Taylor Wimpey cash call rejected by major shareholders forces shares to crash.

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Shares in Taylor Wimpey lost almost half their value today after the UK’s largest housebuilder by volume said that it had failed to secure a cash injection to repair its balance sheet. The Finance Director Peter Johnson has resigned.

Westfield agree terms to start £1.5billion Olympic shopping centre development

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Westfield Group, the Australian shopping center owner, got the go-ahead to begin building a £1.5 billion retail development next to London's planned 2012 Olympic Park.

The company reached agreements on utilities and development rights wit

Cushman & Wakefield say commercial property buyers and sellers can't agree prices so volume is 45% down

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Cushman & Wakefield in it's Q2 analysis of the UK commercial property market noted that transactional volumes stabilised somewhat in the opening quarter - falling less than 4% from their levels at the end of 2007 - but still stood some 45% down on the

BIS blames worldwide excessive credit growth led by US Fed as cause of credit crunch

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:00:00 GMT

A year ago, the Bank for International Settlements startled the financial world by warning that we might soon face challenges last seen during the onset of the Great Depression,which has proved frighteningly accurate.

The venerable Swiss-based

Humberts accounts for its demise

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Humberts Group Plc. reported a slide into loss for the first half and said trading in the core residential agency business continues to be disappointing, with transaction volumes running at about 50% below the previous year due to the ongoing effect of

Residential Mortgage approvals lowest since records began points to 15-20% price falls

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Mortgage approval numbers collapsed in May, figures from the Bank of England showed on Monday, giving confirmation of the speed with which conditions in the UK housing market have deteriorated.

The Bank said mortgage approvals for house purchas

Valad in partnership with council to develop Sterling sites with a GDV of over £120million

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Valad Property Group has extended a joint venture with Stirling Council which will facilitate the acquisition of an investment portfolio with a value of £12.7 million, together with thirteen development sites. The new vehicle, Stirling Development A

Taylor Wimpey confirms talks with shareholders about new money to prop the business up

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Taylor Wimpey, the country's biggest housebuilder by volume, confirmed it is in talks with shareholders Legal & General, Standard Life and Barclays among other core investors about raising additional financing, which would most likely be via a p

Landlords demolish rather than pay rates on empty commercial property may force tax U turn

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Growing evidence of the effect of the removal of empty property rates relief on commercial buildings has led to landlords demolishing buildings rather than pay the Treasury, has caused members of the Government to reveal privately that they ar

Barclays Capital say global inflation will force Fed address core issues and raise interest rates

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall "below zero".

"We

Resolution pressures B&B management to allow due diligence to commence

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Clive Cowdery said he has the backing of a quarter of shareholders in Bradford & Bingley for his proposed £400 million investment plan for the bank.

Resolution, Cowdery's restructuring vehicle, is leading a plan to inject the cash int

£185 million redevelopment of former Terrys Chocolate site in York expected to win planning approval

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Next month, City of York planners are expected to reach a decision on plans for The Chocolate Works, York, which would turn 25 acres of the former Terrys Chocolate factory into a mixed-use scheme with offices, shops, restaurants, hotels and homes.

Eley name DBK to manage 22 storey student accomodation development in central Birmingham

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
DBK Group, the construction, property and development consultancy, has been named as project manager, cost consultant, BREEAM assessor, utilities consultant and CDM co-ordinator on a proposed 22-storey development in the centre of Birmingham.

T

ING Real Estate say UK commercial property values do not have much further to fall

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
ING Real Estate, the world's biggest real estate fund firm, has begun buying back into UK property because it looks cheap but has cut U.S. exposure as it sees prices falling further, a senior executive told the Reuters Real Estate Summit yesterday.
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Both West End and City office rents set to fall and yields still offer no real return so values must fall further 20%

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Office rents in London's key financial districts will not grow in the next decade, said a senior banker yesterday, who saw prime commercial property values falling by another 20%.

"In my view we're not going to see any rental growth in the

Brown struggling to avoid defeat on the Planning Bill

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The prime minister has been phoning potential Labour rebels while Hazel Blears, local government secretary and John Healey, planning minister, held talks last night to avert a full-scale rebellion as 60 Labour MPs are ready to defeat the bill. If all oppo

Swap Rates drive residential fixed rate mortgages to 10 year high

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The cost of fixed rate residential mortgages has hit a 10-year high -- and is set to climb further, say analysts.

The average two-year fixed rate stands at 6.75% -- the highest in a decade, according to price comparison website Moneyfacts.co.uk

Bradford & Bingley reject counter bid from Resolution for £400million

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Bradford & Bingley Plc rejected an offer that would give British financier Clive Cowdery's Resolution Ltd. control over the mortgage lender in return for £400 million.

Resolution sought to abort private equity firm TPG Inc.'s agreemen

Property related shares take a further dive as HSBC downgrades the sector

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Shares in the property sector was hit by a big downgrade from HSBC, which advised investors to “Keep the tin hats on and stay in the trenches”, said it expects "further absolute falls" of another 30% or more, as the "occupier do

Vincent Tchenguiz invests in UK farmland

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Vincent Tchenguiz has invested in farmland by taking a stake in the investment trust Braemar UK Agricultural Land, through Gallastico, the Tchenguiz family currently owns more than 28% of Braemar’s share capital.

The value of agricultura

Eco Towns proposals falling well short of required standards according to Government judges.

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The Eco-Towns Challenge Panel, charged with judging would-be developers bids for new eco-towns, says that out of the 15 shortlisted sites, less than 10 should be given the go-ahead and of those only a handful would have proper green credentials.

LloydsTSB takes steps to acquire German banking presence while assets are cheap.

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Lloyds TSB is reported to have made a non-binding offer for Allianz SE's Dresdner Bank AG after several weeks of negotiations, by German weekly magazine Der Spiegel, without citing sources. Dresdner Bank is clearly in play but German politicians would lik

Capital & Regional shore up Mall Fund with sales of 3 shopping centres and rights issue.

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Capital & Regional Plc. (C&R) welcomed the Mall Fund's agreement to sell three properties to Carlyle Group for £286 million, saying the transaction, together with the capital raising puts the fund on a more secure financial footing.

HBOS to write down £1 billion from H1 results as house price falls gather pace

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
HBOS, the UK's biggest mortgage lender, has forecast that UK house prices are set to fall by 9% this year, but warned of a £1 billion writedown in the first-half of its fiscal year and of a faster deterioration in house prices.

The bankin

Commercial Property agents start to shed jobs as 50 go at DTZ

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
DTZ is one of the first big commercial property firms to announce a staff reduction as the property services sector starts to feel the effects of the downturn in the UK market.

The commercial property adviser has told staff that up to 50 of its

Sainsburys up Woolworths down - todays results from a challenging High Street

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Food retailers are having a better time in challenging high street conditions than non-food as demonstrated today as sweets-to-DVDs retailer Woolworths Group said like-for-like sales at its high street stores fell 2.2% in the first 19 weeks of its fina

Latest IPF consensus forecast is the commercial property values and rentals will decline further

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The outlook for commercial property values has significantly worsened in the second quarter of the year with a consensus forecast total loss for 2008 of -5.2%, down from -2.6% in March.

The downward trend pours cold water on fund manager predic

OFT looks into Scottish leasehold management practices

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The Office of Fair Trading has launched a market study into Scottish property management services. Residents in collective residential properties in Scotland use property managers, known as factors, to manage common and shared property such as roofs

MCR expand out of North-West to buy Leicester BT landmark for £9.7million

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
MCR Property Group has paid £9.7million for the high-rise New Albion House in Leicester, which is occupied by telecoms giant BT.

Acquired from Friends Provident Life Assurance, the 62,000 sq ft property is situated close to the city centr

Whitbread delights the markets with strong growth across all businesses

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Whitbread, the UK's biggest hotel and restaurants operator, said today that like-for-like sales across its businesses rose 7.1% in the 13 weeks to June 17.

