Good morning.
The Issa brothers are seeking a chair(£) for their petrol station empire, prior to a £10bn float(£). The move comes after Deloitte quit as the group’s auditor citing governance issues.
Prepare yourself for the great lease release. Close to a billion sq ft of retail space could be handed back to landlords over the next five years.
SEGRO, meanwhile, is trying not to look smug as it reports that it has collected 85% of final quarter rents(£) and over 95% of Q2 and Q3 rents. OK, it isn’t trying that hard.
Planning changes to allow two-storey extensions could result in 7m sq ft of new space and 170,000 new homes(£), says Knight Frank.
Asset managers are planning to pump $300bn into private lending deals(£) with groups including Goldman Sachs and Oaktree.
The FT (£) says that the City of London must think more creatively to be a city fit for the future.
The lockdowns in Wales and the North continue to clamp-down and confuse…
… But whatever you may think of the situation in Manchester, you have to applaud Andy Burnham for the fight, says EG’s editor. All hail the new King of the North.
L&G has launched a scathing attack against a Surrey council for the “discriminatory” refusal of its 222-home senior living scheme in Walton-on-Thames.
Conservations are gearing up for a fight over plans for the £3.5bn, 465-hectare London Resort(£), which are set to go before housing secretary Robert Jenrick within weeks.
Yesterday was a good day on the markets for a clutch of REITs, including Schroder, New River and Regional.
Edinburgh Woollen Mill(£), meanwhile, is just hours away from administration, as it seeks an extension of creditor protection.
The FCA has issued guidance that moves a step closer to the creation of superfunds(£).
It also says that as many as 12m Britons could be swamped by debt in the coming months, leaving many unable to pay rent and mortgage bills(£).
House sales rose by more than a fifth(£) last month, according to HMRC figures.
Meanwhile private rents(£) in some parts of London were down by more than a third.
The Guardian has more on student rent strikes…
… And concludes that the Grenfell Tower inquiry has exposed “a blatant disregard for residents’ safety”.
Landsec has recruited Ruth McFetridge, a former LaSalle Investment Management director and real estate manager at Estée Lauder, as its senior retail leasing director. The landlord has also hired Oliver Duthie and Tory Gould as retail leasing managers.
Airbnb has recruited Apple designer Jony Ive(£) to redesign its system prior to a float later this year.
The trial of BHS-buyer Dominic Chappell(£) for tax evasion offers some interesting observations about doing a deal with Philip Green(£).
Property tycoon turned leader of the free world Donald J Trump has been revealed to have a secret Chinese bank account(£), an office in China and to have paid more tax in China than in the USA.
The Times (£) chats to Paul Raymond’s heir India Rose James about what its like to inherit a £329m property empire. Not that great, apparently.
And finally, talking of property/porn barons, e-mails have shown just how persistent Richard Desmond can be(£) when he wants something from a minister. The former owner of Asian Babes and Barely Legal (as well as less reputable titles, such as the Daily Express), sent scores of e-mails to ministers pleading and pressuring for changes to the UK’s gambling laws. After being inundated with missives, though no doubt for entirely separate reasons, the law was duly changed. Looks like Robert Jenrick got off lightly!
