PHP makes surprise third approach for Assura at £1.68bn May 16, 2025 Primary Health Properties has made a third approach for Assura as the war for the real estate investment trust heats up. PHP has offered £1.68bn for Assura, valuing its share price at 51.7p – a premium of 38.2 per cent to the company’s closing share price of 37.4 pence on February 13. This is the [...]
Landsec boosts profit amid residential and retail pivot May 16, 2025 Property investment group Land Securities – known as Landsec – has reported a five per cent boost amid a strategic repositioning of the firm’s commercial property portfolio in favour of residential and retail property. Profit before tax rose to £395m from £341m, as the group plans to invest £1bn in retail and more than £2bn [...]
Rents near Elizabeth line stations rocket up a third since opening May 15, 2025 Rents for homes near recently-added Elizabeth line stations have shot up by more than a third since 2022 as the housing crisis in the capital continues to intensify. In some locations, prices have risen by more than 70 per cent as demand for well-connected properties soars, according to lettings software firm Goodlord. This rise outstrips [...]
Tax cost hikes and digital red tape could push landlords to sell up May 15, 2025 Buy to let landlords are set to face fresh tax hurdles that could lead to a squeeze in supply for the rental sector, according to new research. The advisory firm Blick Rothenberg found that the government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) scheme would add to the costs and administrative burdens of letting properties to tenants. The [...]
Rental crisis to worsen in the next decade, says UK’s biggest landlord May 15, 2025 Ongoing supply constraints are set to worsen the UK’s rental crisis in the coming years, according to the country’s biggest landlord. Grainger said it expected rental demand to grow 20 per cent from its 2021 level by 2031, far above growth in housing supply. “The private rental market in the UK faces growing demand [and] [...]
Landmark Canary Wharf building given the green light May 14, 2025 Plans to construct a new landmark building in London’s Canary Wharf have been given the green light. Canary Wharf Group (CWG) has secured planning permission to build a 46-story student accommodation building in the Wood Wharf neighbourhood. The development at 7 Brannan Street will contain 912 bedrooms, increasing Canary Wharf’s current population of 3,500 students [...]
Brent Cross shopping centre taken over in £200m deal May 12, 2025 London’s Brent Cross shopping centre is to come under the full control of Hammerson after a £200m deal to buy out Aberdeen was confirmed. Hammerson, which currently owns 41 per cent of the landmark shopping centre, will raise its stake to over 90 per cent by acquiring units from the Aberdeen UK Shopping Centre Trust. [...]
Mortgages rates set to fall after Bank of England interest rate cut May 9, 2025 Analysts have predicted that the Bank of England’s decision to reduce interest rates on Thursday will encourage major banks to cut mortgage rates. Lower rates will be a major affordability boost for the UK’s housing market, which continues to price out young buyers unable to rely on financial gifts or savings. “If homebuyers can borrow more, they [...]
Rightmove: Lower mortgages and browsing Brits boost property portal May 9, 2025 Property platform Rightmove has benefitted from a more optimistic housing market as mortgage rates fall, with buyer demand and property listings both up. The FTSE100 company, which is home to over 80 per cent of all consumer time spent on UK property portals, said new property listings rose nine per cent in the first four [...]
Derwent: Return to office mandates boost London landlord May 8, 2025 Ongoing high demand for central London offices, combined with low supply of best-in-class space, has boosted real estate investment trust (REIT) Derwent in the first quarter of the year. Derwent said leasing activity in the year to date totalled £2.7m, with a further £3.7m of rent under offer. Open market lettings ticked up by 2.7 [...]