London property market sentiment strengthens after Conservative election victory January 16, 2020 London’s property market has enjoyed a “Boris bounce” following the result of last month’s General Election, as the capital saw a sharp increase in buyer interest and sales prospects. In December, 31 per cent of chartered surveyors saw a rise rather than a fall in enquiries from new buyers, up from minus 12 in November, [...]
Aviva Investors buys Docklands hotel site for £106m January 15, 2020 Aviva Investors’ Lime Property Fund has bought a £106m hotel development site near Canary Wharf. The asset management arm of Aviva has acquired the freehold interest in the site next to Westferry DLR station, where developer Rockwell will build a 30-storey Premier Inn Hotel. Read more: London luxury hotel market booms Whitbread, the owner of [...]
Bovis Homes to beat expectations with record profit for 2019 January 15, 2020 Vistry Group has reported that Bovis Homes is set to beat market expectations to deliver record profit despite political uncertainty putting pressure on prices last year. The housebuilder said this morning that it expects its Bovis operation to report pre-exceptional profit before tax for 2019 to be above an analyst consensus of £181.6m. Read more: [...]
UK house prices increase as market shows signs of confidence in November January 15, 2020 UK house prices increased in the year to November, demonstrating returning signs of confidence in the property market, according to the latest data. Average UK house prices were up 2.2 per cent in November last year, compared to a 1.3 per cent jump in the year to October. Read more: London’s house prices rose twice [...]
New mortgages fall in November after 2018 surge January 15, 2020 The number of first time buyer mortgages dropped in November last year, following a surge in house purchase activity in 2018. There were 30,620 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in November 2019, a decline of 10.5 per cent compared to the same month the previous year. Read more: First time buyer mortgages hit 12-year high [...]
Persimmon sales slump due to customer service drive January 15, 2020 Persimmon has reported a slump in revenue and housing completions, which the housebuilder blamed on a decision to “put customers before volume”. The FTSE 100 firm said total group revenue last year was £3.65bn, a 2.4 per cent dip compared to the previous year as it took action to improve quality and customer service following [...]
UK housing market stable despite political uncertainty, says Taylor Wimpey January 14, 2020 Housebuilding firm Taylor Wimpey said the housing market remained stable last year, despite ongoing economic and political uncertainty. In a trading update this morning the company said that conditions were more challenging in London and the South East but demand for homes remained strong in the face of uncertainty caused by Brexit. Read more: New [...]
Grosvenor Group searches for new boss after UK CEO steps down early January 14, 2020 The Duke of Westminster’s property investment firm Grosvenor Group is searching for a new group chief executive after Craig McWilliam stepped down citing private reasons. McWilliam, who was chief executive of Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, was due to take on the group role next year. Read more: The Grosvenor Estate weights up move to become [...]
Ex-Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn appointed CEO of Yorkshire housebuilder January 14, 2020 The former boss of Persimmon Jeff Fairburn, who left the housebuilder in 2018 following controversy over his £75m bonus, has been appointed as chief executive of another development firm. Fairburn has taken on the chief executive role at Yorkshire housebuilder Berkeley DeVeer after buying a 50 per cent stake in the firm. Read more: Persimmon [...]
Revealed: The London boroughs with the most new build homes January 14, 2020 Canada has the biggest proportion of new build housing stock compared to the other boroughs in the capital, according to the latest research. In total, 28 per cent of the property currently listed for sale in the Square Mile falls into the new build sector. Read more: UK housing market stable despite [...]