Good morning.
Galliard(£) boss Stephen Conway has signed Michael Gove’s building safety pledge, but he isn’t happy about it. Not because he thinks leaseholders should pay, far from it. No, Conway thinks Gove has taken completely the wrong approach and behaved like “the mafia” while doing so.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group(£) is paying Michael Murray, its incoming chief executive and the tycoon’s prospective son-in-law, £20.9m to settle a property consultancy bill(£) before he takes over on 1 May.
And Blackstone(£) is taking aim at more publicly listed REITS as the discount to NAV yawns wider.
Meanwhile, applications to convert shops to homes soared by more than a third over the past year – but nearly half were unsuccessful.
But the number of tall buildings(£) being put forward in London is falling, as the cost of doing business in the capital continues to climb.
Talking of London’s tall buildings, Rowen Moore takes a pop at CO-RE Mitsubishi Estate’s 72 Upper Ground on London’s South Bank, calling Make Architects’ design “a brute”.
While retrofitting is becoming more popular than rebuilding as the deadline for emissions targets looms nearer, says The Guardian.
Boris Johnson is facing a cabinet backlash(£) over Jacob Rees-Mogg’s “Dickensian” plans to force civil servants back to the office.
Many of the perks being offered by businesses to tempt staff back to the office(£) have disappeared, but more permanent improvements – such as free dentistry and gym membership – are making a bigger difference than “puppy yoga” and a free lunch.
Wait? No more puppy yoga or free lunches? No wonder the return to the office has stalled(£)!
Optimism among British businesses is cooling as order book growth slows and inflationary pressures intensify, according to a flash PMI survey(£).
And retail spending(£) has fallen far further than expected, as consumers tighten their belts in the face of soaring inflation.
PureGym(£) plans to use its £300m investment from KKR to triple its UK estate by 2028, and double in size across the globe.
Ares Management(£) is backing not one but two bidders in the race to buy Chelsea Football Club from billionaire Roman Abramovich.
And Britons are continuing to choose staycations(£) for this summer, with bookings up by 20% on pre-pandemic levels, according to the owner of Butlin’s.
The Times(£) has an interview with Hayfield Homes boss Mark Booth, who went from a house with an outside toilet to building luxury pads.
Editor Samantha McClary and news editor Pui-Guan Man join Jess Harrold for EG Like Sunday Morning to talk about the week’s news, including the results of the latest LGBTQ+ survey, retail’s latest troubles and whether we should stop using the word “landlord” altogether.
And finally, the last bank branch on the Isles of Scilly(£) has closed its doors. Lloyds Bank decided to pull out of Hugh Town after concluding that 71% of customers used online banking and only 33 use the branch at least once a month. But never fear, it tells the 29% who need the physical branch. The nearest branch is only – checks notes – 44 miles away! By ferry. By a ferry that takes two hours and 45 minutes each way and costs about £130. Hmmm. Maybe this Scilly move was a bit of a silly move?
