Today is meant to be “Back to the Office Monday(£)“, as bosses attempt to woo staff(£) back to their desks.
As the Bank of England(£) ditches its plans to get staff back to their desks, will the crowds return to the ghost town of the City(£)? And is Google’s HQ really the office of the future(£)? And do offices give you asthma?
Meanwhile, dozens of major investors and asset managers(£) have been told that their ESG is not good enough(£) by the FCA.
US property company Vornado will challenge IWG’s(£) winding up of Regus in the High Court this week.
And Lloyds Bank is also heading to the High Court, following a lack of mutual appreciation for its shared appreciation mortgages.
Companies that have built dangerous homes could be forced to pay to make them safe, under an extension to the “polluter pays”(£) principle being looked at by the government.
Ministers are expected to announce plans to tear down Grenfell Tower(£) later this month, amid fears that the structure is unsafe.
Meanwhile, EG Like Sunday Morning discusses racism and regeneration.
Boris Johnson(£) is set to push through a rise in national insurance to fund social care(£), as Labour looks at putting up capital gains tax.
After pausing its plans during the pandemic, Blackstone is back to raising rents for thousands of railway arch tenants. The Times (£) talks to some of them about how this is changing the tenant mix.
It also looks at the private equity firms(£) that are buying up Britain’s biggest brands.
Robert Evans, Argent’s CEO of King’s Cross, tells The FT (£) that people will return to central London if what it offers is good enough, as it signs a deal with The Office Group for a 170,000 sq ft flex space.
The Times (£) talks to British Land’s Roger Madelin about his time at Argent, Kings’s Cross and what is happening at Canada Water.
As The Telegraph (£) asks why new-builds are so ugly, Pocket Living boss Marc Vlessing tells The Guardian why he hopes his tiny homes will one day not be needed.
The Times (£) also takes a look at the “motley crew of lower-league City boys” leading a £400m bid for West Ham FC.
Chinese developer Greenland(£) has denied rumours that it will sell its UK development sites.
Pure Gym(£) is expected to be valued at up to £1.5bn as it leads a flurry of leisure IPOs.
A little-known investor has made an offer to buy fashion chain Jigsaw(£).
And 2021 is set to be a record year for store closures, after more than 8,700 shut in the first six months.
CPRE wants landowners to increase the number of hedgerows(£) in the country by 40%.
Peterborough may have been dubbed the “worst place to live in England”, says The Times (£), but at least it’s the greenest.
And finally, Trump looks set to leave Washington DC for good, after settling on a suitable sum. The hotel that is. Opponents to the property president are said to be thrilled that the Trump brand will no longer loom over Pennsylvania Avenue, as the Trump Organization enters “advanced talks” to sell the lease for the old Post Office building. Trump took the lease from the US government in 2013, and the hotel opened two weeks before his victory over Hilary Clinton in 2016. But that won’t be the last DC sees of Trump. Rumours that Donald is planning a return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are gaining credibility…
