Good morning,
The markets are forecasting interest rates will nearly triple to 6.25% by May, after the Bank of England’s chief economist has said there will be a “significant monetary response” to the chancellor’s debt-laden economic plan.
House prices are expected to plunge by as much as 15% as a result, with the cost of borrowing also having severe implications for commercial property.
But Kwasi Kwarteng has sought to soothe the spooked City, saying that he and the bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, are speaking daily – a flat denial of suggestions that there is a widening rift between fiscal and monetary policy.
Labour, meanwhile, is attempting to reposition itself as the party of business, with Sir Keir Starmer telling delegates in Liverpool yesterday: “I’m not just pro-business, I want to partner with business.” He also outlined plans to boost home ownership and reform planning.
But his remarks were overshadowed by those made by backbench Labour MP Rupa Huq. The MP, who chairs parliament’s all-party group on London’s built environment, was recorded saying that Kwarteng had a privileged background and was only “superficially” black.
Meanwhile, Grosvenor, the Portman Estate, Great Portland Estates and Almacantar are among the London property players signing up to a new campaign to address violence against women and girls in the built environment. They want to work together to ensure that streets and spaces are safer and more equal.
In Bristol a new Inhalation Centre of Excellence has been granted planning permission.
While the O2 has signed indoor skydiving experience iFly as its latest Entertainment District tenant.
In auction news, Allsop defied even its own expectations by selling more than £105m of property in its September commercial sale. Partner and auctioneer George Walker said there was “no doubt” that pricing had softened.
It also raised more than £48m in its September residential auction, a success rate in excess of 70%.
Acuitus raised £18.9m in its September sale, with a Royal Mail distribution centre in Kilmarnock making £1.4m.
The opening of the Elizabeth Line, now a fitting tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, has helped boost Canary Wharf, writes the group’s leasing director Katie Oliphant. But there is more to be done to improve the sense of community.
Dubai’s government-owned developer Nakheel is close to raising $1.6bn to kick-start stalled trophy projects in the Gulf.
And finally, it’s the city of Simple Minds verses the home of the Beatles as the shortlist for the next Eurovision host is revealed. Glasgow and Liverpool beat Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield to be in with a chance to win the highest honour any city can receive, after the UK stepped in as host in place of last year’s winner, Ukraine. But how will the final choice be made? On musical heritage alone? Surely Liverpool must win, then. Not because of the Beatles – they aren’t very Eurovision. No, because of Atomic Kitten, obviously.
