UK supermarkets win ATM business rates legal battle May 20, 2020 UK supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Co-op will not have to pay business rates on ATMs at their stores after winning a long-running legal battle. The Supreme Court judged today that retailers were not liable to pay business rates on ATMs inside or outside stores. The ruling against the Valuation Office Agency will result in [...]
London landlord Great Portland Estates pulls rental value guidance due to coronavirus May 20, 2020 London landlord Great Portland Estates pulled its guidance on rental values for the year, but warned that the coronavirus crisis would continue to have a negative impact on property in the capital. The property firm’s portfolio value dropped 0.3 per cent in the year ended 31 March as retail property values fell 3.5 per cent. [...]
Housebuilder Vistry to cut jobs after acquisition of Galliford Try’s homes unit May 20, 2020 UK housebuilder Vistry warned it will cut more jobs as it continues to consolidate operations following Bovis Homes’ acquisition of and Galliford Try’s residential business. The firm, which was called Bovis until the merger last year, said a consultation on reducing its employee headcount was ongoing, and it expected the cuts to result in annual [...]
UK house prices jumped before coronavirus lockdown brought market to standstill May 20, 2020 UK house prices jumped in March before the coronavirus lockdown brought the housing market to a standstill. The average UK house price increased 2.1 per cent in the year to March, up from two per cent in February. London house prices soared 4.7 per cent, the largest 12-month growth recorded in the capital since December [...]
Retail landlord Intu seeks debt standstill as rent payments fall in lockdown May 18, 2020 Embattled retail landlord Intu said this morning that it is seeking debt standstills from its lenders as it warned it expects to breach covenants next month due to a slump in tenant rent payments. Intu, which owns Manchester’s Trafford Centre, said the impact of unpaid rent and plummeting property valuations was likely to result in [...]
Government urged to help property market recover amid UK house price slump May 14, 2020 The government has been urged to provide measures to help the property market to recover, after the latest research warned that UK house prices are set to plunge this year. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) reiterated its call for a stamp duty holiday to encourage buyers , warning that UK house prices were [...]
Coronavirus: Housebuilder Countryside reports £29m profit hit May 14, 2020 Housebuilder Countryside Properties took a £29m hit to profit in March due to lost home and land sales as the coronavirus pandemic escalated in the UK. The developer said it estimated that around 184 completions, including 79 private completions, were lost in March. Five land sales were also cancelled by the buyer due to coronavirus. [...]
UK housebuilders race to return to work after government eases restrictions May 14, 2020 Some of the UK’s biggest housebuilders have revealed plans to return to work after the government removed lockdown restrictions on the property market. FTSE 100 housebuilder Persimmon said this morning that its sales offices in England will reopen from tomorrow with social distancing measures in place. It comes after the government removed restrictions to allow [...]
Housing market at the forefront of UK’s economic revival, says minister May 13, 2020 The housing market will be key to reviving the British economy and needed to be re-opened, according to housing secretary Robert Jenrick. At today’s press briefing, Jenrick said the “pressure for some to move was becoming acute”, with the government estimating that 450,000 buyers and renters have been unable to move house since March. The [...]
Property stocks jump as restrictions on UK housing market ease May 13, 2020 Estate agent and housebuilder stocks soared this morning after the government last night loosened lockdown restrictions on the UK housing market. Shares in London estate agent Foxtons surged 8.31 per cent to 43.65p and online platform Purplebricks’ stock soared 11 per cent to 37.86p. LSL Property Services, the owner of Your Move and Reeds Rains, [...]