Good morning.
Westfield and Hammerson’s £1.4bn plans for Croydon’s Whitgift centre have been officially axed after eight years. So what went wrong? And what happens next?
According to Sovereign Centros boss Chris Geaves, Croydon’s future will be more about repositioning and repurposing, rather than redevelopment.
Hammerson, meanwhile, was the biggest faller on the FTSE 250 yesterday, plunging 5.5% to 33.9p.
Franco Manca’s(£) owner David Page says he wants another 150 restaurants(£) in the next few years, not including overseas franchises.
Owning a home will make you £326,000 richer(£) over a 30-year period than renting. And that doesn’t even take into account the rising value of the property.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Land Commission(£) has called for radical state intervention to fix Scotland’s housing shortage. It says the market has failed and a “socialised approach” is needed.
Debt-laden developer China Evergrande(£) is facing a record number of legal challenges as it tries to control its £100bn-plus debts.
In America, a town in California has become the first to ban new fossil fuel pumps. The Guardian asks if this is the beginning of the end for the iconic US gas station?
And the scion of New York’s $8bn Durst property dynasty has admitted that he did write the infamous “cadaver” note(£) that led police to his dead friend.
And finally, Italy is once again offering a chunk of change to anyone wanting to live in its more remote and underpopulated areas. This time the focus is on rural Piedmont(£), known for its fine wines, white truffles and rampant unemployment. But maybe that isn’t remote enough for you. So how about becoming the first resident of the world’s newest island? A recent volcanic eruption off the cost of Japan has created a new 1km-long patch of land in the middle of the Pacific. Sure, the 750-mile commute to the mainland is a pain, and erosion means the islet will probably only last a few months, but as Mark Twain said: “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.” Or not making much, at any rate.
