PROPERTY NEWS
IRISH ARTIST MAKES HOUSE BUILT OF SHREDDED EUROS
An unemployed Irish artist has built a home from the shredded remains of €1.4bn (£1.2bn), a monument to the “madness” he says has been wrought on Ireland by the single currency. Frank Buckley built the apartment in the lobby of a Dublin office building that has lain vacant since its completion four years ago at the peak of the construction boom, using bricks of shredded euro notes he borrowed from Ireland’s national mint.
HENRY BOOT FORECASTS BETTER THAN EXPECTED PROFITS
Property and construction firm Henry Boot forecast full-year pre-tax profit ahead of market estimates this week. The company, which last year sold a shopping centre in Ayr for £33.8m, forecast a 14 per cent fall in revenue for the year. It warned that current property valuation was expected to be slightly below that of June 2011, reflecting a weaker market.
OXFORD PRIME MARKET FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS
An astonishing 40 per cent of Oxford’s prime property sells to international buyers, according to property giant Knight Frank. Its Oxford office sold to 13 nationalities in the last 12 months, with clients drawn to the city due to its reputation as a cultural hub, thriving technology sector, the outstanding education on offer and the lure of the University colleges. The figures show London is not alone in attracting foreign investors.