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.
British landlords are facing a £3.1bn hit from the potential collapse of WeWork. Despite cutting back leases, the flex space operator is still London’s biggest tenant, meaning its “substantial doubts” could have severe consequences.
Home REIT will ditch its focus on homelessness after shareholders overwhelmingly approved “stabilisation” plans at a general meeting yesterday.
The FT (£) asks if King’s Cross can be used as a template for 20 regeneration projects, as levelling up secretary Michael Gove promised in 2022. The short answer? It turns out that wishing for something doesn’t make it happen. “Don’t get me wrong, we welcomed it,” says Tim Johnson, Wolverhampton Council’s chief executive. “But it hasn’t manifested itself in something particularly different.”
Meanwhile, council deficits will rise to an average of £33m by the next financial year, with a £5bn black hole opening up by April 2026.
But there is good news! Inflation in the UK is falling faster that expected. The ONS has said that, after crunching the numbers in a slightly different way, core inflation for July was in fact 6.8%, not the 6.9% it previously stated. Don’t know about you, but I feel better off already.
In other news, CBRE says it is now using artificial intelligence to manage 1bn sq ft of space.
Santander’s former Belfast HQ has been brought to market, with CBRE NI seeking offers of around £6.5m.
Devonshire Group has been given the go-ahead for 650 homes on a 114-acre site in Derbyshire.
And The Guardian looks at plans for the world’s tallest jail, which could rise 300m above New York City’s Chinatown.
The FT (£) takes a look at just how heated the housing rental market has become across Europe.
Analysts have downgraded forecasts for China as its property crisis sends the world’s second largest economy on a “downward economic spiral”.
And finally, the charity Shelter has warned that a third of working tenants are just one payday away from not being able to pay their rent. It says 3.2m people could face homelessness. If only there was a REIT with a specific focus on that…
