Good morning.
A tenth of all London offices(£) will be unusable within two years. About 20m sq ft of space will fall short of new standards, set to kick in in 2023, says Colliers.
Meanwhile, cabinet ministers are planning a “big push”(£) to get civil servants back to their desks.
And city centre hotels are seeing a midweek bookings surge(£). Apparently all those people who left the cities to work from home in the country last year are needing ways to shorten the commute now they have been called back to the office.
Clayton Dubilier & Rice is pondering whether to raise its offer for Morrisons(£) even higher than Friday’s bid of £6.7bn. It says it has the financing and sees greater synergies thanks to its 900-site petrol station portfolio.
Meanwhile, The Times (£) gets to know two people who know all about petrol stations and supermarkets – Mohsin and Zuber Issa…
… And offers some insights into Blackstone’s(£) sprawling and sometimes surprising portfolio.
Traders at a covered market in North London are celebrating after Grainger walked away(£) from plans to redevelop it.
House prices rose last month(£) despite a fall in June as the “race for space” offset the tapering of the stamp duty holiday.
And housebuilders were among the top risers on the FTSE before the weekend, even as Savills fell 4% from its previous high.
Halifax is offering a 0.83% mortgage rate, but some banks are refusing to lend, as prospective buyers agree to pay “too much”(£) for homes.
Talking of paying too much, construction bosses have predicted a further spike in costs(£) as government infrastructure plans threaten to send demand into a “supercycle”.
An architect has won a “hollow victory”(£) and £637 after being sacked for setting up a rival firm.
The top of Lloyd’s iconic Lime Street HQ – the Richard Rogers-designed ‘inside-out building'(£) – could become a Michelin-starred restaurant.
With all of these planned film studios(£), can Hertfordshire can be the next Hollywood?
The Times (£) has a chat to former property developer Richard Tice, who now hustles for the Reform Party…
… And to the mother of the lad who climbed the Shard.
Don’t forget to take part in EG’s Race Diversity survey.
Or to listen to talk of Hammerson’s prongs, London’s offices and more in this week’s EG Like Sunday Morning.
And finally, Lympne Castle is looking for a new lord of the manor. The Grade I listed castle on the Kent coast(£), along with its 137 acres, is on the market through Savills for £11m. The castle was dolled up in the last century, based on a manor originally owned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. But that was on the site of a Saxon Abbey, which itself was built on top of a Roman fort. High-profile guests have included Sir Paul McCartney, who recorded an album there, Sir Mick Jagger, who didn’t, prime minister Herbert Henry Asquith and the cast of The Only Way is Essex. The commute isn’t too bad either.
