Deadline extended on Blackstone’s £1.2bn takeover of property developer St Modwen June 16, 2021 Private equity firm Blackstone and British property investment and development group St Modwen have been granted an extension to finalise a £1.2bn takeover deal. In a statement today St Modwen said it had reached an agreement on the terms of the takeover bid by Brighton Bidco, a newly former company of funds advised by Blackstone. [...]
Pandemic pressures leave would-be first-time buyers further from homeownership June 16, 2021 The impact of the pandemic, both on the property market and on personal finances, has left a gulf between struggling would-be first-time buyers and those already on the ladder. More than four-in-10 first-time buyers delayed plans to buy a home in 2020, with the majority saying raising a deposit is the biggest barrier to homeownership, [...]
Housebuilder Bellway makes record land investment as house prices rocket June 15, 2021 Bellway has made a record investment in land since last August, a move that could pay off handsomely in the future with the recent rise in house prices. The housebuilder has contracted to acquire some 15,982 plots since 1 August 2020, up from 10,079 plots in its 2020 financial year, and 10,620 in 2019. Bellway [...]
Canary Wharf boss: ‘FOMO’ will bring staff back to the office June 14, 2021 Canary Wharf boss: Government must be clear on rules, but FOMO will bring people back to the office
Mortgages grow pricier than London rents for first time in four years June 14, 2021 With London rents diving amid a pandemic-induced city exodus, it is now cheaper to rent in the capital than own a home for the first time in four years. According to analysis by real estate agent Hamptons, city dwellers’ in rental accommodation are £251 better off following monthly payments than homeowners dishing out their mortgage repayments. [...]
Sigma agrees to £188m takeover by private equity firm PineBridge June 11, 2021 Sigma has agreed to be bought by a subsidiary of real estate private equity specialist PineBridge Benson Elliott for £188.4m in cash. The London-listed developer said its board and Six Bidco, the entity through which PineBridge will make the acquisition, have agreed an offer of 202.1 pence per share, a 36 per cent premium to [...]
Exclusive: Pandemic prompts close to 4m Londoners consider moving in quest for a better life June 9, 2021 The pandemic and subsequent UK lockdowns have had a transformative impact on UK employees, with more than a third aged 18-34 moving house so as to secure a better quality of life. The corresponding figure for those aged 55+ is just 9 per cent, while the UK average is one-in-five, according to research from Close [...]
So much for the pandemic exodus: Home sellers’ confidence grows while WFH drives suburb popularity June 9, 2021 London has brushed off fears its population plan to leave en-masse, however home working has influenced where workers would like to live in the capital. Much has been made of the ‘London exodus’; the idea being that professionals who are no longer obligated to sit at a desk for five days per week would rather [...]
London house prices: Home buyers increasingly face a sellers’ market June 9, 2021 London’s property market witnessed a 19.4 per cent decrease in the number of sellers willing to drop their asking prices, according to new data shared with Morning Wire this morning. The uplift in sellers’ confidence, researched by Chestertons, echoes Halifax’s latest House Price Index for May, which revealed that the average property price in London [...]
Young Londoners moved house more than anyone else during the pandemic June 9, 2021 Nearly two-in-five (39%) young Londoners moved house during the pandemic in the hope of securing a better quality of life. Employees in London were keener to move than employees elsewhere in the country, according to research by Close Brothers. More than a third (36%) of those aged 18 to 34 moved house during the pandemic, [...]