Good morning.
The good news? All these Covid(£) curbs will be over by Easter(£), according to the UK’s medical chief Chris Whitty(£).
And now the bad. What will happen to offices as the PM tells workers to stay at home until April?
Also, post-lockdown tiers will be “a death sentence(£) for countless pubs and restaurants”.
And the worst? A no-deal Brexit(£) will cause more long-term economic damage than Covid-19. That’s the cheery message from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.
Meanwhile, a hard Brexit-backing business lobby is urging the chancellor to scrap corporation tax(£).
The economy shrank(£) under the weight of lockdown this month, with services(£) hit worst.
Shares in Countrywide jumped by more than 6% yesterday to close at a near-nine month high as Connells confirmed an £82m bid(£) for the business.
WHSmith plans to turn its 15-acre HQ into 228 homes.
As more landlords look to turn stores into housing, The FT (£) says the retail monoculture of the UK’s town and city centres is ending. The FT (£) also has a piece on how cities must be made more liveable after the pandemic.
JD Sports(£) has entered exclusive talks with Debenhams(£) about a takeover of the entire department stores chain.
Leon(£) is planning to use a CVA to cut its rent bill…
… And Cineworld(£) still plans to push ahead with its CVA(£), despite securing $450m of new debt.
Colmore Capital has bought the 150,000 sq ft Wavendon Business Park in Milton Keynes from M&G.
Derby City Council has appointed a consultant to help create a post-Covid economic recovery plan.
Boutique agency Time Retail has hired Tony Carroll, a former senior director at CBRE, as a director.
Quintain has appointed Jim Eaton-Terry as its first chief technology officer.
A bespoke single asset online auction will be held for a terrace of properties on Laura Place in Bath – one of the main settings in Jane Austen’s final book Persuasion.
Shanghai and Cape Town are expected to be the world’s leading locations for luxury homes(£) next year.
The Land Registry has spent £1.4m equipping its staff for home-working(£), while the FCA has splurged £750,000 on gaming computer screens and racing car style office chairs for home-bound staff.
But, if your job can be done from home, can it be done from somewhere, and by someone, much cheaper? The FT (£) thinks so.
And finally, President Trump has grudgingly agreed to allow a transfer of power(£) to President Elect Joe Biden. Many in the markets are getting excited to see the Great Orange One return to doing what he does best. Real estate? No, of course not. Television! Pundits have said that the mogul could have either his own Trump TV(£) network to rival Fox, or start a bidding war between networks to host a show that could net him $40m a year. And, the hair would be tax deductible again…
