Why isn’t London building? Opinion Affordable housing targets and well-meaning safety regulation has led developers to conclude that building in London is not worth the hassle, says Sam Griffiths You’re probably bored of reading bad news about housing in London – but figures released by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) should make us all sit up and take notice. Only [...]
Taylor Wimpey: Construction jumps but cladding costs wipe out profit Property Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey posted a double-digit rise in housing completions, but a £222.2m hit from fixing combustible cladding pushed the company to a half-year loss. Shares fell nearly five per cent in early morning trades. The number of houses built in the first half of 2025 totalled 5,264, up from 4,728 last year, the company [...]
The Building Safety Regulator’s near-impossible balancing act Originally implemented to tackle safety concerns in light of the devastating Grenfell fire, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has now been accused of hamstringing developments in the capital. Delays in the system are currently “undermining investor confidence” in the sector, “holding back the delivery of new homes and adding to uncertainty for residents”, head of [...]
Grenfell United welcomes Ulster decision to end Kingspan deal July 2, 2025 Grenfell survivors have welcomed Ulster Rugby’s decision to discontinue its stadium naming rights deal with Kingspan, an insulation maker criticised over the London tower block tragedy. Ulster announced this week it had begun the process of removing Kingspan branding from its home ground in Belfast after a long-term sponsorship deal with the local firm, which [...]
Angela Rayner denies being ‘aggressive’ in meeting with Grenfell survivors February 9, 2025 Angela Rayner has denied being “aggressive” during a meeting of the Grenfell bereaved and survivors when informing them about the decision to dismantle the tower. The deputy prime minister said it is “not a possibility” for Grenfell tower to remain in its current state. The tower will be brought down to ground level, with some parts returned where possible [...]
Persimmon boss warns triple Budget hit will add billions for housebuilders December 16, 2024 Persimmon chief executive Dean Finch has warned that higher costs from new levies will add around £40m in annual costs and add “billions” in expenses across the housebuilding sector. He claimed that the taxes would hurt the government’s ambitious target of building 1.5m homes by 2029, telling The Times that there was a “disconnect” between [...]
The Notebook: Starmer should spend more time on Linkedin October 16, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer should spend more time clicking away on the world’s most insincere website, according to Michael Martins, founding partner of Overton Advisory Starmer should spend more time on LinkedIn Labour’s first successful International Investment Summit under Prime Minister Starmer yesterday has garnered all the right headlines. Tens of billions of pounds in investment [...]
Golfer Maguire urged to drop Kingspan sponsorship following Grenfell Inquiry September 18, 2024 Fellow golfer Shane Lowry ended his commercial relationship with Kingspan last week after the public inquiry into the London tower block fire.
Grenfell-linked firms awarded £350m in public sector contracts since fire September 17, 2024 Companies linked to the Grenfell fire have been awarded over £350m in public sector contracts since the building tragically caught fire seven years ago, a new analysis of public sector contracts has revealed. Figures shared with Morning Wire showed that Saint-Gobain, Rydon and Kingspan – which all had connections to the fire – have between [...]
Grenfell: Barratt says fixing widespread cladding issues will take up to five years September 4, 2024 Barratt has said there is a shortage of qualified fire engineers who are able to refit buildings to reliable safety standards in light of the Grenfell tower disaster. “We recognise that this will take another three to five years to work through to resolution,” chief executive David Thomas said in the company’s full-year results. “There [...]