December 2009 Archives

So we are at the end of another hard year, the first snow flakes have fallen and most of us our winding down for a well earned few days off to enjoy the festivities that this time of year brings.

Here are some of the highlights of what 2009 has meant to the property market:

Decline in overseas lenders adds to government headache

Credit crunch bite worse than its bark as banks bite off more than they can chew

UK economy hit with £3.5 billion snowball

Voids soar in latest agency figures

A MAN-made disaster. Not if Lehman Brothers had been Lehman Sisters!

Save your best till last OR offload now to stay afloat?

London toppled by Tokyo

The only way is up, for the Heron Tower at least.

News to be thin on the ground at MIPIM

 
...Toppled by Tokyo, and the Big Apple is next

Students advised "be prepared" as turbulent times hit recruitment market

Desperate times call for desperate measures

On show - law firms cruise into property event on wave of banking woes

Rent correction prompts surge in viewings

U.S Bailout a sight for sore eyes

Fire breaks out near Holborn

Surge in home working

Cheap booze drys up at Diageo

The Shard - A view as far as the eye can see, well almost.

Blow for AIG as landmark property is renamed

Tax increases could turn a trickle into a flood

LandSec chief serves cup of caution for breakfast

More women to fill the boardroom

 
Sir Alan's all go for Bishopsgate

Property firms still collapsing

UK market hit by loans

Fountains and Gasholders to front Kings Cross regeneration

Heron Tower aliens to feng shui traditions

 
FA opt for stadium home

Wires crossed! Can a £15.9 billion project be untangled?

 
Full buckets for EGi research

Mammoth property deal wobbles - Coeur Defense

 
Kuwait's twister nears completion

 
Kuala Lumpur all huggable over Intermark development

For sale, at the right price!! Middle East close on British Land?

Nomura art a breath of fresh air for former Lehmanites

Has the cost of your munch been affected by the crunch?

The 'Shards Of Glass' makes an early arrival

Hit for 6. Or is it 4? Nomura completes City deal

33 story gloom. Will Lehman curse be lifted?

Going for gold: Shell Centre promotes Hasbro venture

Gas holder 8: Architectural Abomination or Design Delight?

More bad news: Unemployment hits new high

Hasty approach - Investors consider speculative sites as stock supply runs dry

London loses property investment crown

Tenants face limited options as grade A dry's up

More go Swiss but motives change

Howdy Partner, Monmouth Dean set to roll into Midtown

Peak a boo. West End office opens today

A Wapping redevelopment for News International

Milton Gate set for Spanish purchase

Debt ridden Dubai rocks world markets

Milton Gate set for Spanish purchase

Debt ridden Dubai rocks world markets

Milton Gate deal is off!!

Eviction notice .... Last ditch raid on the City

 
Unstable ground, £1.9 billion rate bombshell set to knock London businesses off their feet.

 
Say Goodbye to the Naughty Noughties - Welcome to the Lean (and probably Mean) Teens

The team at London Offices would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and we hope you have a successful and Happy New Year.

With Christmas time fast approaching and the end of another decade finally in sight, it is time to cast our minds back to what has happened over the past ten years and what lies ahead for the next few.

Justin A. Urquhart Stewart, Director of Seven Investment Management Limited, provides an interesting analogy of our time through the so called "naughty noughties" where financial, consumer and property excess exploded with catastrophic consequences, and what is in store for the "lean, mean teens" where financial regulation seems to be the name of the game.

It certainly makes interesting reading: click here

So last night was the research teams Christmas party.

A fine meal (despite the lack of pistachio ice cream) at the Villandy in Holborn started of the festivities while the snow fell from the skies.

The entire research team turned out for the occasion in festive spirits. After polishing off three courses of Christmas grub and several glasses of vino, the team headed for the Ship tavern to carry on the party atmosphere.

Have you had an unforgettable Christmas do? Where was it, and what made it Christmassy for you?

Deals are now due for the Q4 2009 London Office Market Analysis report.

In order for your agency to receive the credit deserved and the LO team to update your disposals and acquisitions in time please submit any disposals or acquisitions your agency has completed in Q4 2009 ASAP to andrew.heard@egi.co.uk.

The report will be finalised in the first week of January and the breakfast briefing will be taking place on Thursday 28th January with the report available online and in the EG on Saturday 30th January.

With agent activity taking a hit over the past few years and demand coming to a standstill this time a year ago, the recent revival in activity certainly seems to be keeping agents on their toes right up until the Christmas break this time around.

But with deal volumes starting to show some signs of resurgence, questions are being asked of "when is a deal actually a deal?"

This seems to cause a dispute across the property sector, as to whether exchange in fact means means complete, and whether introducing a client to a tenant counts significantly enough to warrant credit for a disposal, even if the agent is disinstructed prior to completion.

Here at LO EGi we will count a deal once full contracts have been exchanged and the deal effectively completed and will only issue credit to those present at time of completion.

Of course we would welcome your views on whether are practice is in fact correct, and will take any comments onboard.

Yesterday's pre-budget report carried a very unwelcome pre-xmas message for City bankers, identifying the new staggering 70% tax on bonuses.

A one off 50% tax on bonuses will combine with income tax and national insurance to devour more than two third of every discretionary bonus awarded in the Square Mile between now and April.

The tax which falls on payouts above £25,000 is likely to affect upwards of 20,000 bankers. The 50% is to be paid by the bank and not the individual.

Tax experts are warning that a clampdown of this level could cause an exodus of non-domiciled executives to other financial centres like Singapore and Geneva, stripping the UK of its talent.

The treasury is also planning a crack down on any banks trying to get around the measure, by hiking base salaries  in the short term, imposing penalties on any culprits.

Stuart Fraser, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: "An excessively punitive approach towards remuneration will benefit nobody. A broad brush taxation policy risks encouraging the 250 overseas banks based in the City to reconsider their commitment to the UK."

Angela Knight of the British Bankers' Association said: "Viewed from the outside, London may well now look like a significantly less attractive place to build a business."

To access a forum on this topic please click here.

The property arm of Spanish insurer Mutua Madrileña has pulled out of a deal to purchase Milton Gate.