The group, which operates the Premier Inn, Beefeater, and Costa Coffee chains, warned ho

Lehman Bros announce Q2 losses and prepare for a 28% fall in UK residential property values

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Troubled US investment bank Lehman Brothers posted its first loss as a public company, confirming indications released last week at the time of its cash-raising announcement and boardroom blood-letting.

The company posted a net loss in the seco

IPD report commercial property rentals falling for first time as well as capital values

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Figures from IPD and Acadametrics published on Friday suggested that property stocks may not be out of the woods yet, despite the rebound in home builders on Friday.

IPD says its UK property index saw a total return of -0.7% in May.

Barclays confirms it is considering a rights issue

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Barclays has said it is considering selling shares to existing investors to raise cash in a rights issue, after Barclay's shares fell to a 10-year low on Thursday.

The announcement comes after it was reported over the weekend that the bank has

McCarthy & Stone in talks with Rothschild to restructure debt

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Howard Phillips, the chief executive of McCarthy & Stone, has called in bankers NM Rothschild to restructure its £800million debt as the credit crisis wreaks havoc in the housebuilding sector, according to the Independent on Sunday..

Valad sumbits plans for £40million Glasgow Queen Street project

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Holmes architects has submitted a full planning application, on behalf of Valad Property Group, for a major commercial mixed-use development on 110 Queen Street, Glasgow, Scotland. Located in one of Glasgow's most important conservation areas, and surroun

Residential Mortgage lending volume improves but costs and rates are rising

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Mortgage lending showed a slight rebound in April, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Some 50,700 loans to purchase homes were granted in April, a rise of 5,000 from the previous month and the highest level since December.

Tchenguiz lifts M&B stake to 29.77% after slide in it's share price

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) activist investor Robert Tchenguiz has upped his total holding in the company to 29.77% after buying further so-called contracts-for-difference (CFDs) with no voting rights, taking advantage of the recent slide in M

Barratt Developments forced to issue trading statement as share price crashes

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Barratt Developments, one of the UK’s largest housebuilders, has been forced to issue a statement reaffirming its financial position, after market speculation led to a significant fall in its share price.

The firm’s share price drop

Anti - Severn barrage NGO's sponsor report which condems the £15 billion project as uneconomic

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
A proposed giant tidal barrage across the Severn estuary to generate clean electricity does not make economic sense and should not go ahead, a study said today.

The study said the £15 billion it is estimated that the 10-mile barrage would

Humberts goes bust and is sold for £3.16 million

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Humberts which less than nine months ago, had about 80 branches, including franchises and was valued at £32million, went into administration this week, before being bought out by the Mercantile Group for £3.16million, including the cancellatio

Savills report Commercial property construction falling for 7th straight month

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Commercial building activity in Britain shrank for a seventh straight month in May and was expected to decline further in the next three months, a survey of building contractors and developers showed today.
Savills said its Total Commercial Developme

King fuels further pressure on SWAP rates with bleak assessment which will force mortgage rates up

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
In his speech to The British Bankers’ Association annual conference Bank of England Governor Mervyn King warned that the financial market crisis is not over, as yet more data pointed to Britain's housing market and wider economy suffering a lo

Tesco Q1 UK sales up 3.5%, though growth rate is slowing

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Tesco said its first quarter like-for-like sales excluding petrol in its core UK market rose 3.5%, slowing from the start of the year, while its international business grew by 26.6%.

Britain's largest retailer in a statement said although food

Japanese patisserie franchise expands in UK with next 3 of 25 store programme.

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Jones Lang LaSalle secured the first store for Beard Papa's, a Japanese specialist patisserie franchise, in Europe in November 2006. Situated on the corner of Oxford Street and Berwick Street in the heart of the West End; it has become the most prof

Humberts follow precedent to dispose of Blenheim Bishop to original vendor

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Humberts Group Plc. said it has sold Blenheim Bishop Estate Agents back to the original Vendor for £967,000, which represents the cancellation of the outstanding deferred amount.Blenheim Bishop, based in Mayfair, specialises in land and new home dev

Knight Frank strengthens retail offer with acquisition of Markham Vaughan Gillingham

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Knight Frank has bought Bristol and London based specialist retail agency Markham Vaughan Gillingham (“MVG”).

The 12 strong team at MVG is currently advising on more than 9.5 million sq ft of shopping centres and has a strong nation

Values in The Mall fund continue to fall as capital raising is delayed

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Struggling property fund manager Capital & Regional said on Thursday it had postponed a unitholder meeting to discuss an emergency fundraising after averting a breach of loan terms linked to in its flagship community shopping centre fund The Mall.

Macquarie back in the bidding for Trillium

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Macquarie, the Australian investment bank, is back in the race for Trillium, the outsourcing and infrastructure arm of Land Securities, according to a report in The Independent on Sunday.

The newspaper said that Land Securities snub

Gazeley sold by Asda for over £300million to Dubai World

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Gazeley, the industrial property developer owned by Asda Wal-Mart, is to be sold to Dubai World, the sovereign wealth-backed investor, for more than £300m, the FT reports.

Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the logistics development and busines

Humberts return Richard Harding to previous owners

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Humberts has sold Richard Harding Estate Agents for £1.06 million,of which £60,000 pounds was paid in cash and the balance represents the cancellation of the outstanding deferred amount of £1.0 million.It has been sold back to the origin

IPF survey reveals less hope of recovery in commercial property in 2009

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Property fund managers, analysts and advisors are less hopeful of a 2009 bounce in UK commercial property returns than they were three months ago, a survey showed today.

According to the quarterly survey by Investment Property Forum (IPF), capi

King Sturge report Edgbaston drawing office demand away from Birmingham City

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
King Sturge reports that 35,000 sq ft of prime grade A office space at Fifty4 Hagley Road Edgbaston is to be let to a top public sector organisation and a further 2,223 sq ft has also been let at Fifty4 to top construction recruitment consultancy O'

Helicar Bar reports £32.8 million loss after property revaluations, as Slade warns of Double-dip in values coming

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Helical Bar has maintained its dividend despite falling into the red last year after taking a hit on property values, reporting a loss before tax of £32.8m in the year to 31 March after showing a profit of £40.6m the year before.

Th

Quintain Estates reports 11.5% drop in NAV but claims to have outperformed the market

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Quintain Estates and Development said it had outperformed the general property market in its year to March, thanks to its focus on less cyclical areas such as student accommodation and healthcare, where returns were linked to inflation.

It repo

Goold Estates defy credit crunch with £2 million industrial estate purchase

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Walsall based Goold Estates has not let the credit crunch hamper its plans for growth and has acquired the four-and-a-half-acres Cookley Wharf Industrial Estate in Brierley Hill for £2 million. It will substantially improve and modernise the s

Wm Morrison outperforms rivals with Q1 sales 7% up

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Wm Morrison, Britain's fourth-biggest supermarket group, met forecasts today with a 7% rise in first-quarter underlying sales and said its outlook was unchanged despite tough trading conditions.

This performance is ahead of it's main rivals who

Moodys say outlook for British banking system is negative, as the US expects a 2 year "credit recession"

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Moody's, the financial ratings agency, said last week that the outlook for the British banking system is negative, citing economic weakness, high consumer indebtedness and negative credit conditions.

Moody's stress-tested the loan portfolios

Lend Lease starts construction of Olympic Village without funding agreement in place.

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Construction work has started on the 2012 Olympic Village, but financial wrangling between the Olympic Delivery Authority and Lend Lease continues.
2012 Olympic village

Piling on the first residential block has commenced, with work being d

John Laing wins ground breaking new role with Croydon Council in £450 million regeneration project

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
John Laing has landed the rights to a £450m project to regenerate major buildings in Croydon and to work on a 15 year partnership with the council – the first of its kind in the UK.

Croydon Council announced the infrastructure firm

Scottish Equitable property fund makes disposals totalling £171.7 million to boost liquidity

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
PRUPIM, the property investment arm of British insurer Prudential , said yesterday it had bought the Edinburgh headquarters of rival Scottish Equitable, a unit of Dutch insurer Aegon NV , for £91.7 million.

