Good morning.
Morrisons’ property alone is worth £9bn(£), and if the public markets don’t appreciate its value, then private equity will. That’s the warning from experts as bidding(£) for the freehold-rich supermarket chain continues.
Sainsbury’s, however, has dismissed speculation that it could be the next target of a private equity takeover(£), following a jump in profits(£). Boss Simon Roberts says the business is undervalued at £6.23bn.
Meanwhile, shares in British Land and Landsec fell by 4% and 3.1% yesterday, after Jefferies downgraded the pair from “buy” to “hold”. Index peer SEGRO rose 1.6% to reach its highest level in 14 years.
Covid restrictions will end by 19 July, but a number of businesses (and the PM) say masks will stay. The FT (£) asks what impact this will have on the workplace.
Modular housebuilder ilke Homes has launched the UK’s first net zero homes available to the mainstream market, with capacity for 1,000 homes a year.
And Lloyds Banking Group’s landlord arm, Citra Living(£), also wants 1,000 rental homes before the year is over.
Legal & General will forward fund Peel L&P’s £40m affordable housing scheme at Chatham Waters, Kent.
And Orchard Street has signed three tenants at its recently refurbished 75 Farringdon Road, EC1. The deals will see Red Nucleus join Blue Matter on the tenant roster.
Which brings us neatly to Purplebricks(£). The online estate agent has said it will now return fees if it fails to sell a home in a bid to boost market share.
The construction sector grew at its fastest pace in 24 years(£) last month, with both housebuilding and commercial soaring.
Liberalising planning laws to fix the housing crisis sounds logical. But it won’t work, writes Anna Minton in The Guardian.
And a claim for tens of millions of pounds in compensation will reach the high court today, as more than 800 bereaved and survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy seek justice.
The Scottish town of Ayr has Georgia on its mind(£) as it seeks to put heritage at the heart of its regeneration.
New York City wants to set up 24-hour party zones to reclaim its title as the ‘city that never sleeps’. Currently it is the ‘city that stays awake for a really long time but needs a nap at about 4am’.
And finally, a house in Hampstead that appears to be the size of a double garage has gone on the market for £4.7m. But that’s because Langtry House isn’t quite what it seems. It is in fact the UK’s largest ‘iceberg house'(£), with the 11ft tall, one-bed structure on the surface being just the tip of a 3,451 sq ft basement development, including a 25ft high central atrium, cinema room, gym and, even further down, a wine cellar. But while Langtry House may be the UK’s biggest iceberg, it isn’t the deepest. Some extend to six storeys underground, while one is believed to be 18m (60ft) deep.
