone-Alpes prime real estate hotspot, where high-end chalets up to 3000sqm [...]
Australian investment bank Macquarie sells last of its stake in Thames Water to Canadian and Kuwaiti funds March 14, 2017 Australian investment bank Macquarie has sold its stake in Thames Water to a Canadian pension fund and a Kuwaiti infrastructure investor. Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) today announced the sale of its 26.3 per cent interest in Kemble Water Holdings, the holding company of Thames Water. The buyers are Borealis Infrastructure, part of Canada’s OMERS pension fund, and Wren [...]
Focus On Kensal Rise: This north west London town ticks all the boxes for a place that’s due a price rise March 10, 2017 How can you tell if a place is about to get seriously popular? Well, there are a few signs that you can look out for; plenty of Victorian architecture; well-to-do neighbours; improving schools; green space; and a sudden proliferation of independent shops and restaurants. Kensal Rise in north west London ticks all of these boxes [...]
New Homes: What’s on sale in London this weekend in Hackney, Southwark, Bermondsey, Mitcham and Clapham March 10, 2017 Kings Crescent, Hackney From £98,750 for a 25 per cent share First time buyers living or working in Hackney will be able to get a step on the ladder with Shared Ownership at Kings Crescent. Tomorrow will see 36 none to three bedroom apartments on sale, some refurbished some new, next to Clissold Park each [...]
With RICS finding the housing market subdued, should we brace for falling house prices? March 10, 2017 Kay Neufeld, an economist at the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), says Yes. With infallible regularity, every year a number of property market analysts predict that “this year prices surely must fall”. Most of the time, they are wrong. Looking at market fundamentals, not much has changed in 2017. The demand for housing [...]
The road to Brexit: what next for shares, sterling and property? March 9, 2017 The UK government is expected to trigger Article 50 by the end of this month, signalling the start of a two-year process that will see the country leave the EU. The Brexit process started on 20 February 2016 when then Prime Minister David Cameroncalled a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. The [...]
Estate agent Countrywide’s share price tumbles as profits fall by more than half March 9, 2017 Shares in the UK's largest estate agent have tumbled after it admitted pre-tax profit plummeted by close to 60 per cent last year. Read more: Estate agents Savills warns current UK house price growth is unsustainable The figures Countrywide, the company behind high street estate agency brands including Bairstow Eves and Hamptons International, said today its [...]
Budget 2017: Chancellor Philip Hammond delivers boost to FTSE March 8, 2017 Philip Hammond's Budget announcements drove the FTSE 100 into positive territory for the day this afternoon. While no individual companies or sectors appeared to rise or fall too strongly, the FTSE 250 and FTSE 350 indices also edged up after the chancellor spoke. Read more: This is what the Budget had to say about UK [...]