PRUPIM bought the 263,191 squar

Bradford & Bingley lose £8 million in 1st 4 months causing it's shares to crash 26% and dragging sector down

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

US investor Texas Pacific Group is to buy a 20% stake in Bradford & Bingley for £150 million, in a move which should add some confidence about the future of Britains biggest Buy-to -Let lender.

It follows a profits warning by the b

Humberts takes desperate measures to pay the wages as management consider the group's postion

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Humberts, the old established estate agency chain, has sold two recently purchased estate agency businesses at a huge book loss.

On Friday, it announced it had sold Halls Participations back to its management, for £1.9million, after buyin

Grosvenor opens Liverpool One for business

Thu, 29 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Liverpool's new retail development, Liverpool One, opens for business today. The first phase of developer Grosvenor's giant regeneration scheme comprises over 100,000sq metres of retail space, anchored by new John Lewis and Debenhams stores.

Ro

Old Trafford likely to get major new development which includes 37 storey £180million skyscraper

Thu, 29 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Cork-based developer Howard Holdings is close to a deal with a hotel operator for a 190-bed four-star hotel next to Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, the Manchester Evening News has reported.

If agreed, the deal will open the door to a

Mortgage market confusion as rates harden and volumes remain at historic lows

Thu, 29 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Abbey has raised rates on some fixed-rate mortgages by up to 0.44% on the back of rising borrowing costs, just a week after announcing more rate cuts to lure new customers.

The move has already prompted criticism from industry watchers, who say

The £2.9 billion Mall fund taps investors for £300million to avoid breach of key debt covenant

Wed, 28 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
A £2.9billion shopping centre investment fund managed by Capital & Regional is to raise £300m through a deeply discounted rights issue to prevent a breach of a key debt covenant, reports the FT.

Capital & Regional Plc. reite

Scottish Widows sell Southend Matalan development for £6.4million to Rowan

Wed, 28 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Rowan Asset Management has acquired a prominent three acre retail warehouse site in Southend for £6.425 million from Scottish Widows. The purchase, with a net initial yield of 6.5%, will form part of Rowan’s UK Commercial Property Fund 3, targ

Shaftesbury disappoints the City with 10.5% fall in NAV as first loss since 1992 is posted

Wed, 28 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Shaftesbury, the REIT which owns more than 400 properties around Carnaby Street, Covent Garden and Chinatown, posted a 10.5% fall in adjusted net asset value in below-forecast first-half results today, and its shares slipped 3.6% in early trading.

Inflation now renders real interest rates negative for savers as HSBC chief calls for rate increase

Tue, 27 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The chief executive of Europe's biggest lender today called on central bankers to raise interest rates in order to combat inflation.

Michael Geoghegan, group chief executive of HSBC Holdings, said that central banks were not yet committed

Vulture funds now have at least £27 billion as they wait for feeding time

Tue, 27 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
There is a massive accumulation of funding waiting for the right market conditions in the UK Commercial property market, what those conditions are and whether they are likely to occur is the subject of much debate. CBRE suggests that opportunity fun

Metrovacesa ownership of HSBC Tower under threat in struggle to refinance the purchase

Tue, 27 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Spanish ownership of the £1.1bn HSBC Tower is under threat after it emerged the owners were struggling to meet a deadline to refinance debt on the building.

Metrovacesa, the Spanish property group that bought the tower from HSBC for &poun

Marstons meets expectations with steady growth

Fri, 23 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Marston's, the brewer and pub group, which owns the Pitcher and Piano chain, reported a 15.9% decline in first-half profit today, reflecting higher interest costs arising from its £150 million share buyback programme.

Un

Banks sanguine about covenant breaches on commercial property loans as few slip into default

Fri, 23 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The number of commercial property loans in default has climbed by 400% in 12 months, according to a report by De Montfort University. Nearly 400 loans slipped into default, up from fewer than 80 in 2006. The report also shows that lending to the commercia

Latest CBI / GVA Grimley survey shows more firms looking to reduce commercial property holdings

Thu, 22 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Fewer firms expanded their property portfolios over the last six months, while the weaker economic outlook has pushed up the number of firms planning to reduce their property holdings, the latest CBI/GVA Grimley Corporate Real Estate Survey reveals.

Irish firm McInerney cuts back on UK developments as credit crunch hits sales 17%

Thu, 22 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
In a statement, McInerney Holdings, the Irish quoted property developer and the parent company of McInerney Homes and Hillview Developments, said redundancies would be made and that offices would be merged across the group.

The statement said:

British Land sells the Willis Building for £400 million to realise profits on the development

Thu, 22 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
British Land has sold the Willis Building in the City of London to property group St Martins for £400m.

The UK property giant has exchanged contracts on the Norman Foster designed building opposite the Lloyd's building and expects the sal

Great Portland Estates lose 2% NAV as revaluation wipes out profits.

Thu, 22 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Great Portland Estates, the London West End commercial property REIT, warned capital values could fall further after posting a 2% drop in its net asset value to £1050 million.

Falls in valuations for the year ended March 31 pushed the com

End of credit crunch still not in sight says Trichet as Europe's banks already write off £56 billion

Wed, 21 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The end to the credit crunch is still not in sight, European Central Bank President, Jean-Claude Trichet and Warren Buffett, the world's most famous stock market investor, warned on Monday.

"These are demanding times, challenging times...

Tchenguiz the winner at M&B as management cave in

Wed, 21 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Pubs group Mitchells & Butlers today bowed to pressure from property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, agreeing to put his representatives on the board and shake-up the business in line with his wishes.

Tchenguiz has been pushing for M&B to spli

Segro maintains 90%+ occupancy levels in UK and waits for the buying opportunity

Tue, 20 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Segro said in an interim management statement ahead of today's AGM, that demand has continued to be good in all of its markets, but continuing weakness in the credit and real estate investment markets have kept downward pressure on UK commercial property

Darwinian forces take their toll of estate agents as no signs of improvement for H2 appear

Tue, 20 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT

According to Jonathan Haward, of the County Homesearch Company, up to half of all estate agents in the UK will disappear within five years.

And Movewithus, the biggest network of independent estate agencies, has estimated that at least a thi

British Land to follow Land Securities with £1.9 billion writedown as City office rentals head down

Mon, 19 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
British Land, the UK's second largest real estate investment trust (REIT) will report a £1.9billion writedown in the value of its net assets when it reports full-year results on Tuesday.

Although British Land's results will come in at the

Capital & Regional to tap investors for more capital.

Mon, 19 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Capital & Regional, the co-investing property asset manager, plans to raise capital to ensure its largest fund avoids breaching its bank agreements. For the investors already on board this will dilute their holding, but may be preferable in preserving

M&B to give Tchenguiz a seat on the board

Mon, 19 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Mitchells & Butlers, the embattled UK pub operator, will this week bow to pressure from Robert Tchenguiz, the pubs and property tycoon, by handing one of his key lieutenants a boardroom seat, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Tim Smalley, an e

High Street Banks looking for almost twice as much as the £50 billion offered by BoE

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Britain's biggest banks are preparing to swap between £80 billion and £90 billion of mortgage-backed assets for Bank of England Treasury bills, nearly twice what the central bank envisaged when it unveiled its scheme to unblock the frozen bank

UK commercial property funds sales hit £3.6 billion in Q1 as prime London assets tempt foreign buyers

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
UK commercial property funds have sold some of their best assets to meet a surge in investor withdrawals as nervous buyers avoid lower quality real estate, evidence that prices may have further to fall.

According to data from Investment Propert

Commercial Property values look set for a double dip as economy slows

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
UK commercial property values slid by 1% in April, extending the market's slide from last summer's bull market peak to almost 17%, data from Investment Property Databank (IPD) showed yesterday.

