Good morning, and welcome to your Thursday round-up of what’s making the headlines here at EG and in the papers.
A tussle appears to be brewing over the future of Irish Residential Properties REIT after 5% shareholder Vision Capital Corporation claimed in an open letter that it has been “misled, cajoled, and stymied” as it has encouraged the company to look at options for value creation including a possible sale.
The investor plans to vote against several proposals at the upcoming AGM. Details of the letter – which IRES has yet to respond to but has acknowledged in a stock market statement – are here.
In other potential takeover news, online estate agency Purplebricks has been given more time in which to seal a deal for the sale of the company, as has Home REIT (again).
What do Lego, Patagonia and Whitney Houston have in common? All make an appearance in EG editor Samantha McClary’s leader this week. It works, trust me.
The governor of the Bank of England has denied that there is a systemic banking crisis despite high-profile casualties in the sector. Speaking at the IMF’s Spring meetings, Andrew Bailey said: “When I look at the UK banks, they are well capitalised, liquid and able to serve their customers and support the economy.” But changes could still be ahead.
JP Morgan has told managing directors across its business that the era of flexible working is over – they need to be back in the office for five days a week. At least they can work at home during the weekend (investment bankers don’t actually get days off, do they?).
A new wrinkle in the planning system has been unveiled by Michael Gove – owners of second homes will now need planning permission to let them out for holiday stays.
Plus, there’s news on new funding to back a Notting Hill acquisition; Everyman is back in the black; and Greystar has found a novel way of offloading sites that the competition watchdog said it needed to sell.
To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@eg.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @EGPropertyNews
