Government report urges council to demolish retail parks for homes
Posted by The Oracle Group on 9th July 2019 -
PLANNING
Government report urges council to demolish retail parks for homes
A report by the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission claims that ugly and abandoned retail parks and large supermarkets should be redeveloped into communities that include homes, shops and businesses. The interim report, titled "Creating space for beauty", says high streets should strive to be beautiful, walkable, well-connected places for people to live and work, adding that the "mixed use" communities would need to be supported by new public transport systems to reduce reliance on cars. Nicholas Boys Smith, the interim chairman of the commission, said: "Redevelopments would deliver something much more beautiful in the form of thriving new communities where people can raise a family, work or settle down."
Planning Bill heralds housing improvement
Tammy Swift-Adams, director of planning at Homes for Scotland, says that tackling the housing crisis means planners and builders must work better together. Commenting on the new Planning Bill, she argues that it provides real opportunities for it to become a more successful delivery tool. A "purpose of planning" will guide Scottish Ministers and planning authorities to serve the "long-term public interest"; the National Planning Framework will commit Scottish Ministers and each part of Scotland to evidence-based targets for home building; and each planning authority must demonstrate those homes can be delivered.
LEASEHOLDS
Industry sceptical of Labour’s leasehold plans
Proposals by Labour to regulate leaseholds, put forward today, have raised objections from industry groups. The party would ban the sale of all new leaseholds, give leaseholders powers to buy their freehold for 1% of the property value, and cap ground rents for all houses and flats. But David O'Leary of the Home Builders Federation said: "The system is in need of reform, but care should be taken to ensure that if it is scrapped entirely whatever replaces it is fully understood and does not severely affect the value or saleability of existing leasehold flats." Ian Fletcher of the British Property Federation added: "These proposals would impinge on property rights and that is why the Law Commission has been asked to look at these issues."
RENTAL
Private rents out of reach for low earners
Private renting is unaffordable for working families on low wages in two-thirds of the country. Housing charity Shelter analysed average private rents for two-bed homes in every local council area in England and found that, excluding housing benefit, there are 218 council areas where local families earning a low wage would be forced to spend more than 30% of their salary on rent. Kensington and Chelsea topped the list with the average rent equivalent to 127% of a low earning family's take-home pay, and outside the capital, Cambridge topped the list at 60%. Shelter said that social rents were found to be affordable for working families on low wages in 100% of the country.
INDUSTRY
FCA boss pledged to act on illiquidity 3 years go
Financial Conduct Authority boss Andrew Bailey pledged to act over illiquid investments in 2016. Speaking three years ago Mr Bailey vowed to look into the issue after several property funds blocked withdrawals in the wake of the Brexit vote. The FCA held a consultation on the property funds issue in 2017 and draft rules were published 15 months later, with another consultation launched. This ended in January this year, and the FCA expects to publish final rules by the end of 2019. James Daley, of consumer group Fairer Finance, said: “Hopefully it won't take another three years for them to act.”
Waitrose property premium
The average price of a property within a quarter of a mile of a Waitrose store is £469,933, a figure that is 107% above the national average, a study has found. The research from Property Solvers took the average values of 24,874 property sales over the last two years in drawing up its findings.
FIRMS
WeWork looks to raise $4bn
The shared office space manager WeWork has reportedly met with the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan as it looks to raise $4bn in debt ahead of its highly anticipated stock market listing. The company is effectively seeking to securitise cashflows from the buildings in its property portfolio, using the money to reduce its debt. It mainly leases the buildings or spaces in buildings in which it runs its offices.
OBI expands property consultancy to Leeds
Commercial property consultants OBI is expanding, by opening a Leeds office by the end of the year, and has appointed Rob Prescott from Cushman & Wakefield to lead the operation. OBI said Leeds's growing talent pool and ambitious development and regeneration plans is among the reasons behind its expansion.
Graham Group reports fall in profits
One of Northern Ireland's largest construction firms has reported a fall in profits. Pre-tax profits at the Graham Group fell to £8.2m for the year to the end of March, down from £13.1m the previous year. Turnover also decreased by 4% to £735m.However the company said it was well placed for 2020, with "strong levels of secured work and a forecast revenue of £875m".
Shares in Kier Group plummet
Shares in construction firm Kier Group dropped nearly 8% after Neil Woodford and St. James’s Place reduced their stakes in the company. The shares fell 8.45p to 97.45p.