The rate of decline in capital values continued to

Barclays take £1 billion hit and fail to rule out rights issue as pressure on capital ratios will hit recovery

Thu, 15 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Barclays said profits fell by an undisclosed amount in the first quarter and refused to rule out a rights issue after a £1 billion writedown on assets tarnished by the credit crunch.

That was less than the hit taken by many other banks bu

Whitbread to open 105 out of town restaurants this month

Thu, 15 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Whitbread yesterday officially launched its latest restaurant brand, Table Table, with 105 restaurants which will open this month throughout the UK.

The owner of Premier Inn and Costa Coffee as well as the Beefeater and Brewer’s Fayre cha

Humberts facing oblivion as the well runs dry

Thu, 15 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Humberts Group Plc. has warned that certain conditions necessary for it to carry out its intended £2.25 million placing may be difficult or impossible to meet.

It said the disposal value of certain businesses it was intending to sell is l

Land Securities make £888 million loss but shares rise as City agrees with CEO its a success

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Land Securities, Britain's largest commercial property company, has written down the value of its shops and offices by £1.28 billion, a fall in value of 10.3%, as it slumped to an £888.8 million loss,against profits of £1.98 billion the

Bradford & Bingley plans rights issue in signal that housing crisis has worse to come

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Bradford and Bingley, the mortgage lender, is poised to become the latest British bank to bolster its balance sheet by launching a £300m rights issue, as it prepares itself for further difficulty ahead.

The bank, which has been hit by the

A & J Mucklow the midlands REIT continues steady performance

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
A & J Mucklow Group Plc. said it continues to perform in line with its expectations, despite all the 'doom and gloom' currently being reported in the commercial property market, adding it is still experiencing some steady occupier demand and rental gr

Knight Frank sees rosier picture in the Thames valley and M25 office market

Tue, 13 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Knight Frank today released a report on what is going on in the M25 and Thames Valley office market. Taking the focus off off the City office market reminds us what is going on in the country at large.

The Q1 2008 highlights are that M25 vacanc

Enterprise Inns report H1 profits down 11%

Tue, 13 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Enterprise Inns, the country's second-biggest pubs group, posted an 11% fall in first-half profit today, in line with expectations, and said trading conditions were likely to stay tough for some time.

The firm, whose shares surged last week whe

Alliance & Leicester secure funding to Q2 09 despite dive in profits

Tue, 13 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Alliance & Leicester took a £192 million hit to profit from assets tarnished by the credit crunch, taking its profit in the first four months to below 2007 levels.

In a trading update today, the country's seventh-largest bank said

Kilpatrick Property increase NAV by 16%

Tue, 13 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Kilpatrick Property Group, the Glasgow-based commercial property investment company, said yesterday it increased its net asset value by 16% for the year to March 31, 2008, bucking the gloomy trend in the sector.

The company also announced it ha

Colliers CRE forecast flat 2008 as banks continue to call the tune.

Mon, 12 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Colliers CRE Plc. said its revenues for the first quarter fell to £15.9 millions from £16.3 million in the year-ago period and added that it is confident of delivering its medium-term objectives.

The firms share value dropped 18% as

Industy to lobby for tax incentives to help pay for "greening" existing commercial property

Mon, 12 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The property industry is to call for a radical shake-up of the multi-billion pound tax regime on commercial buildings to promote sustainability.

The first parliamentary inquiry into "greening" existing office, retail and industrial bu

NAB subsidiaries Clydesdale & Yorkshire post strong results though NAB has not impressed

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
YORKSHIRE and Clydesdale Banks today delivered a strong set of half year results and said their resilience and prudence would protect them from the turbulence caused by the credit crunch.

Announcing pre-tax profits up 17% at £194m, chief

Boris gets to work on LDA corruption and mismanagement

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The chief executive and chair of the London Development Agency (LDA) have been asked to step down ahead of an investigation into its financial management.

Although he has no formal powers to appoint or remove LDA board members, Johnson has reco

Anglo Irish Bank please the market with 16% increase in H1 profits

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Anglo Irish Bank shares rose more than 5% yesterday after the specialist property lender announced a 16% rise in first-half profits and gave an upbeat outlook for the rest of the year.

Investors had been concerned about Anglo Irish's exposure t

HMRC REIT ruling on Enterprise Inns lifts the pubs sector

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Enterprise Inns, the tenanted pub company,revealed yesterday that it had been given the go-ahead by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to convert to a real estate investment trust (Reit).

The company said it was evaluating the decision, but that b

Mapeley revaluation losses wipe out increased Q1 profitability as group slump to loss of £27 million

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Mapeley,the property investment and outsourcing company based in Guernsey posted a 226% rise in funds from operations today but a drop in the value of its assets wiped out its fiscal first-quarter pretax profit.

In results for the t

Australian strength offsets US weakness as shopping mall group Westfield reports resilient Q1 results

Wed, 07 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Westfield Group, the world's biggest shopping center owner by market value, is maintaining growth in Australia, where it has tenants in more than 99.5 % of stores, which may help limit the impact of a slowdown in the U.S., where rising food costs and the

Savills report significant fall in London office demand and subdued retail demand across the UK

Wed, 07 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Demand for London offices has fallen "significantly" in the first three months of 2008, according to property adviser Savills.

The retail property market is also "subdued" across the UK as the credit crunch continues to b

Revaluation hits Liberty NAV by 6.6% and causes Q1 loss of £335 million

Wed, 07 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Liberty International blamed choppy real estate market conditions for a 6.6% fall in net asset value (NAV) per share in its fiscal first quarter figures posted today.

Britain's largest shopping mall owner, which owns London's Covent Garden tour

Waitrose planning to look for small market town sites for expansion

Tue, 06 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Waitrose has unveiled plans to open a series of new smaller stores for market towns. The supermarket chain said the market town format supports its ambitions to grow its business and has been designed to complement each community in which it operates.

Aberdeen Asset Management enter world top 10 with acquisition of Goodman Property Investors for £89 million

Tue, 06 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Aberdeen Asset Management said today it would become one of the world's ten biggest property asset management firms after agreeing to buy Goodman Property Investors (GPI) for around £89 million, plus further payments linked to assets under man

LloydsTSB avoids major sub-prime losses and grabs bigger share of UK mortgage market

Tue, 06 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Lloyds TSB said it was on track to deliver a good performance in the first half, excluding a writedown of £387 million on the value of assets tarnished by the credit crunch.

Lloyds, the country's fifth biggest bank, said in a trading upda

Vultures waiting for UK commercial property values to fall a further 10%

Mon, 05 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Start-up property fund manager Internos Real Investors has joined the growing band of investors waiting in the wings to buy into commercial property once the market bottoms out.

The company, which is backed by Nick Vetch, executive chairman

City office rents falling as financial sector loses jobs say Hammerson

Fri, 02 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Hammerson , the office and retail property company with a £7.3 billion portfolio, said in a trading statement yesterday that the cautious approach of banks to lending to property companies had contributed to a further weakening in UK property values

Jones Lang LaSalle report Q1 global profits down 90%

Thu, 01 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc, the second largest global real estate services company, said on Tuesday first-quarter profits fell sharply compared with a year earlier when the company posted a significant fee from a large sale in Germany.

Due t

CBRE global Q1 profits halve due to cost increases in Europe.

Thu, 01 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
CB Richard Ellis saw net income fall from $65m (£32.5m) last year to $31.7m (£15.9m), which was nearly all due to it's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

The firm said "EBITDA for the EMEA region totaled $11.7 millio

Property derivatives trading takes off as real market stalls

Thu, 01 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Trading in Britain's fledgling property derivatives sector hit a record £3.67 billion in the first quarter of 2008, more than double the volume traded in the last three months of 2007, data showed on Thursday.

Investment Property Databank

Bank of England warns of defaults on commercial property loans as values fall

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The Bank sounded the alarm on a £5billion-plus wave of property lending defaults which could engulf the financial sector before it has even recovered from the sub-prime crisis.

