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Former Scottish Ballet home acquired in £12 million swoop: A building that was once the home of Scottish Ballet has changed hands in a deal that will lead to the creation of a 281-bed student accommodation facility in Glasgow’s West End.
Affordable housing bond launches to help investors cash in on first-time buyers: Pocket, the London-based property firm that sells affordable homes to “moderate income” professionals in the capital, has launched a mini-bond on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, which will allow the business to raise up to £1.5 million from armchair investors.
UK retail sales across all sectors rose less than expected in February In February, retail sales across all sectors registered a rise of 0.20% in the UK on an annual basis, compared to a similar rise in the prior month. Market expectations were for retail sales across all sectors to climb 0.50%.
The momentum behind economic growth in the British economy nearly stabilised in January, according to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but economists warned of the risk for sustained political uncertainty. The OECD's leading indicator for the UK dipped just 0.05% month-on-month in January to a reading of 100.22 from a peak rate of decline of 0.14% last September. Think-tank IHS Global Insight forecast the UK economy will expand at a 2.7% clip in 2015, with the quarter-on-quarter rate of economic growth seen reaching 0.8% in the last three months of the year. A significant improvement in economic activity within the Eurozone and the impact of lower oil prices on the global economy will help the UK's exports. IHS expected the single currency area's gross domestic product to grow 1.6% in 2015 and 1.9% next. Political uncertainty a key risk for the UK's outlook However, all of the above depended on the upcoming general elections not resulting in any major extended political uncertainty. Indeed, Dr.Howard Archer, chief European+UK economist at IHS, was of the opinion that: "potential political uncertainty poses a significant downside risk to growth in 2015, and possibly also 2016." "Furthermore, there is the danger of a significant hit to investment if the Conservatives head up the next government and call a referendum on European Union membership." To take note of, it remained to be seen if the Prime Minister would bring the date of the referendum forward to 2016, as he had indicated was possible. Dr. Archer added.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has consulted on creating a definitive house price index for the UK, incorporating the data from several organisations (Land Registry, Land and Property Services Northern Ireland, the ONS and Registers of Scotland) currently responsible for publishing the figures. The consultation, launched in October 2014, asked for views on the proposed methodology and whether removing the indices published by Land Registry and ONS would have an impact. Respondents were largely in favour of the proposals, with the feedback showing that the majority would welcome a single official HPI for the clarity and greater accuracy it would bring. However, there were calls for further analysis of the methodology and a request for supplementary analysis to continue being published, as well as a better explanation of the methods used to produce the index, the production of consistent back data, and clarity on how the new index would be published. As such, the ONS has put forward a business case recommending the implementation of the proposed HPI, which will be assessed against ongoing priorities and resource constraints. Methodology will be further reviewed and the GOV.UK website will be investigated as the central publication point for the new index, while planning for the potential transition is underway. If the new index is approved, a final version of the methodology will be published by early summer 2015.
U.K.’s recovery feeds through to pay increases: Britain’s small firms are increasingly confident, leading to more hiring and to pay increases, according to a study out from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
Benelux focused property firm to float in London: A property arm of Whitewood Group has unveiled plans to float in London to raise cash for a push into Holland and Belgium’s commercial property sector.
Edinburgh Old Town project hits ‘milestone’: The developer behind the controversial regeneration scheme in Edinburgh’s Old Town has hailed a “major milestone” in the £150 million project.
Garden cities ‘to leave shortfall of 500,000 homes’: Garden cities, heralded as one of the solutions to the U.K.’s chronic housing supply shortage, will deliver just a third of the new homes needed by 2020, according to a think tank.
