Good morning.
Scottish company Cairn Energy(£) has seized control of 20 Parisian properties owned by the Indian government, as it attempts to extract the $1.7bn it is owed. More seizures(£) in the UK, USA, Canada, France and Singapore are now likely.
Oxford Properties Group and Logistics Capital Partners have come on board to develop 8m sq ft of warehouses at the 734-acre West Midlands Interchange(£) site near Solihull.
Persimmon’s share price dropped by 4.8% yesterday, despite H1 revenue rising above pre-pandemic levels. In fact, Countryside was the only resi developer to rise, up 0.2%, after confirming plans to sell its housebuilding business.
In fact, almost everything took a tumble yesterday, amid worries that post-pandemic boost was beginning to bust.
But things are looking up, insists Great Portland Estates’ boss Toby Courtauld. It has let five times more space(£) in Q2 than it had in Q1.
And Savills’ says its latest auction proves demand remains strong, with nearly £35m raised and 79% of lots sold.
Poundland, meanwhile, has failed in an attempt to force a rent reduction through the courts.
While Newcastle City Council has given the nod to 350,000 sq ft of offices at Taras Properties’ Pilgrim Place scheme.
WH Smith(£) has bought 18 of Dixons’ former airport stores. It wants to expand its InMotion brand to the UK.
In case you missed it, EG has a cracking interview with the brains behind Macquarie’s UK BTR business, Goodstone Living.
The Church of England spends nearly £3m a year maintaining the houses of its bishops…
… Nearly 2% of homes in Scotland(£), worth more than £8bn, are long-term vacant…
… And house prices(£) have risen across the EU at their fastest rate since 2007.
Donald Trump is exploiting his most reliable real estate revenue stream – by charging his own security detail rent. According to newly released records, the former president charged the Secret Service over $10,000 to use guest rooms at his Bedminster golf club while they protected him.
And finally, a cross-party commission is recommending that the PM sets up his own government department. Quite how this would differ from the Cabinet Office in anything but name is unclear, but it seems more bureaucracy is just the ticket to ensure that Boris’s writ is writ large. The other thing that is unclear is exactly where this new department would be located. We assume, however, that it will follow the spirit of the PM’s own levelling up agenda, and it and its senior minister – the PM – will be sent to man an outpost on the Red Wall. Fancy relocating to Stoke-on-Trent, Boris? You’ll get a redecorating allowance…
