News

MORNING NEWS: All the data you can eat

News

Piers Wehner

11 September 2023

Good morning. Here is your AM bulletin, with the latest news and views from EG as well as a few of the best bits from the morning papers.

Pension fund giant AustralianSuper has placed a €1.5bn bet on Europe’s data centres by taking a minority stake in Vantage.

Birmingham City Council’s declaration of effective bankruptcy has cast a shadow over the future of its £1.9bn Smithfield partnership with Lendlease.

And the bosses of 44 big retailers have called on the chancellor to freeze business rates in his Autumn Statement, over fears that the multiplier will add £400m to bills.

Motor Fuel Group is in talks over a £2bn deal to gobble up Morrisons’ 340 petrol forecourts. Both are owned by private equity firm CD&R.

Developer HBD has drafted plans for Colloco, a £140m office scheme in the St John’s District of Manchester.

And LondonMetric has sold £17m of assets, as it cleans house after buying CT Property last month.

The Restaurant Group is finalising a deal to sell the 75-site Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito restaurant chains to the owner of Café Rouge.

Creditors to London Capital & Finance will recover as little as 10% of what they are owed, administrators have warned.

The number of homes being built annually is on course to more than halve over the next three years, according to Berkeley Group’s boss. Rob Perrins says a culture of “saying no” is growing within local authorities.

But Vistry has posted a 32% rise in completions and revenue for its first half, but profit was down 8.4% as costs bite. It has said it will focus more on its partnerships business.

Backbench MPs will try to introduce a law this week forcing the government to create a national register of public buildings containing asbestos.

One in five households in England face their homes being unaffordable by the end of this decade, according to the Home Builders Federation.

While residential rents are expected to jump by a quarter by the end of 2026.

But there is a way to make space for more housing, says the think tank Create Streets. It wants “needlessly wide” roads and junctions to be narrowed, freeing up the land for development. “Forget green belt. This is Britain’s road belt and it’s time to build on it.”

The FT (£) sees a truce emerging between staff who want to work from home and bosses who want them back in the office.

While The Times (£) takes a look at WeWork’s souring relations with its landlords, following its announcement that they must slash rents or find a new tenant.

In the latest episode of EG Like Sunday Morning, the gang discusses the end of IPSX, WeWork’s lease negotiations, Birmingham going bust and what we can learn from Pocket Living.

And don’t forget – today is your last chance to have your say on self-regulation and governing council at the RICS. Our independent survey ends at 5pm today.

Good morning. Here is your AM bulletin, with the latest news and views from EG as well as a few of the best bits from the morning papers. Pension fund giant AustralianSuper has placed a €1.5bn bet on Europe’s data centres by taking a minority stake in Vantage. Birmingham City Council’s declaration of effective bankruptcy has cast a shadow over the future of its £1.9bn Smithfield partnership with Lendlease. And the bosses of 44 big retailers have called on the chancellor to freeze business rates in his Autumn Statement, over fears that the multiplier will add £400m to bills. Motor Fuel Group is in talks over a £2bn deal to gobble up Morrisons’ 340 petrol forecourts. Both are owned by private equity firm CD&R. Developer HBD has drafted plans for Colloco, a £140m office scheme in the St John’s District of Manchester. And LondonMetric has sold £17m of assets, as it cleans house after buying CT Property last month. The Restaurant Group is finalising a deal to sell the 75-site Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito restaurant chains to the owner of Café Rouge. Creditors to London Capital & Finance will recover as little as 10% of what they are owed, administrators have warned. The number of homes being built annually is on course to more than halve over the next three years, according to Berkeley Group’s boss. Rob Perrins says a culture of “saying no” is growing within local authorities. But Vistry has posted a 32% rise in completions and revenue for its first half, but profit was down 8.4% as costs bite. It has said it will focus more on its partnerships business. Backbench MPs will try to introduce a law this week forcing the government to create a national register of public buildings containing asbestos. One in five households in England face their homes being unaffordable by the end of this decade, according to the Home Builders Federation. While residential rents are expected to jump by a quarter by the end of 2026. But there is a way to make space for more housing, says the think tank Create Streets. It wants “needlessly wide” roads and junctions to be narrowed, freeing up the land for development. “Forget green belt. This is Britain’s road belt and it’s time to build on it.” The FT (£) sees a truce emerging between staff who want to work from home and bosses who want them back in the office. While The Times (£) takes a look at WeWork’s souring relations with its landlords, following its announcement that they must slash rents or find a new tenant. In the latest episode of EG Like Sunday Morning, the gang discusses the end of IPSX, WeWork’s lease negotiations, Birmingham going bust and what we can learn from Pocket Living. And don’t forget – today is your last chance to have your say on self-regulation and governing council at the RICS. Our independent survey ends at 5pm today.