Good morning,
The long-awaited second round of levelling up funding is finally here. A total of £2.1bn has been allocated to 111 projects across the UK, after the government delayed the announcement from last October. However, concerns have been raised that much of the money from the £1.7bn first round has yet to be handed over, while ministers have said this round needs to be spent by March next year.
And eyebrows have been raised that the South East and London have been handed considerably more cash than many Northern and Midlands areas, while barely half of the areas awarded funds in England are classed as “most deprived”.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen potential buyers are circling Britishvolt’s site in Blyth.
In other news, Home REIT’s investment adviser has hired a specialist social housing property manager – Simpact Group – in a “significant investment”, following concerns raised over its rents.
London office prices need to fall by 29.3% to drive transaction volumes back to normal activity levels, according to MSCI. The stark price adjustment estimate is based on an historical analysis of supply and demand trends.
And investment into the UK’s purpose-built student accommodation sector reached £7.2bn in 2022, up 69% year-on-year, according to Knight Frank.
Oxwed has submitted plans to regenerate the 15-acre Oxpens site in west Oxford. The joint venture between Nuffield College and Oxford City Council is proposing a mixed-use development of 500,000 sq ft of lab and office space, 234 new homes, 258 student rooms and a 250-bedroom hotel.
Meanwhile, Mayfair Capital has agreed to sell the Hinshelwood Building on Oxford Science Park to Magdalen College’s TOSP in a £19.5m deal.
Vogue publisher Condé Nast has confirmed it will move out of its Vogue House HQ next year.
House prices fell in November, but energy-efficient homes appear to be holding their value better than the rest, according to figures from the Land Registry.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is in Davos today attempting to woo business leaders and build bridges with Europe.
And finally, King Charles has asked for additional profits the Crown Estate to be used for the “wider public good” and not handed to the monarchy. The Crown is expected to reap a healthy profit from a £1bn-a-year Crown Estate wind farm deal, and the King would be entitled to 25% of that. The Crown Estate’s latest leasing agreements are for the development of six fixed offshore wind projects, totalling almost 8GW.
