Good morning. Here is your AM bulletin, with the latest news and views from EG as well as a few of the best bits from the morning papers.
WeWork’s credit rating has been sent further into junk territory, following its confession last week of a “substantial doubt” that it will survive.
This comes as WeWork’s rivals say they are ready and willing to snap up any buildings it disposes of. “Bring your building onto our platform now,” posted IWG’s Steve Rose. In capital letters.
Meanwhile, Michael Gove has sent out a flurry of letters to council and housing associations, lambasting them for “severe maladministration”, in an attempt to “name and shame” those he sees as “poorly performing”.
And is there a generational difference in opinion when it comes to the RICS, asks EG’s editor. While the older generation – including former board member Anthony Walker, who writes in EG this week – seems frustrated and almost angry, the next generation seems full of hope and is perhaps more understanding of some of the challenges.
The prime minister, meanwhile, has told The Times (£) “we’ll all feel better off next year” because inflation will fall.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says Rishi Sunak will fail to make good on his promise to halve inflation by the end of the year.
Money markets are betting the Bank of England will increase interest rates to 6%, despite inflation falling to its lowest level since February 2022.
And here is some potentially very troubling news, depending on how superstitious you are feeling. Michael Burry, the trader immortalised in the 2015 movie The Big Short, has bet $1.6bn (£1.25bn) – 90% of his funds – that there will be another Wall Street crash by the end of the year. He has been wrong before. But then again, he has been right, too.
Back in the UK, Samuel Tak Lee is selling off a 400,000 sq ft chunk of the Langham Estate, W1, for £500m.
Residential rents are rising at their fastest pace on record, climbing by 5.3% in July.
Aldi has confirmed plans to reach 1,200 stores by 2025, starting by opening one a week before Christmas.
Jamie Oliver wants to open more restaurants in the UK, five years after his Jamie’s Italian chain collapsed with debts of £83m. His CEO said the perilous mid-market would be avoided though.
Watkin Jones has sold a trio of non-core assets at a loss to L1 Capital.
The owners of the Crooked House pub have been linked to another unexplained fire. Make of that what you will.
And finally, good luck to all those receiving their A-level results today. And have you considered a career in real estate?