It used today's biannual Financial Stability Report to warn t

HBOS taps shareholders for £4 billion to cover writedowns and strengthen balance sheet

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
HBOS unveiled a £4 billion rights issue alongside plans to cut its dividend payout to cover additional writedowns on the value of toxic assets and to shore up its balance sheet.

Britain's biggest mortgage lender, which follows Royal Bank

Bank of England funds will not turn the mortgage taps back on

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Britain's banks will be happy to swap their hard to sell assets for trusty government debt, but don't look for them to increase their exposure to the teetering housing market.

The Bank of England has agreed to swap at least £50 billion of

Inside Track Seminars - the Buy to Let evangelist has gone into administration

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Inside Track, the company that spearheaded the buy-to-let investment boom,has gone into administration. Inside Track blames the credit crunch for its collapse as banks tighten up on buy-to-let lending, effectively ending 100% loans.

Profi

Developers move retail schemes to the back burner

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Retail developments are being shelved across the country as the effects of a funding crisis for commercial property are exacerbated by fears of flagging consumer demand, The Financial Times reports.

The proportion of currently planned shopping

RBS to start ABN AMRO integration at a cost of 7000 jobs

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Royal Bank of Scotland will this week start the integration of ABN AMRO's investment bank in a move likely to trigger the loss of about 7,000 jobs out of a combined total of 28,000, the Financial Times said.

The newspaper, without citing source

Bid battle for Trillium hots up with entry of Vincent Tchenguiz consortium

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
A high-powered consortium has entered the bidding for Land Securities Group Plc.'s property outsourcing business Trillium, setting the scene for an intriguing £2 billion takeover battle for the unit, said The Sunday Times.

The property ty

Whitbread delight the market with strong full year results

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Whitbread, the owner of Britain's biggest hotel and coffee-shop chains, reported a 26.3% rise in annual pretax profit and said the start of this financial year had been encouraging.

Pretax profits, before exceptionals, were £210.3 million

M& B confirm no bid talks for whole business continue.

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Mitchells & Butlers, the Pubs group said today it was not in talks over a possible bid for the whole company, but that it remained in talks with parties seeking a large stake in the business.

"The board is continuing discussions

Brixton points to little trnsactional evidence of falling commercial property values, despite the IPD index.

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Brixton, the property REIT, has in it's interim management statement of trading, noted that there has been little transactional evidence in the commercial property market, of falling property values. The say that shortage of funding and unrealistic vendor

Punch Taverns beat analysts forecasts with 1% rise in pre-tax profits for first half of year

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Punch Taverns, the UK's biggest pubco, posted a 1% rise in pretax profit to £133 million, slightly ahead of analysts' forecasts, for the 28 weeks to March 1 on Thursday.

The company said the like-for-like contribution of the leased

Falling profits at Barclays increases liklihood of further rights issue demands

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Barclays said its profits in the first quarter fell from a year earlier after its investment bank and fund management arms were hit by tough financial market conditions.

Barclays said profits at Barclays Capital and Barclays Global Invest

London & Stamford in Joint Vulture to increase firepower as market nears bottom

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
London & Stamford has agreed a £200million joint venture with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth investor to buy property in the UK.

The 7 year deal with Cavendish, a wholly owned subsidiary of an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, will

Land Securities get planning permission for "Half Doughnut" scheme at Old Bailey

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Make Architects’ “half-donut” an office block shaped like half a doughnut and covered with chess board-style checks to be built at 30 Old Bailey on the west side of the City of London has been given planning permission by the City'

Henderson Global win beauty contest for £380 million designer factory outlet deal

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Henderson Global Investors has been given the go-ahead to proceed with the purchase of a portfolio of designer factory outlets for about £380m in what would be the largest UK property deal this year.

The US based asset management firm, wh

Rugby Estates unveil good results and consider themselves well placed for coming year

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Annual pre-tax profit at property and asset management group Rugby Estates almost halved but the group says it's in a strong position to withstand a period of economic volatility.It has low gearing and cash in the bank after selling properties in the past

Commercial property stocks in turmoil as HSBC note causes rush for the doors

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The City clearly doesn't know how to value commercial property stocks at present. In a note headed "Keep the tin hats on", HSBC said that hard-pressed tenants would start to demand rent cuts from their landlords which promptly triggered a

RBS getting it's post credit crunch strategy in place with Europe's biggest rights issue.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Royal Bank of Scotland is about to announce Europe's largest rights issue, and may now rue its acquisition of ABN AMRO, but shoring up its balance sheet will position it for recovery and could tempt others to follow suit.

After months of dismis

There's money in pubs, yet we see the fastest closure rate ever.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The Warrington Hotel, an imposing, lovingly restored Victorian boozer in Maida Vale, London, is buzzing. The bar downstairs is heaving; upstairs, the restaurant has been largely full since it opened in February. The Warrington, the third in a chain of pub

William Pears seen as frontrunner in Trillium bid battle

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Property investment group William Pears has emerged as the surprise frontrunner in a £1.5 billion bidding battle for Land Securities' outsourcing business Trillium, the Independent on Sunday reported.

The newspaper, quoting a source close

Tchenguiz's R20 sells 6 hotels to Travelodge

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Robert Tchenguiz, has sold six hotels for £85m. The accommodation in places such as Edinburgh and Bath had been leased out by Tchenguiz's R20 private investment vehicle to Menzies Hotels but has now been sold to Travelodge which will spend a further

JLL see commercial property investment buoyed by offshore money and reduced London office supply

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Reporting a slight increase on the previous quarter of investment volume in UK commercial property to £6 billion, Julian Stocks, Head of UK Capital Markets at Jones Lang LaSalle said: ‘We have not reached the bottom of the market yet and

Fitch confident about strength of UK commercial mortgages as security

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Almost a tenth of investment grade bonds backed by UK commercial mortgages could default if the current slump in commercial property values reaches "severe" 1990s recession levels, ratings agency Fitch said yesterday.

The agency said

Bank of England preparing measures to improve liquidity for PM's return

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Authorities, under pressure to ease strains in the mortgage market, are considering a scheme that would allow lenders to swap mortgage collateral for government bonds, a source close to the matter said.

However, the scheme has yet to be rubber-

JJB Sports to close 72 non performing stores as retail slows

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
JJB Sports said it was shutting 72 stores by the end of April and axing 800 jobs to improve performance, as it posted a 28.5% fall in annual profit today.

JJB, which also runs fitness centres, said like-for-like revenue fell 3.0% in the 7 weeks

Land Securities looks to sell it's 33% Bullring stake in critical test of investor appetite

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Land Securities, the UK’s largest property company, is to test the property investment market with the sale of one of its largest holdings,a one-third stake of the 1.2m sq ft Birmingham Bullring shopping centre city expected to attract bids of mor

Eddisons buys Erinaceous property management business.

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Eddisons, the Yorkshire based chartered surveyors, has bought the property management, facilities management and landlord and tenant teams from collapsed property services firm Erinaceous, which was placed into administration yesterday, for £1.

Credit crunch will cause loss of 20,000 jobs in the City alone as Financial Services industry slims down

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
20,000 City jobs will be lost this year and next as the credit crunch takes its toll, a leading economics think-tank says.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) forecast 11,000 City job losses in 2008, up from a previous estimat

RICS say housing market cooling fast in England and Wales as survey hits 30 year low

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' house price balance fell in March to its lowest in the 30-year history of the survey, RICS says, sending a strong signal that the housing market is cooling fast.

The net balance of surveyors reporting

UK commercial property returns fall is moderating as market now seen to offer fair value

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
IPD reported that in March its UK monthly commercial property index made a total return of -0.8% month on month, a slight improvement on the -1% in February and -1.6% in January, but year on year in March all property total returns hit a record low of -10

Grosvenor's strong results slightly tarnished by further Liverpool write-down

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Grosvenor posted a strong set of annual results, with record profits of £524 million for 2007, up 3 per cent on the year before, and assets under management growing 17 per cent to £12.9 billion,and a 19% increase in its net asset value to &pou

Administrators appointed by Erinaceous Group plc

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Erinaceous announced that it has today appointed James Tucker and Myles Halley, both partners of KPMG as administrators of the Company, with immediate effect.

