Good morning.
Ministers will today push through measures(£) to toughen up sanctions(£) against Vladimir Putin’s allies in the UK. Some say the measures, which will give overseas owners of properties(£) six months to reveal their identities, don’t go far enough. Others worry that innocent investors will be caught up in the crackdown.
And, as PwC and KPMG(£) become the latest big firms to sever ties with Russia and Belarus…
The Times(£) and The Guardian look at how London became the place to be for Putin’s oligarchs, and how the “Russian money tree” took root in Britain.
While The FT(£) asks if the UK can wean itself off rotten Russian money.
But, as the 1MBD swindle reaches Brooklyn’s federal court…
And Andy Ruhan(£) is found guilty of fraudulently breaching his duties in a £100m hotels deal, it is worth remembering that corruption is everywhere.
Australia’s Aware Super fund is super aware of the value of UK property, with plans to pour up to £9bn into European and US markets over the next three years.
The prime minister has called for a “climate change pass”(£) for gas providers, to help wean the West off Russian gas supplies. And Nigel Farage has launched a campaign group to oppose climate change targets altogether.
And in East Anglia, anger is mounting over plans for the UK’s biggest solar farm.
Sun Communities, the US REIT, has paid £182m for Park Leisure(£), its second British holiday parks deal in only four months.
The number of French châteaux(£) on the market has reached a record 1,500, as families decide that the ancestral home would be too much of a burden for the next generation.
The Times(£) finds that Amazon’s automated supermarkets are not to everyone’s taste
In their first interview since buying Asda, the Issa brothers(£) say they will “commit whatever we need” to knock Sainsbury’s from the number two spot.
And Homes England chair and Argent co-founder Peter Freeman(£) talks about Putin, King’s Cross, and why MIPIM is worth it.
EG Like Sunday Morning is preparing for MIPIM too, as it goes in search of the lost Arc.
Meanwhile, AstraZenica’s Disc(£) will cost at least another £100m before it is ready. The estimated price tag for the Cambridge HQ is now £1.1bn, making it three times over budget.
And finally, many people choose to downsize to a smaller property in their later years. Some even choose to move in to that holiday home that they previously only got to enjoy at the weekends, Easter and Royal Ascot. So it should come as no surprise that the Queen is permanently relocating to Windsor(£), leaving Buckingham Palace to the kids. She should be careful though. That’s just the sort of thing that could open you up to a house hijacking! Just watch Our House on ITV tonight(£) and you’ll see how easily someone could steal your house from under you. It is probably no coincidence that the show stars Tuppence Middleton. Your Majesty, you have been warned!