MORTGAGES
Broker Habito poised to offer buy-to-let mortgages
Habito has entered the mortgage lending space, launching a range of mortgages aimed at individual buy-to-let landlords. The move will be funded by an initial £500m investment from an unnamed global financial institution. Habito said it aims to cut the timeframe from mortgage application to offer in half by integrating the conveyancing process with its platform.
Landbay secures £1bn for mortgages
Buy to let lender Landbay has secured a £1bn funding agreement to fund mortgages on its platform. "The funding is coming from a major financial institution, cementing another flagship partnership between traditional finance and fintech," said chief executive John Goodall. Landbay has seen lending volumes rise 200% over the past 12 months.
RETAIL
Debenhams urges Sports Direct to drop legal challenge
Debenhams landlord M&G has confirmed it is dropping a lawsuit against the department store chain over its company voluntary arrangement, which will allow Debenhams to close more than 50 of its 165 stores after Christmas to stay afloat. M&G Real Estate, which owns seven Debenhams stores, had launched a legal action after other landlords and creditors approved a CVA but Debenhams said yesterday that M&G had dropped its legal challenge after confidential negotiations.
Market popularity rising
Darren Henaghan, managing director of Borough Market in London, has credited a backlash against self-service checkouts and "impersonal" supermarkets for an increase in popularity in traditional markets. Figures from The Grocer reveal that the number of street, covered and indoor markets in London has risen to 300, double the number 10 years ago.
Online shopping to overtake high street in next decade
According to research, the high street is set for five more years of closures, spelling further difficulties for landlords, traditional stores and communities. A study by Womble Bond Dickinson reveals that online shopping will account for just over 50% of all retail sales in the next decade, up from about a fifth at present.
Lidl to create 500 jobs
Lidl is to create 500 new jobs in Scotland as it opens 12 supermarkets. Construction has already begun at several of the sites including Dumbarton, Dundee, East Kilbride, Cowdenbeath and Larkhall.
LEGAL
Candy case thrown out of court
Property tycoon Nick Candy has accused an American businessman of "an astonishing abuse of judicial process" after defeating his £1.5bn legal claim. Michael Brown had claimed that Mr Candy sabotaged the sale of a £175m luxury flat in London through “imbecilic behaviour”. But the case was struck out at the High Court yesterday amid suspicions there never was a buyer for the property. Dismissing the case, Deputy Master Jeffris, said the allegations were “without any merit at all.”
Government influenced GRG unit
The Times reports that the government had a “pervasive” influence over the strategy taken by RBS’s Global Restructuring Group which mistreated thousands of businesses. The allegations emerged in documents in a legal battle between Oliver Morley, a wealthy property developer, and RBS. The Times suggests the revelations will lead to increased calls for a public inquiry into the state’s roles in the scandal.
HOTELS
Red Carnation to open first hotel in Scotland
Luxury hotel group Red Carnation has picked a prime Edinburgh location for its first hotel in Scotland. The company said it aimed to "transform" 100 Princes Street in the city centre into a "highly exclusive retreat" with a multi-million pound revamp. The new hotel is due to open next year, becoming the group's 19th property worldwide.
ECONOMY
North suffering from credit deserts
According to a report from the think-tank Demos, swathes of Northern England – including parts of Yorkshire – are home to “credit deserts” where people may struggle to access affordable borrowing. Demos said that while many so-called credit deserts do have bank branches, building societies and credit unions, some residents may struggle to access their services due to their credit history. Areas named by the think-tank included Barnsley, Hull, Liverpool, Rochdale, Blackburn, Burnley, Blackpool, Hartlepool and Sunderland.
The Oracle Group: the fun-loving, hard-working, creative-thinking, PRWeek Top 150-ranking, promise-keeping, budget-saving, client-pleasing, content-creating, challenge-beating, brain-storming, award-winning, copy-writing, social-media-bombarding, brand-designing, proof-reading, event-making, reputation-building, marketing and communications group…and the only one to be crowned one of the ‘Best Places to Work in Property’ by Property Week in 2018 and 2019. If you’re looking for an enthusiastic, creative and reliable team to help with PR, design, marketing, events, digital marketing and social media, get in touch with the Oracle Group today.
The Oracle Group
The Oracle Group is a multi-service creative communications agency, providing expertise in five core areas: PR, Marketing, Social Media, Events and Digital. This means we can tailor our approach to each project.