The strongly performing insurance subsidiary, Erinaceous Insurance Services, is ri

M & B in talks to buy Spirit pubs from Punch Taverns

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Mitchells & Butlers is in talks to take over the Spirit arm of Punch Taverns.

The pub group requested a meeting with its rival last week. A deal would represent a curious turnround for the company, which had been the subject of a merger pro

CML chief urges immediate action by Government to halt slide to UK property market collapse

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Medium-sized banks are suffering more than most from the credit crunch, and they have the shadow of a strung-up Northern Rock swinging from the gallows cast over them.

But the picture of Armageddon in the housing and mortgage market painted by

MPC Votes to cut Bank Rate to 5%

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted today to cut interest rates by 0.25% to 5%.

CPI Inflation rose to 2.5% in February and the committee expects inflation to rise further this year, ref

CBRE say commercial property prices dipped further in March

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
UK commercial property values fell 1.2% in March, taking the market's total loss since last summer's bull market peak to around 16%, CB Richard Ellis Group Inc said today.

The global property services firm said its data provided evidence

The Humber to be the focus of offshore power development initiatives

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
German power giant E.ON has submitted a planning application to build one of the UK's largest offshore wind farms but faces a challenge from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The firm said if the 300MW Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm were built

UK house prices dive in March fuelling fears of a crash

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
House prices fell in March at their sharpest pace since the recession of the early 1990s, the country's largest mortgage lender says, raising expectations that interest rates will be cut this week.

The surprisingly severe drop reinforced opinio

Sutton Harbour Group selected for major Swansea waterfront regeneration scheme

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT

AIM-listed regeneration company Sutton Harbour Group has been chosen as preferred developer for a waterfront regeneration scheme in Swansea.

Swansea Council has appointed the Plymouth based developer for a six-month period in order for furth

Cooperative Financial Services chief sees confidence returning to markets in Q3

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The boss of Co-operative Financial Services is confident the nation will avoid a crisis in the property market of a similar scale to that seen in 1989 and 1990.

While David Anderson is sure the property market will slow down because the credit

Bank of England survey increases expectation of early rate cut

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
The credit squeeze on households and businesses looks set to intensify as lenders grow increasingly nervous over the economic outlook, a survey by the Bank of England shows.

The findings boosted expectations the central bank would cut interest

Sales volumes drop 25% in Central London commercial property in Q1 2008

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Tight money conditions have hit the Central London commercial property investment market which saw just £2.83 billion transactions take place during the first quarter of 2008, according to the latest Central London investment market figures from glo

Mortgage market tightening will have knock on effect on UK property market if trend continues

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Fears over the state of the British property market deepened today as mortgage companies closed the doors on borrowers, and builders stopped new developments.

Experts said that there is now a strong likelihood that more banks and building socie

UK Construction activity at lowest level for 12 years

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT
UK construction activity fell to its lowest level since 1996 in the first three months of 2008 and is expected to fall further in the second quarter, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.

The news makes it even less likely that the

Groundbreaking on £175 Million Newcastle business park development to start soon

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Groundbreaking on a £175m project to build eight new office blocks will cover an 18-acre site in an extension to the Quorum Business Park in Longbenton, Newcastle will commence soon.

The partners behind the scheme expect each building to

Enterprise Inns to restructure into opco / propco ready for change to REIT status.

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:00:00 GMT
Enterprise Inns, the country's second-biggest pub company, is in advanced talks with the Government about becoming the first non-property company to convert to a real estate investment trust (REIT). The group – which has dropped plans outlined last

Punch withdraws solo bid for M&B amid talk of concert party.

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Pubs group Punch Taverns said today it was withdrawing its bid proposal for rival Mitchells & Butlers, but that it was still considering a joint offer with a third party.

"Preliminary discussions with, and preliminary due diligence on

Canary Wharf owner Songbird sees profits evaporate as valuation losses erode performance

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Songbird Estates, the partially listed property company that owns 61% of Canary Wharf Group, said it "was looking very closely" at a couple of assets outside its London Docklands heartland despite profits being hit by the collapse in commercial

Eatonfield buy former hospital at Lesmahagow for regeneration

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Mold and Cardiff-based commercial property developer and house builder Eatonfield Group is buying a former hospital site in Scotland for a regeneration project that could be worth up to £40m.

The Alternative Investment Market-listed compa

Credit crunch enters new phase according to Bank's King

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The credit crunch has entered a new and difficult phase but policymakers in Britain still have to balance slowing growth against rising inflation, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said yesterday.

Sterling weakened after BoE Monetary Policy

Crown Estates consider launching a REIT to handle £500 million Quadrant project

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Crown Estate, the company that owns the Sovereign’s land and property in the UK, is drawing up plans for a new vehicle to control its £2.2billion estate around Regent Street in London. It is thought that the intention will be to form a

Sainsburys launch second joint venture with Land Securities

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The second Joint Venture announced today is a 50:50 arrangement with Land Securities which will hold 38 Sainsburys and 1 Waitrose store, valued at £1.2 billion, representing a net equivalent yield of 5.1%.
Sainsburys is further pursuing

Government taking tough line against those seeking to avoid paying full rates on empty commercial property

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Local government minister John Healey has threatened to introduce legislation to prevent businesses flouting new tax rules on empty commercial buildings.

His warning came ahead of changes to tax rules due to come into effect next week that will

NAEA report fewer house-buyers in the market as mortgage supply dries up.

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The difficulty of getting residential mortgages is hitting the housing market, pushing house-buyer numbers to a record low, figures showed today.

The number of house-buyers on estate agents' books dropped 12% last month -- to 243 per agent from

Altrincham shopping centre bought for £16 million

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Altrincham-based property investment company, Property Route, has completed the £16million purchase of Altrincham's Grafton shopping centre.

Property Route, which bought the Grafton centre from Threadneedle Property Investments, is

Henry Boot plc produces solid results with profits up 14% to £46.5 million

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Henry Boot, the construction group, has increased pre-tax profits by 14% to £46.5 million, despite a 12.3% fall in turnover, as the group completed fewer land transactions with lower acreages and values. The value of the Sheffield-based group's inve

DTZ Holdings interim mangement statement verbalises uncertainty in commercial property outlook

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

DTZ Holdings plc, commenting today on their trading prospects said " In the current volatile market conditions, and in a week which has seen the sudden collapse of Bear Stearns adding to the turmoil in the financial markets, it is more

Commercial First pulls down the shutters.

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Commercial First today announced that it has suspended lending. The company said today that offers of funding that it had been promised had been withdrawn in the wake of the Bear Sterns failure.
Commercial First has pioneered a new distrib

News of City office building let to law firm cheers market.

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
LaSalle Investment Management has today announce that it has let a whole City office building, which has cheered a gloomy market.

LaSalle Investment Management, JLL's real estate money management business, is one of the world's largest and most

Trillium PPP fundraising finds strong demand from investors

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Land Securities said today it had completed fundraising for its Trillium PPP Investment Partners joint venture after raising £1.136 billion of debt and equity.

Britain’s biggest property firm set up the joint venture to enable

Derwent London reveals 2007 NAV up 8.4% but Chairman sees more demanding market ahead

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Central London property firm Derwent London said today adjusted net asset value per share rose 8.4% but deepening financial sector turmoil now threatened prospects in the city's stalwart West End market.

Derwent said 2007 net asset value

SME's failing in greater numbers say Barclays

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Barclays has conducted research revealing that nearly half a million businesses failed last year, citing this as evidence that the economic downturn is worsening. Barclays Local managing director Steve Cooper said that the research shows "that more s

Bank of England pumps more liquidity into UK banking system in attempt to restore confidence.

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The Bank of England's emergency offer of £5 billion of 3-day loans was nearly five times oversubscribed on Monday as financial institutions scrambled for cash in the face of a global credit crunch.