Greystar buys Round Hill’s Nido housing portfolio for £600 million: Round Hill Capital has sold the Nido portfolio — consisting of three blocks in Notting Hill, King’s Cross and Spitalfields — to Greystar Real Estate Partners for £600 million, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Birmingham bid to avoid London mistakes: Most cities usually want to emulate London, but Birmingham is determined, instead, to learn from the capital’s mistakes — in one area, at least. Sir Albert Bore, the leader of Birmingham city council, is flying to the annual Mipim property conference in Cannes this week with one aim: to avoid having a housing crisis like London’s
Britain heads another property league: Britain has topped the list of the most attractive European markets for commercial property investment, despite investors becoming nervous about the prospect of leaving the EU if the Conservatives win the general election
UK consumer inflation expectations for next 12 months recorded a drop The Bank of England in its latest survey reported that the consumer inflation expectations for the next 12 months eased to 1.90%, in the UK. In the previous survey, consumer inflation expectations for the next 12 months had recorded a level of 2.50%
Road builders lose up to £5million as bidding restarts: Bidders on five roads deals are fuming that they have wasted up to £5million on the cost of working up their proposals after the Highways Agency decided to effectively restart the competitions. Around five construction and engineering companies were in the running for three contracts covering road-works in Devon & Cornwall, Cumbria & Lancashire, and Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham and North Yorkshire
The lower readings on inflation are feeding through into people's short-term expectations for the cost of living and Bank Rate. The median expectation for the rate of [consumer price] inflation over the coming year was 1.9%, compared with 2.5% in November, according to the Bank of England's/GfK NOP Inflation Attitudes survey. Asked about expected inflation in the 12 months after that, respondents gave a median answer of 2.1%, compared with 2.5% in November, the survey results showed. Rise in interest rates off the cards for now Commenting on the above data, Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Director of Economics said it is "unlikely" that prices will continue falling for a prolonged period, although "a rise in interest rates anytime soon seems off the cards". Newton-Smith also pointed out how, "While lower oil prices are keeping costs down for businesses and consumers, the North Sea oil companies are suffering, harming jobs and investment in the industry. As an immediate step, the Government should announce a commitment to cut back the Supplementary Charge to 20% in the Budget." More people expect Bank Rate to stay low When asked about the future path of interest rates, 39% said rates might stay about the same over the next 12 months, up from 37% in November. The proportion of respondents who now expect rates to rise over the next 12 months dipped to 36%, down from 37% in November. Respondents were asked to assess the way the Bank of England is 'doing its job to set interest rates to control inflation'. The net satisfaction balance - the proportion satisfied minus the proportion dissatisfied - was +35%, compared with +29% in November. GfK NOP interviewed two quota samples of people aged 16 and over in 175 randomly selected output areas throughout the UK; 2094 people between 5 and 10 February and 2018 people between 12 and 17 February. The raw data was weighted to match the demographic profile of the UK as a whole.
Help to Buy helps 88,000 The Government's Help to Buy scheme has helped 88,420 people buy a new home since its launch in April 2013, with the majority of beneficiaries being first-time buyers. Around 80% of scheme completions (66,661) were by first-time buyers and 94% were outside London, showing that the support is largely going to where it's needed. The figures, revealed in the latest update from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), also show that the average price of home bought through the scheme stands at just £185,000, well below the national average. Over half of all sales were for new build homes, which has helped fuel the sharp rise in housebuilding over the last year, it said in a statement.
The average property has risen in price by £12,000 over the past year but increases in 2015 are likely to be far more modest, according to Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. “We suspect that housing market activity is now gradually turning around after losing appreciable momentum from the early-2014 peak levels, and we see activity it picking up modestly as 2015 progresses,” he said. “ Consequently, we expect house prices to rise around 5% in 2015.” While many commentators concur with Archer’s view about modest growth this year, mortgage lenders warned today that the first-time buyer market could go into decline in 2016 if the government fails to replace its help-to-buy mortgage guarantee scheme. The scheme, which offers banks and building societies a government guarantee on mortgages of up to 95% loan to value (LTV) on existing properties, was launched in late 2013 as part of a series of measures to kickstart the housing market. But it is scheduled to end in 2016. The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), which represents firms that market their products through brokers and advisers, said 65% of its members believed competition would fall unless a permanent indemnity scheme was brought in to replace help-to-buy 2.
Poor productivity equals stagnant wages IFS figures show the weakness of the recovery in household incomes
Cold weather hits February retail sales: High Street sales declined in February as the cold weather put consumers off shopping and offset a boost in sales from Valentine’s Day.
Tulloch Homes reveals management buyout: One of the best-known businesses in the Highlands, housebuilder Tulloch Homes, is being bought out by its management team from its investment banking and private equity Owners
U.K. has sixth-largest male-female pay gap in EU: The U.K. has the sixth-largest pay gap between men and women in the European Union, statistics agency Eurostat has revealed
New York will overtake London as favoured playground of super rich by 2025: New York is poised to steal London’s crown as the most important city for the worlds super rich, according to a new report from Knight Frank
London at risk of missing out as super-rich multiply: The ranks of super-rich people across the globe swelled to 172,850 last year, and London looks set to be overtaken as the chosen home of the wealthy
The quarterly rate of UK house price growth firmed up for a second consecutive month in February as a result of increases in real earnings and spending power, the results of a widely-followed sector survey showed. The average home prices dipped by 0.3% month-on-month to reach £192,372 according to mortgage lender Halifax, although the year-on-year pace of change cooled to 8.3% from a reading of 8.5% in the month before. Over the three months to February they gained 2.6%, up from the 1.8% rise seen in the three months to January. Commenting on the data Martin Ellis, housing economist, said: "The firming in price growth shown by the recent pick-up in the three month-on-three month comparison and indications of a modest rise in activity are likely to be due to a boost to housing demand as a result of increases in real earnings and spending power, further recent falls in mortgage rates and stamp duty changes. "The supply of both new and second-hand homes available for sale remains low; another factor that is likely to be supporting house prices. Supply remains tight despite house-building in England increasing for the second consecutive year in 2014 and a recent rise in the number of properties coming on to the market." Economists had pencilled in a drop of 0.3% on the month and a gain of 8.5% on the year.
Property investor buoyed by strong capital portfolio: Property investment firm CLS Holdings said the market value of its London portfolio jumped 34%, to £705 million, in 2014