Good morning.
The good news about the Pfizer vaccine just keeps coming, with economists now saying that UK GDP could be in double-digits by next summer(£). In the meantime, enjoy the lockdown.
The NHS plans to vaccinate a million people a week(£), with a mass rollout(£) starting in December if the vaccine is approved.
And what a difference a vaccine makes. Landsec’s share price jumped 4% yesterday on the news, while SEGRO fell 3.7%.
The good news for Landsec came despite it announcing an H1 loss of £835m and a fall in property values(£) of nearly £1bn.
Both Landsec and Persimmon have announced that they will restart paying dividends(£) after reporting “robust” performances.
Meanwhile, the Commons’ public accounts committee(£) has been fairly scathing of Robert Jenrick’s department awarding Robert Jenrick’s constituency £25m of regeneration funds. It said the process was “opaque”, “not impartial”, “inappropriate” and “politically motivated”.
Shareholders in Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield have voted against a €3.5bn equity issue(£) intended to be part of a wide-ranging turnaround(£) plan.
Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management have been given the green light to buy JCPenney(£) out of bankruptcy for $1.75bn.
Luxury brands including De Beers and Gucci(£) have joined calls not to abolish the VAT rebate for tourists.
Oxygen Asset Management has appointed Workman’s office property management arm Welcome to manage 456,000 sq ft across two buildings in the City of London.
GAA’s David Woodward is camped out in Colorado, trying to work while glued to the US election coverage on the telly in this week’s Lockdown Diaries.
Boris Becker’s Mallorcan villa is on the market for half its £9m value. Apparently hosting squatters and porn producers(£) has not improved its curb appeal.
The FT (£) asks: will China’s overheating property market prove too hot for a post-Covid economic recovery?
And finally, the housebuilding boom could be put on hold. Not because of a lack of demand, but due to a lack of doors(£). Persimmon chief Dean Finch said that his firm could be in the “extraordinary position” of building and selling more homes in H2 of 2020 than at any time in its history. The only problem worrying him is that the supply chain might not be able to keep up.
