In the news this morning, the government’s plan to offer starter homes at a discounted price continues to attract criticism, with calls for genuinely affordable homes and clarity on various aspects of the proposal. Brexit will weigh on property prices this year, but the actual impact could be less than had been feared. The fall in shop prices in December was the least since the middle of 2015, but while inflation beckons, competition will limit any increases.
Discounted homes plan criticised (The Times/£)
The government’s plan to build thousands of starter homes to be offered to first-time buyers at a 20% discount has come in for criticism, with calls for it to build genuinely affordable homes.
Brexit’s impact on property prices in 2017 uncertain (FT/£)
While there will be no rerun of the sharp rises in commercial and residential property prices that occurred in 2014 and 2015, fears of a crash have receded – prompted by the Brexit vote – have receded.
Shop price fall smallest since mid-2015 (The Telegraph/FREE)
UK shop prices rose by 0.2% on the month in December, while the 1.4% on-year fall in prices was the smallest since the middle of 2015, figures from the British Retail Consortium show.
Losses narrow at Lulu Guinness (The Telegraph/FREE)
Lulu Guinness reported a pretax loss of £89,678 for the year to the end of March, down from a loss of £253,181 a year earlier.
Business rate rise may force small hotels to close (The Daily Telegraph, p. 12)
Business rate rises which give Airbnb an unfair advantage could force guesthouses and small hotels to close, the Institute of Directors has warned.
Cousins resigns from Tesco’s board (The Guardian/FREE)
Richard Cousins has resigned as senior independent director at Tesco with immediate effect. He will be replaced by Deanna Oppenheimer.
Fund manager opposes Sport Direct chairman’s appointment (The Times/£)
Aberdeen Asset Management has said it will vote against the reappointment of Keith Hellawell as chairman of Sports Direct at a general meeting of shareholders tomorrow.
