Good morning.
British Land has seen 2.6% wiped of its share price(£) after Westminster council told it to go back to the drawing board with its “too high, too bulky and the wrong colour” Paddington plans.
Ikea is full of ideas for its new purchase in Hammersmith. The big box retailer wants to use the Kings Mall as its first venture into urban mixed-use development(£).
Knotel – the thinking man’s WeWork – is continuing to ramp up its presence in the UK by leasing around 20,000 sq ft at 10 Fleet Place, EC4.
In housing, Halifax is reporting a 1.2% post-election price bounce for December, but economists aren’t so sure(£)…
… And figures for retailers over December are equally confusing. The Times (£) argues that Christmas was just the lift retailers needed, while everyone else agrees that it did little to relieve the horrors of the worst year for retail on record(£).
And things could get worse. More retailers will collapse into administration this year as landlords become less willing to agree to CVAs(£). But the biggest problem, as ever, is business rates, with Shoe Zone chief Anthony Smith calling the government’s efforts “shameful” and “complete rubbish”(£).
Not that this bothers Greggs in the least, as the pies and pastries purveyor announces that its profits will probably exceed the £111m predicted(£).
Sainsbury’s is less cheery, though, as Argos continues to drag its sales performance down(£).
Richard Caring no longer cares for Wagamama wunderkind David Campbell, who has left the Ivy Collection and Bill’s(£) after joining 18 months ago.
Another high profile split – this time in the Royal family – could lead to a massive rent bill. Apparently Harry and Meghan could end up paying through the nose for Frogmore House(£), as they are no longer going to be proper Royals. And they’d just had it done up, too.
And another train operator faces nationalisation, after the PM said “the bell is tolling” for West Midlands Trains(£).
In Northumberland, the site of a Roman fort has become the first landowner gift to English Heritage since it became a charity five years ago…
In Ireland, Nama is likely to transfer €2bn of its expected €4bn surplus to the Exchequer of Ireland. The agency has generated cash in excess of €45.3bn since its inception after the financial crash…
And in Germany, work at Tesla’s gigafactory has been delayed by lizards(£)…
And finally, the government has scored an own goal with the launch of it’s Town of the Year competition, intended to show how much it cares about communities north of the Cotswolds. Communities secretary Robert Jenrick made a big deal of kicking off his “tour of the towns” with a trip to “the town of Wolverhampton”, and even took pains to praise Wolverhampton’s “town centre”. Wolverhampton’s residents and civic leaders have been quick to point out that Wolverhampton is in fact a city, and has been since 2000.
