Good morning,
The ragged markets bounced back yesterday on speculation that the chancellor would perform another U-turn and scrap more of his disastrous mini-Budget. Kwasi Kwarteng has flown home early from a meeting with the IMF in Washington DC, prompting speculation that plans to freeze corporation tax at 19% could be dropped.
A cabinet rift over solar power appears to be the least of Liz Truss’s worries right now. Senior Tories say, if the U-turns are not swift and absolute, we could have another prime minister(£) pretty soon.
But the damage has already been done. The UK’s supply of commercial credit is expected to shrink as businesses default on loans.
The Times picks up on Goldman Sach’s warning from yesterday that commercial property values could fall by as much as 20%. It says the mini-Budget has been the flap of the butterfly’s wings that is causing a tornado for property funds.
Meanwhile, EG talks to Ryan Dean, founder of RD Group, about his plans to set up the UK’s first film studio REIT.
Town Centre Securities is back in the black after a “year of recovery”.
BlackRock’s profit and AUM dropped by 16% in the latest quarter, as falling markets and the rise of the dollar exerted pressure. AUM is now just under $8tn.
Walgreens has said Boots is still for sale, and the halt in June was merely a “pause in the process”. Anyone got £7bn to spare?
NatWest is closing a further 43 branches. At a total of 1,191, it has closed the most branches of any UK bank.
Scottish landlords are blaming government red tape for a sharp drop in homes offered for rent.
And if we really want to level up, says Scarborough Group International chief executive Simon McCabe, we have to focus on health and wellbeing.
And finally, there does appear to be one property asset class that is immune to the madness on the markets – but only because the market is already mad anyway. Another beach hut(£) has come up for grabs on Christchurch’s Mudeford Sandbank. The asking price, for what is, after all, a wooden shack with no loo? £440,000. And that doesn’t take into account the £4,500 fees payable each year. And, what is more, the agent selling it reckons he already has a buyer.
