Whitbread to cut nearly 4,000 jobs in £2bn cost saving plan April 30, 2026 Whitbread is to slash nearly 4,000 jobs as part of plans to offload restaurants and sell off the freehold rights to its hotels, in a bid to raise £2bn. Shares in the company slipped on Thursday after it announced the plans to raise £1.5bn by selling off the freehold rights to a raft of its [...]
Renters’ rights act: what does it mean for landlords, rent hikes, tenants and no-fault evictions? April 29, 2026 The government’s long-awaited renters’ rights act comes into force on Friday, 1 May. Labour says the new law will “level the playing field” between landlords and tenants, but many in the residential rental sector have been alarmed by the scale of the changes and there are concerns that many independent landlords will exit the market [...]
Three reasons AI will not replace the mortgage broker April 29, 2026 Mortgage advice has never been a simple numbers game, and it is becoming even less so. Technology is speeding up sourcing, suitability checks and paperwork. Clients are also more digitally confident than ever, and lenders are ever more competitive. But for anyone advising complex borrowers, especially in the high-net-worth space, the idea that AI will [...]
Rent controls: The left hand doesn’t know what the far-left hand is doing April 29, 2026 For just under 24 hours the residential landlord sector was seized by panic following reports that first appeared on Monday night that the Chancellor was preparing to impose a ‘temporary’ ban on rent increases. The policy of rent controls was hitherto the preserve of the Green Party and Labour’s loony left, but then came reports [...]
Londoners wait far longer to sell homes as stamp duty weighs on confidence April 29, 2026 The wait for a London house sale is six days longer now than last year, as the capital sees the “greatest impact” from stamp duty and the Iran war’s hit to property confidence. The average time it takes for a house in the capital to be snapped up once it is listed on the market [...]
Taylor Wimpey sales fall as Iran war pushes up building costs April 28, 2026 Leading housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is bracing for rising costs in its supply chain as the industry warns of soaring building inflation caused by the Iran war. The housebuilder’s warning prompted its stock to dip in early trading, pushing its share price down as much as 4.7 per cent on Tuesday. The FTSE 250 firm’s order [...]
Howard de Walden Estate splashes £50m on Harley Street property deals April 28, 2026 The Howard de Walden Estate has spent £50m on acquisitions in the Harley Street neighbourhood, Morning Wire can reveal, as it tightens its dominance over the capital’s private health hub. The property company has acquired three long leaseholds in Harley Street and Wimpole Street, with a combined 50,000 sq ft footprint, featuring a blend of [...]
Inflation fears push slump in demand for City offices April 24, 2026 Demand for office space in the Square Mile slid in the first quarter of the year as investors stalled decision making following the outbreak of war in Iran. Office property demand fell by 23 per cent year on year in Canada and 14 per cent in the capital as a whole in the [...]
London house prices sink again as wealthiest areas hit April 22, 2026 House prices in London have fallen for the seventh consecutive month, as the capital’s luxury hot spots saw huge slumps in value. House prices dropped more than 12 per cent in Westminster – which includes in-demand areas like Mayfair and Knightsbridge – and 11 per cent in Kensington and Chelsea. The average house price in [...]
‘It doesn’t work anymore’: Wealthy Brits snub UK property market in search of better returns April 21, 2026 Affluent Brits are pulling out of the UK property market at pace, the boss of a major London bank has said, as high taxes, burdensome regulation and stagnant house prices prompt investors to look elsewhere for greater returns. Ian Rand, chief executive of Monument Bank, which caters for mass affluent account holders with six figures [...]