Good morning.
Six key bodies in the built environment sector, including the RICS, RTPI and RIBA, have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive sector. The groups, which represent more than 350,000 people, said that working together was the best way to ensure change.
Tritax Symmetry and Siemens Healthineers have teamed up for a 600,000 sq ft facility to develop superconducting magnets near Oxford.
While SEGRO has instructed Colliers and CBRE to find tenants for its 5m sq ft scheme in Northampton.
IWG’s(£) improving operational performance has been overshadowed by inflation fears(£), with analysts trimming profit forecasts.
And talking of trimming, the Al Saud family(£) has sold off $600m of luxury property after being ordered to tone down their lavish lifestyles by crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
In Westminster, plans to scrap green targets, build more houses and reduce taxes are among proposals being touted by ministers(£) following a meeting dubbed an “interview to become chancellor”(£).
Long-term government neglect of the countryside economy(£) is stifling growth, MPs have warned. Changes to the “broken” planning system could go a long way to closing the 18% productivity gap.
More than 200,000 private renters in England have been served “no-fault” eviction notices in the past three years, despite the government promising to ban the practice.
And just because forcing civil servants back to their desks was Jacob Rees-Mogg’s idea doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad idea, writes Daniel Finkelstein in The Times(£).
FTSE 100 asset manager Schroders(£) intends to scrap its two-tier share structure(£) in a move that will loosen the founding family’s grip on the business.
Chinese regulators(£) have raised concerns that the government has underestimated the impact of its crackdown on the property sector. Meanwhile, mainland developers(£) are scaling back their presence in Hong Kong.
Back in the UK, an 89-year-old woman in Newcastle has become so frustrated at the property company responsible for maintaining a private road near her home that she decided to fill the potholes(£) herself.
And finally, Meta – which is Facebook to you OGs – is ramping up its investment in the metaverse. Surely it can’t go any higher? Last year Mark Zuckerberg said Meta would up capex in the ‘verse to $29bn-$34bn, or roughly half of its annual spend. But it seems The Zuck has realised what any virtual empire really needs – bricks and mortar. Next month Meta will be trialling a new concept on its Burlington campus in California. In a ground-breaking innovation, a 1,550 sq ft “physical space” will allow people to “demo” metaverse products, such as the new Quest 2 VR headset, and then “buy” them. In store. Using physical money. That’s right, kids. The cutting edge at the forefront of the new digital frontier is a good old-fashioned shop. So meta.