Aimed at restoring confidence to p

IPD report that the repricing of commercial property "eased" in February

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The IPD Monthly Index saw a total return of -1.0% in February 2008, a marked improvement on the -1.6% return seen in January and the -3.7% seen in December. Capital values fell by 1.5% in February after a 2.0% fall in January and a 4.2% fall in Dece

Laxey Partners buy into Shaftesbury Group

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Laxey Partners, the Times reports, have bought an 11.8% stake in the £775million Shaftesbury Group, owner of much of Chinatown and Carnaby Street in London’s West End.

The stake it bought was built up through contracts f

Farmland - next property bubble or undervalued asset?

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Following the bull run in metals and oil, agricultural land prices are rocketing as big money pours into the sector.

"You can't make it. And, as the world gets bigger and bigger over a period of time, the pressure on land and land use is g

Regus plc profits up 54% at £119 million

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Regus Group PLC, the world's largest work stations provider, today unveiled a 54.1% increase in full-year pretax profit and said that while it is mindful of the economic climate, its indicators show no sign of slowdown at this stage.

The compan

Atisreal announces another acquisition - City firm Morgan Pepper

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Atisreal has announced the acquisition of Morgan Pepper, the sum was not disclosed but is thought to be around £6 million. The move comes only a few weeks after the acquisition of Leeds based Hill Woolhouse as the firm continues it's ambitious

From Cannes to Canning Town come the plans for a £2.7 billion urban regeneration programme

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

At the 2008 MIPIM in Cannes yesterday, Erick van Egeraat presented seven of his most outspoken projects. All projects are represented by physical models, specially built for the event. The models are freely accessible to the public.

Savills post strong 2007 results with a 14% increase in profits.

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Savills has reported a 14% rise in 2007 profit, attributing its strong performance to the benefits of its business and geographical diversification.

The group said underlying profit before tax rose to £85.5m, beating an average forecas

Savills report Commercial property construction falling for 4th straight month

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Commercial property building work in the UK fell for a fourth straight month in February but the pace of decline slowed sharply nationwide, apart from in London, a monthly survey showed on Wednesday.

The survey by Savills also showed deve

Leeds office market rents expected to rise 8% this year as demand for prime office space stays strong

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
When George Wimpey announced last November that it was mothballing Green Bank, a £100m mixed use scheme centred around a 400ft skyscraper, it was regarded by some out-of-town investors as a sure sign that Leeds' property market had hit the rocks.

Capital & Regional report less bad results than expected

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Capital & Regional, Britain's largest retail park and shopping centre developer, saw its share price rise nearly 6% today as it surprised the market with better than expected preliminary results.

Although the company posted an 18% fall in i

Warning that Irish Banks may be next for nationalisation as economy slumps.

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The Irish Independent warned this week that the country is sliding into a serious slump.

"Look at all the signs: every single one is screaming that the economy is in big, big trouble. Housing market dead, new car sales dead, consumer confi

Gazeley for sale despite difficult UK commercial property market

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Asda, the supermarket chain owned by Wal-Mart, the US retailer, could sell its global property development business in a deal that could fetch up to £400m. There are also rumours that Wal-Mart is looking to sell Asda as well.

The company

Q1 2008 commercial property transaction volume down 50% on Q4 207 say RICS as sentiment is negative

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Commenting on the latest data on commercial property transactions for the first two months of 2008, RICS senior economist Oliver Gilmartin said:

"Deal volumes continued to wane in the comm

Punch trying to arrange concert party for M&B bid

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Punch Taverns has held informal discussions with a number of potential partners for a joint bid for rival Mitchells & Butlers, insiders at the company said. Although no firm arrangements have yet emerged, the pub operator is in talks with intere

Brixton turns in a solid performance

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Industrial property firm Brixton reported a 2.1% rise in 2007 adjusted net asset value per share and said remained confident for the group's business prospects. Profits were down however to £58.2million from a 2006 result of £205.1million,

Buy to let market volumes fall as mortgage supply weakens

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The number of new buy-to-let properties coming onto Britain’s housing market has slumped for the first time in a decade, signalling fresh cash flow from lenders is drying up.

A survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows

Segro report full year NAV down 9.2% but business fundamentals are strong

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Segro, the business space provider, revealed that net asset value dropped 9.2% last year in spite of solid growth in its European business during 2007.

The company, has been hit by the rapid fall in commercial property prices in Britain. It rep

Anglo Irish Bank reports first half earnings up 15%

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Anglo Irish Bank Plc,which lends to property developers in Ireland, the UK and the US, expects to report a 15% rise in first-half earnings per share and said it was still on course to deliver a similar increase for the full-year despite global economic un

Colliers CRE report 25% increase in fee income last year and pre tax profits of £12.16 million

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Colliers CRE PLC posted a bigger full-year pretax profit buoyed by one-off gains and said it sees more uncertainty in 2008 than in recent years.

The AIM listed company's profit included a one-time income of £2.8 million arising from

Liberty International reported to be facing takeover from Westfield or GIC

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Westfield Group, the world's top shopping mall owner, and Singapore's GIC Real Estate declined to comment today on media reports that one of them was in talks to buy shopping centre group Liberty International . The Takeover Panel is understood to have

aAim Group seeks buyers for stake in 6 hotels worth £350 million

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
aAIM Group, the property investment company whose investors include Sir Alex Ferguson and Simon Cowell, will today unveil plans to sell at least 50% of its equity in six hotels operated by Principal Hayley Group, worth an estimated £350 million.

Darling to close Sharia Stamp Duty loophole that over £1 billion of commercial property deals have used

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected next week to close a loophole in Sharia finance rules which has enabled commercial property investors avoid paying stamp duty on more than £1 billion of deals, The Times reports without citing sources.

Bruntwood now largest Manchester office landlord after £28.5 million purchase of Bridgewater House

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Bruntwood, the privately-owned Manchester based property business, has paid £28.5million for a Whitworth Street office block, in a deal which takes the firms city centre office portfolio over 3 million sq ft, making it by far the city's

HSBC profits up 10% despite £8.7 billion bad debt provision

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

HSBC's profits rose 10% last year, just below analysts' forecasts, as strong gains in Asia helped Europe's biggest bank absorb a £8.7 billion hit for bad debts due to U.S. housing market problems.

The London-headquartered bank report

Treasury select committee suggests reforms to BOE and FSA protocol for managing banks

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The warnings given by UK regulators about potential risks in the financial markets are deficient, a report by a key parliamentary committee has said.

The Treasury select committee said the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Bank of Engl

Private equity firm Cinven interested in buying Trillium

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Private equity group Cinven has approached Land Securities, Britain's biggest real estate company, about a takeover of its property outsourcing arm Trillium, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Land Securities said last week it was looking at

UK House prices fall for 4th consecutive month say the Nationwide

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
House prices fell for a fourth month running in February to post the lowest annual rate of inflation in more than two years, the Nationwide Building Society said today.

It said house prices fell 0.5% on the month in February after a downwardly

Too much money over past 3 years has caused the commercial property market correction

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Although the UK commercial property market exists in the climate of international finance, the key problem which led to the current market situation was an excess of funds in our system over the past 3 years. This excess liquidity arose at two levels. The

RBS reports pre-tax profits up 8% to £9.9 billion

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Royal Bank of Scotland, the UK's second largest bank, said profits before tax including its purchase of Dutch bank ABN AMRO, totalled £9.9 billion in 2007 compared with £9.2billion in 2006. The bank lifted it's dividend by 10% to underl

FSA boss says era of cheap credit is over

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The head of Britain's Financial Services authority warned on Wednesday that the age of cheap credit may be over.

In an interview on BBC radio, Hector Sants, chief executive of the regulatory body, said he did not think financial markets would r

HBOS confirms analysts expectations with 3% rise in profit to £5.71 billion

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Britain's biggest mortgage lender HBOS posted a 3% rise in annual underlying profit today, just short of analysts' expectations, as margins in its core retail business came under pressure.

