Good morning. Here is your AM bulletin with the latest news and views from EG, along with a few choice cuts from the national press.
The Church of England is at loggerheads with Michael Gove after the levelling up secretary blocked plans for a housing development in Cheltenham. The Bishop of Gloucester said it was “incomprehensible” that Gove would withhold his blessing for the 350-home scheme, 40% of which would be social housing.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Bank of England, as it prepares to make its latest interest rate announcement. The smart money is on a rise to 5.25%, but a hike to 5.5% is also a possibility.
As the big agencies start to reveal their H1 figures, one thing remains abundantly clear: 2023 has not got off to a good start. But will it all come back in 2024?
Their bosses certainly say so. And there’s nothing wrong with talking up the market, writes EG’s editor. Sometimes we need hope, even if it doesn’t quite ring true yet.
One thing that helps green shoots is a little rain. But it isn’t helping recovery in the retail sector, causing July’s footfall figures to be worse than June’s for the first time on record.
Not that a little rain has hurt Shaftesbury Capital‘s fortunes. The West End REIT has had an “excellent start” to its first year as a merged company, with footfall up, returns at 7.4% and values holding steady.
Tritax Big Box has seen a rise in profit, but a fall in returns for its first half. But it has pushed disposals for the year to date up to £235m after selling a 660,000 sq ft shed in Raunds.
More than 60 people have applied to take over from Lord Deben as chair of the Climate Change Committee. And you can read more from Deben, aka former environment secretary John Gummer, in this week’s EG magazine.
The wider social benefits that offices can have must be designed in, rather than left to chance, writes Savills Research director Clare Bailey. Tangible metrics like productivity levels, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness remain important, but we must design them with social value in mind.
Britain’s biggest brick company, Ibstock, has said it will close one of its factories due to falling demand from housebuilders.
And the proportion of first-time buyers who took out marathon mortgages – longer than 36 years – nearly quadrupled in the first half of this year, according to figures from Taylor Wimpey.
