January
1 Building Societies Act 1986 comes into force
2 Financial Times All-share index at 836.29, Property share index at 809.91 and Government Securities index at 84.76; sterling at $1.4905 and gold at $403.25 an ounce at close of first day’s business in London.
5 FTProperty share index at year’s low of 805.82.
7 Royal Bank of Scotland announces Pearl door-to-door salesmen to sell mortgages.
9 London Wall development plan guidelines agreed by City Corporation.
PINCs market put back by six months.
12 Realignment of European Monetary System
13 Housing Minister announces relaxation of rent laws for private landlords.
Imry/Arbuthnot £100m merger terms announced for Imry International.
14 Government’s Expenditure Plans 1987-88 to 1989-90 White Paper published.
17 Sterling at year’s low of $1.4710.
26 Stock Exchange Third Market begins trading.
GRE announce £215m of property development in 1987.
Land Securities announce plans for £90m City offices on Aldersgate Street.
27 Bryant Holdings escape £187m bid from English China Clays. Audit Office report MOD and PSA: Control and management of defence estate published.
28 Public inquiry into future of County Hall begins.
February
2 Tower Hamlets select Pengap for £100m Whitechapel shop and leisure scheme.
3 Spitalfields put on the market.
5 Government backing announced for Northern Development Company.
Metropolitan authorities planning guidelines issued.
9 Alternative Land Use and the Rural Exchange draft DOE circular published.
10 Anti-gazumping Law of Property (Amendment) Bill introduced by John Heddle.
17 Tillingham Hall, Essex, new town scheme rejected by Nicholas Ridley.
20 EEC announce loan of £31m to West Midlands, Cardiff and Tayside.
25 Fees for planning applications increased by 13%.
26 MEPC bid for control of Oldham Estate.
Government announce Scottish rates abolition in one stage in April 1989.
Trafalgar House submit £200m plan for privately funded Severn Bridge.
Hongkong Land sells land bank for $HK1.4bn.
27 Consortium announce £100m housing scheme at Bricklayers Arms, Southwark.
March
2 Welsh Development Agency announce boost for factory development.
3 Rosehaugh bid £90m for General Funds Investment Trust.
RICS Structure and chartered designations review 1987 published.
4 Bovis International buy Hong Kong-based construction company Gerry Long.
9 Banks base rate cut from 11% to 10.5%.
10 Government’s Farming and rural enterprise package launched. Plans for £240m Belfast riverside scheme announced.
12 Sizewell B plans get Government go-ahead.
17 Budget
18 Banks base rate cut from 10.5% to 10%.
Woolwich Building Society form housebuilder Woolwich Homes.
19 Great Portland buy 50% of Bridehall.
Gilbert House make £70m bid for Centrovincial.
20 Halifax, Abbey National and Leeds cut mortgage interest rate to 11.25%.
Single property ownership units to begin in 1988, announces Barkshire Committee.
Manchester council announce £200m leasing plan for buildings.
23 TSB opens first in-branch estate agency.
25 Ideal Homes chosen to develop Bricklayers Arms, Southwark, site.
30 Managing the Countryside: The Policy Framework published by the RICS.
ADAS introduce charges for advice.
Landlord and Tenant (No 2) Bill second reading.
31 Kumagai Gumi buy News International’s Whitefriars site for £72m.
£2.6bn scheme for London’s Royal Docks approved by DOE. £135m plans for Battersea Power Station leisure centre unveiled.
April
1 Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Buildings in Conservation Areas) Regulations 1987 in operation.
PSA closes 10 area offices.
2 DOE announces introduction of 30-year rule for listed buildings in 1988.
Guinness announces sale of main retail activities.
3 Woolworth open first Kidstore.
6 New urban regeneration grants for inner cities announced by Government.
£80m Whiteleys, Bayswater, redevelopment to be funded by Standard Life.
7 New green belt planning guidelines published by DOE.
Go-ahead for business rates revaluation in 1990 announced by DOE.
8 PSA privatisation recommended by Commons Environment Committee report.
9 Bradley Stoke, Bristol, £500m new town scheme launched.
Hammerson announce pre-tax profits up 23% at £49m.
10 YRM — first building design practice to announce Stock Exchange listing.
11 Bovis wins £1bn contract for Europe’s Disneyland in Paris.
13 £300m funding for Broadgate scheme signed with 26 banks.
14 £150m Clyde dockland scheme announced by Tarmac/Clyde Port Authority.
Plans of National Gallery extension on view.
Revised advice to farmers on trespass issued by MAFF.
15 Land Securities announce £200m debenture.
16 Sale of GLC industrial properties to ICE agreed.
Plans announced for hotel on St Georges Hospital site, Hyde Park Corner.
27 Trocadero put on the market.
28 Banks base rate cut from 10% to 9.5%.
Policy for Roads in England White Paper published.
