Good morning. Here is your AM bulletin, with the latest news and views from EG, along with a few of the best bits from the morning papers.
Abrdn’s UKCM has confirmed that it is in talks with Picton about a potential all-share merger. A deal would create a group with a £2bn portfolio.
The King’s Speech is over, so all eyes are now on the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, ahead of the Autumn Statement later this month. The good news, says the think tank NIESR, is that he has £90bn of fiscal headroom. The bad news is that the UK needs to increase infrastructure spending by £15bn a year, if it wants to avoid another “decade in the doldrums”.
Meanwhile, plans to build 1,700 homes on the site of Lewisham Shopping Centre have been revealed by LandsecU+I.
And Banks Property has submitted plans for a 1,500-home sustainable community in North Yorkshire.
Avison Young has promoted Kat Hanna and Adrian Boyce to co-managing directors for its London office.
As the industry braces for the fallout from WeWork’s bankruptcy, and the flex giant prepares to ditch almost 70 leases in North America, The FT (£) asks what WeWork’s bankruptcy means for flexible working.
All good things, says IWG, as it eyes up more of its former rival’s buildings.
Meanwhile, IWG’s Regus is one of five new lettings totalling 42,579 sq ft at Cobalt Park in Newcastle.
In other news, plans to tighten boardroom rules on diversity and ESG have been dropped by Britain’s accounting watchdog.
London has regained the top spot as the most attractive European city for hotel investment.
But the scrapping of VAT-free shopping cost UK retailers £1.5bn in lost sales last year.
Britain’s housing market is past “peak pain”, says Savills, but the rental crisis will remain entrenched for years.
Persimmon has appointed Galliford Try’s Andrew Duxbury as its new CFO.
And finally, is it bye-bye for bungalows? The number of bungalows being built has fallen to its lowest level on record. But then, being low does seem somewhat appropriate…
