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.
CBRE has closed its deal to buy retail-focused asset manager Sovereign Centros. The 30-strong team will now be folded into CBRE’s asset management and development management functions, which will be led by Sovereign Centros chief executive Chris Geaves.
Artificial intelligence will eventually do away with all jobs, Elon Musk has told the prime minister, and remove the need for offices. “We will be in an age of abundance,” the billionaire said. Unless you are an office developer, we assume.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is pinning its hopes for a revival on its newly merged asset and wealth management division. It wants its alternatives investment, including in real estate, to rival Blackstone’s.
And there is a fifty-fifty chance of the UK entering recession next year, the Bank of England has warned. The warning came as interest rates were held at 5.25%, with the bank confirming that they will stay high for an extended period.
This week, EG takes a trip to Chichester Harbour to meet the two women at the helm of the Church Commissioners, charged with delivering more homes than any other private landowner in England.
And Labour wants to see more “gentle urban development” that will seek to emulate “the five-storey blocks built during the 18th and 19th century”. The FT (£) looks at the reality behind the ambition.
In other news, 24-hour gym franchise Anytime Fitness has taken space at Topland’s Beneficial Building in central Birmingham.
A tiny village is locked in a “David and Goliath” battle with a developer over a plans for a 52-acre quarry in rural Norfolk.
And finally, just what did Donald Trump’s sons do when they took control of the family firm? Donald Jr and Eric Trump have now both testified at the civil court case in New York, where they, along with dad, are accused of fiddling financial statements to inflate the value of Trump Organization properties, to get better terms from banks and insurers. Indeed, the duo took on bigger roles when DJT Sr was in the White House between 2017 and 2021. Not so, they say. “I didn’t know anything about it,” Eric told the court, although he reluctantly acknowledged: “We’re a massive real estate organisation… Yes, I’m pretty sure we had financial statements.” Don Jr, meanwhile, showed where his priorities lie. “Make me look sexy,” he told the courtroom sketch artist. You can be judge on that particular case.