29 Multi-disciplinary Partnerships and Allied Topics published by Law Society.
May
2 Government announces regional development agency plans for England abandoned.
5 Town and Country Planning (Appeals) (Written Procedure) Regulations 1987 in force.
Team branches to act as outlets for Barclays financial services.
6 Mountleigh bid £365m for Stockley.
Trafalgar House announce pre-tax profits down 25% to £54.1m.
7 Aldwych House sold to Associated British Ports for £25m.
Nine firms join Debenham Tewson & Chinnocks in investors’ advisory service.
8 Banks base rate cut from 9.5% to 9%.
DOE circular Development involving Agricultural Land published.
8 Government Securities index at year’s high of 93.32.
11 Licensed conveyancers start practising.
12 Housing Corporation announces £70m rented homebuilding programme.
13 English Estates spending raised to £47m.
Langham Estate, W1, offered for sale at £88m.
Land Securities announce pre-tax profits up 6.8% at £120.6m.
15 Tesco win £228m bid battle for Hillards.
Property Equity Fund launched. Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 receives Royal Assent.
18 St Modwen chosen to develop £100m Stoke-on-Trent Festival Park.
Law Commission report Leasehold Conveyancing published.
21 Rules for unitised property market published by Stock Exchange.
27 de Morgan & Co prospectus for USM quotation published.
28 Prudential announce support for unitised property.
Landlord and Tenant: Reform of the Law published by Law Commission.
29 Hong Kong’s 22,500-sq ft fire station site sold for $HK840m (£67m).
June
1 Use Classes Order 1987 and General Development Order 1987 in force.
3 MEPC announce pre-tax profits up 20% to £32.5m.
4 Trafalgar House bid for PFPUT rejected.
10 British Land announce pre-tax profits up 42% at £30.1m.
11 Conservatives returned in General Election.
13 John MacGregor succeeds Michael Jopling as Minister of Agriculture.
17 DOE ministerial reshuffle — William Waldegrave, housing and planning; Michael Howard, local government.
18 £2m ACCORD scheme announced by Development Commission for Rural England.
22 Bracken House, EC4, sold to Japanese for £143m.
23 Palumbo Mansion House plan rejected by City planning committee.
25 Priest Marians announce £700m scheme for Spitalfields.
25 Queens Speech: Domestic rates reform and rent control relaxation, housing action trusts, farm woodland planting grants.
27 Planning application submitted for 750-acre village and business park at Swansley Wood, Cambs.
29 Brent Walker buy Lonrho’s British casinos for £128m.
OPP sought by Consortium Development for 700-acre new town at Foxley Wood, Hants.
30 Royal Opera House and National Gallery extensions get go-ahead.
Clayform chosen for Rover’s £100m Bathgate scheme.
July
1 Fees for planning applications increased by 10%.
6 Heron announce £100m Paris office scheme.
7 Pepper Angliss & Yarwood merger with United Trust & Credit announced.
9 Plans announced for £310m Liverpool docks scheme.
10 Sale of ASDA/MFI furniture/carpet stores announced.
13 GLC industrial portfolio sold to ICE for £48.5m.
14 Wimpey’s Little Britain plan approved by City planners.
15 Emerson Green Development Co announce £250m, 500-acre science park at Bristol.
16 Private Housebuilding in the Inner Cities published by HBF. Palumbo Mansion House plan rejection confirmed by City council.
16 FT All-share, Property and Ordinary indices at year’s highs of 1238.57, 1374.86 and 1926.20 respectively.
17 Canary Wharf master building agreement signed by LDDC and Olympia & York.
20 Debenham Tewson & Chinnocks prospectus published — shares at 170p.
21 Hammersmith Broadway public inquiry begins.
22 Commonhold Law Commission paper published.
23 Channel Tunnel Bill receives royal assent.
PSA/Civil Service link cut by Government.
24 Capital & Counties announce £182m rights issue to fund developments.
27 Black Country Development Corporation launched by Nicholas Ridley.
TSB bid for Hogg Robinson fails.
28 Channel Tunnel treaty signed by Mrs Thatcher and M Mitterrand.
29 LET and Tarmac seek OPP for £1bn Royal Docks scheme.
Transfer of Land — the rule in Bain v Fothergill published by Law Commission.
EC plans to control farm spending announced.
31 Yellow Paper on rating reform published.
August
3 Greycoat win £100m Crawley shopping centre tender.
4 Towards a policy for regional shopping centres published by SERPLAN.
6 Banks base rate raised from 9% to 10%.
10 Harrogate solicitors announce property centre.
13 Trafalgar House loses battle for PFPUT.
Mountleigh announces possible bid for Storehouse?
Bracken House listed as of architectural interest.
Brookmount acquire Wright Oliphant, £60m of properties from Trafalgar House and make right issue.
18 Woolwich announces estate agency network to be set up from scratch.
21 Berkley House buy Thames House, Millbank, for conversion to £250m flats scheme.
25 Eurotunnel arranges £5bn loans and standby credit.
26 Randsworth pay £132m for Mountleigh and British Land properties.
Wimpey and Tishman Realty & Construction form joint construction management venture.
