Good morning.
The relentless rise of Savills’ share price has continued this week, with the agent adding more than £250m to its market capitalisation since its results on 6 August. Shares rose by 2% yesterday to a fresh high of 1,367p, putting the company’s market cap at £1.95bn.
And London’s office lettings(£) are also on the rise, with 1.8m sq ft let in Q2. It is a lot better than last year’s slump of 570,000 sq ft, but still far off the 3m sq ft let quarterly before the pandemic.
Retail continues to take a hammering though, as online shopping(£) swelled to £10bn in July. Almost a third of sales are now online.
The IPCC’s report has shown housebuilders the scale of the challenge ahead of them, says Etopia chief Joseph Michael Daniels. But in MMC, net zero goals and the unsung Sixth Carbon Budget, they have all the tools they need.
Meanwhile, the government has published its hydrogen strategy, pledging to use the low-emission fuel(£) in up to 3m homes.
The Times (£) has an interesting recap of a recent planning case, for those who like nothing better than to start the day with a juicy court report.
The FT (£), meanwhile, has a recap of all of its suggestions for which over-designed garden sheds you need to buy – whether it’s is a home-office pod, Covid-secure guest accommodation or even a home temple.
And The Guardian asks if there is a future for the sandwich shop. Which frankly just makes me feel hungry.
In Warsaw, a palace(£) that was flattened by the Nazis will rise again, at a cost of £465m.
And finally, a judge has shot down a trophy Paris development for being the worst sort of greenwashing. The Thousand Trees project – or Les Milles Arbres(£) to those who parlay – was intended to be “a rampart against pollution” which would “vegetalise” the French capital ahead of the 2024 Olympics. The 500,000 sq ft glass and greenery development was to feature a hotel, offices, apartments and shops, along with more trees than the Bois de Boulogne, all perched above the western Peripherique as if it had tumbled from the foot of some monstrous Cinderella. The innovative design, its promoters said, would “suck” pollution out of Paris. Nope, a judge has ruled, it just sucks. He has agreed with environmentalists, who pointed out that covering a 10-lane motorway with undulating glass would only serve to spew fume-laden air into nearby housing areas. Expect an appeal.