HBOS reported an underlying pretax profit of £

Mapeley is takeover target

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Shares in Mapeley jumped after the property specialist said it has received an indicative non-binding proposal from an unnamed suitor.

"Discussions are at an early stage and there can be no certainty that any offer will be made or as to

Leeds appoint architects for the £800 million Eastgate scheme

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
In February 2007, Leeds City Council granted planning consent for the 122,000m(2) retail-led regeneration of Leeds city centre, construction of the £800 million scheme is expected to begin next year and will take 3 years to complete.

Eas

Minerva suffers drop in NAV in difficult London market conditions and books a £114 million loss

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Minerva, the real estate developer, suffered a drop in net asset value of almost 20% over the past six months as conditions in the property market deteriorated rapidly.

The company, which has been at the centre of take- over speculation for sev

Oz Bank Macquarie expected to bid for Trillium

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Australia-based bank Macquarie Bank is considering making a takeover bid for Trillium, the outsourcing business that real-estate company Land Securities plans to list, a source familiar with the matter said.

The bank is evaluating the situation

Hammerson reports 2007 NAV up 3% while taking steps to reduce City office exposure

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Hammerson Plc said today that its full-year adjusted net asset value rose by 3%, as its properties on long-term occupier contracts showed resilience in a slowing real estate market.

Hammerson said adjusted profit before tax rose by 24.1%

Vincent Tchenguiz to sell stake in Tesco joint venture

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Vincent Tchenguiz, the property entrepreneur, is to sell his share in a £490 million Tesco supermarkets joint venture, followed by a refinancing of up to £700 million of Mr Tchenguiz's residential property to help to fund expansion elsewhere,

LloydsTSB delights the market with strong 2007 results.

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
LloydsTSB, which tried to rescue of Northern Rock last summer, showed its strength in avoiding much of the credit crisis afflicting its rivals.

Britain's fifth-largest bank is a small player in investment banking and, under chief executive Eric

Teesport gets go-ahead for £200million expansion to give 6-fold increase in capacity

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Teesport has been given the green light today to expand to a deep-sea container port by shipping minister Jim Fitzpatrick.

The £200 million development in the North East will increase the port’s capacity from around 250,000 twenty f

£1billion UK shopping centre fund to be launched next month by John Cutts

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Parkridge, a European developer run by John Cutts, is next month to launch a £1billion UK shopping centre fund that will be seeded with a portfolio of existing properties.

The Luxembourg-based fund will have a target value of

UK Business Property - RSS Feed

Greene King please the City with profits of £142million and possibility of REIT conversion

Bradford & Bingley in rights issue farce

Bank of England say lenders appetite further reduced and falling as recession looms in bid to halt inflation

Capital Economics warn of recession with a 35% fall in house prices and 1 million jobless

Taylor Wimpey cash call rejected by major shareholders forces shares to crash.

Westfield agree terms to start £1.5billion Olympic shopping centre development

Cushman & Wakefield say commercial property buyers and sellers can't agree prices so volume is 45% down

BIS blames worldwide excessive credit growth led by US Fed as cause of credit crunch

Humberts accounts for its demise

Residential Mortgage approvals lowest since records began points to 15-20% price falls

Valad in partnership with council to develop Sterling sites with a GDV of over £120million

Taylor Wimpey confirms talks with shareholders about new money to prop the business up

Landlords demolish rather than pay rates on empty commercial property may force tax U turn

Barclays Capital say global inflation will force Fed address core issues and raise interest rates

Resolution pressures B&B management to allow due diligence to commence

£185 million redevelopment of former Terrys Chocolate site in York expected to win planning approval

Eley name DBK to manage 22 storey student accomodation development in central Birmingham

ING Real Estate say UK commercial property values do not have much further to fall

Both West End and City office rents set to fall and yields still offer no real return so values must fall further 20%

Brown struggling to avoid defeat on the Planning Bill

Swap Rates drive residential fixed rate mortgages to 10 year high

Bradford & Bingley reject counter bid from Resolution for £400million

Property related shares take a further dive as HSBC downgrades the sector

Vincent Tchenguiz invests in UK farmland

Eco Towns proposals falling well short of required standards according to Government judges.

LloydsTSB takes steps to acquire German banking presence while assets are cheap.

Capital & Regional shore up Mall Fund with sales of 3 shopping centres and rights issue.

HBOS to write down £1 billion from H1 results as house price falls gather pace

Commercial Property agents start to shed jobs as 50 go at DTZ

Sainsburys up Woolworths down - todays results from a challenging High Street

Latest IPF consensus forecast is the commercial property values and rentals will decline further

OFT looks into Scottish leasehold management practices

MCR expand out of North-West to buy Leicester BT landmark for £9.7million

Whitbread delights the markets with strong growth across all businesses

Lehman Bros announce Q2 losses and prepare for a 28% fall in UK residential property values

IPD report commercial property rentals falling for first time as well as capital values

Barclays confirms it is considering a rights issue

McCarthy & Stone in talks with Rothschild to restructure debt

Valad sumbits plans for £40million Glasgow Queen Street project

Residential Mortgage lending volume improves but costs and rates are rising

Tchenguiz lifts M&B stake to 29.77% after slide in it's share price

Barratt Developments forced to issue trading statement as share price crashes

Anti - Severn barrage NGO's sponsor report which condems the £15 billion project as uneconomic

Humberts goes bust and is sold for £3.16 million

Savills report Commercial property construction falling for 7th straight month

King fuels further pressure on SWAP rates with bleak assessment which will force mortgage rates up

Tesco Q1 UK sales up 3.5%, though growth rate is slowing

Japanese patisserie franchise expands in UK with next 3 of 25 store programme.

Humberts follow precedent to dispose of Blenheim Bishop to original vendor

Knight Frank strengthens retail offer with acquisition of Markham Vaughan Gillingham

Values in The Mall fund continue to fall as capital raising is delayed

Macquarie back in the bidding for Trillium

Gazeley sold by Asda for over £300million to Dubai World

Humberts return Richard Harding to previous owners

IPF survey reveals less hope of recovery in commercial property in 2009

King Sturge report Edgbaston drawing office demand away from Birmingham City

Helicar Bar reports £32.8 million loss after property revaluations, as Slade warns of Double-dip in values coming

Quintain Estates reports 11.5% drop in NAV but claims to have outperformed the market

Goold Estates defy credit crunch with £2 million industrial estate purchase

Wm Morrison outperforms rivals with Q1 sales 7% up

Moodys say outlook for British banking system is negative, as the US expects a 2 year "credit recession"

Lend Lease starts construction of Olympic Village without funding agreement in place.

John Laing wins ground breaking new role with Croydon Council in £450 million regeneration project

Scottish Equitable property fund makes disposals totalling £171.7 million to boost liquidity

Bradford & Bingley lose £8 million in 1st 4 months causing it's shares to crash 26% and dragging sector down

Humberts takes desperate measures to pay the wages as management consider the group's postion

Grosvenor opens Liverpool One for business

Old Trafford likely to get major new development which includes 37 storey £180million skyscraper

Mortgage market confusion as rates harden and volumes remain at historic lows

The £2.9 billion Mall fund taps investors for £300million to avoid breach of key debt covenant

Scottish Widows sell Southend Matalan development for £6.4million to Rowan

Shaftesbury disappoints the City with 10.5% fall in NAV as first loss since 1992 is posted

Inflation now renders real interest rates negative for savers as HSBC chief calls for rate increase

Vulture funds now have at least £27 billion as they wait for feeding time

Metrovacesa ownership of HSBC Tower under threat in struggle to refinance the purchase

Marstons meets expectations with steady growth

Banks sanguine about covenant breaches on commercial property loans as few slip into default

Latest CBI / GVA Grimley survey shows more firms looking to reduce commercial property holdings

Irish firm McInerney cuts back on UK developments as credit crunch hits sales 17%