27 Mountleigh offers £263m for PFPUT property portfolio.
28 Greycoat pay £42m for Moor House, London Wall.
Lord Samuel, chairman of Land Securities, dies aged 75.
31 DLR opens.
September
1 FT pays £74.4m for Horseshoe Court, Southwark.
4 Hilton International chain sold to Ladbroke for £645m.
OPP granted for M25 Lakeside Shopping Centre, West Thurrock.
7 Trocadero sold to Brent Walker for £90m.
8 Abbey National launch Cornerstone Estate Agencies.
Hambro Countrywide to link with GRE on life assurance.
9 GEC start partial offer for 51% of PFPUT.
10 GEC call off partial offer for PFPUT.
11 Banque Paribas and Tops Estate offer £270m for PFPUT.
14 Mountleigh win battle for PFPUT with £271m bid.
16 Bass buy Holiday Inn for £290m. Woolwich and Gateway announce merger.
£400m plan for Edinburgh waterfront announced.
22 Revised Canary Wharf plans announced.
24 Mountleigh’s £1.8bn bid for Storehouse fails.
28 NEDA announce plans for £1bn scheme near Ashford, Kent.
29 Housing: The Government’s Proposals White Paper published.
LDDC/Newham agreement for Royal Docks redevelopment signed.
30 MEPC’s £516.4m bid for Oldham Estate accepted.
October
1 Stanhope Properties USM flotation announced.
2 Allied Dunbar sell £47m shop portfolio to ICI.
4 ASDA sell MFI and Hygena to MFI management for £715m.
5 Royal Victoria Dock Development Partnership submit application for stadium, exhibition centre and business premises.
TSB announce plans for estate agency network.
8 Abbey National announce plans for mortgages in Spain.
Skanska pay £100m for St Katharine Docks site.
9 Mountleigh announce purchase of Spanish store chain for £153.38m.
12 RICS members vote for further relaxation of rules of conduct.
13 Gerald Ronson arrested in connection with Guinness affair.
13 LDDC rejects St Martins plan for London Bridge City phase two.
Pru’s £400m 1m-sq ft Minster Court, EC3, gets planning consent.
16 Major storm damage in SE.
19 Record daily falls in world stock markets.
19 Government Securities index at year’s low of 83.73.
21 City Corporation ratifies Spitalfields Development Group plans.
22 Farmland and Rural Development Bill published.
26 Banks base rate cut from 10% to 9.5%.
London City Airport opens. Plans for £250m Swindon business park announced.
28 New restrictions on agents’ boards announced by DOE (wef 28/10/88).
November
2 Simplified planning zone schemes come into force.
3 Chancellor’s autumn statement on the economy.
4 Banks base rate cut from 9.5% to 9%.
Construction starts at Canary Wharf.
9 Bristol regeneration plans launched by Phoenix.
FT Ordinary Share index at year’s low of 1232.0.
10 FT All-share index at year’s low of 784.81.
11 Data Protection Act fully in force.
Land Securities announce pre-tax profits up 11% at £64.5m.
16 Merlin International Properties announce £100m scheme for 27 acres in central Manchester.
16 Eurotunnel stock market flotation.
17 Community charge to be introduced in one go in April 1990, announces Nicholas Ridley.
Scottish Provident sell £86m property portfolio to Postel.
19 £750m Royal Docks plans passed by DOE.
24 Nationwide Anglia announce £600m investment in private rented homes.
25 MEPC announce pre-tax profits up 37% at £80.2m.
December
1 Prince Charles attacks City planners and developers.
1 Digital announce £100m hq scheme at Reading.
4 Banks base rate cut from 9% to 8.5%.
Poll tax Local Government Finance Bill published.
7 Mini urban development areas at Bristol, Leeds and Manchester launched by DOE.
8 LET submit OPP for £250m redevelopment of Birmingham’s Bull Ring.
£40m waterfront plan for Hartlepool unveiled.
British & Commonwealth launch £189m bid for Abaco.
Ministry of Agriculture consultation paper An extensification scheme published.
14 395-acre Brenthall Park, Harlow, housing project gets go-ahead from Environment Minister.
Brent Walker link with Trocadero redevelopment team to form Walker Power Corporation.
15 Consortium Developments propose 1,200-acre new country town “Stone Bassett” in Oxfordshire.
British Land announce pre-tax profits doubled at £23.5m.
17 No more enterprise zones in England, announces Nicholas Ridley.
£26m Liverpool waterfront development announced.
18 Kenneth Clarke appointed minister for inner cities.
London City Airport flights to Paris suspended by CAA.
21 Funds agreed for £315m Spitalfields market plan.
23 Trafalgar House make £198.4m agreed bid for Chase Property Holdings.
31 FT All-share index at 870.22, Property share index at 969.79, and Government Securities index at 88.49; sterling at $1.8785 (year’s high) and gold at $486.5 an ounce at close of business in London.
