Good morning.
The nation is reeling from the news last night that England has entered a third national lockdown(£), with no easing of restrictions until mid-February(£) by the earliest.
The i, clearly missing its cinema trips, has called it the “worst sequel yet”.
Business leaders have urged the government to ramp up support(£), or risk widespread failures and job losses.
The new restrictions followed a good day for the LSE, although one marked by sharp losses for prop-stocks.
But retailers were already suffering a post-Christmas slump, as footfall fell(£) by nearly a quarter.
The BPF won’t let them all play the victim, though, and has written to ministers(£) to press for tougher rules on retailers who abuse CVAs.
Online retailers have helped push big warehouse take-up(£) to record levels – 35m sq ft last year and 64% higher than 2019.
And The FT’s Lex column (£) says there is still cause to be optimistic about London’s office market.
Meanwhile super prime resi developer Lodha is banking on continued London demand with plans for a £100m fundraise for new luxury schemes this year.
Brookfield(£) is also feeling confident, with plans to take Brookfield Property Partners private, bidding $5.9bn for the 40%(£) it doesn’t already own.
Mortgage approvals(£) have surged to a 13 year high(£) as buyers race to beat the stamp duty deadline.
But New Zealand’s(£) soaring house prices are helping to exacerbate the country’s already acute homeless crisis.
And finally, 2021 is apparently all about fun home tech(£). That’s what property developers heading to the CES show – the world’s biggest tech show – are saying anyway. Smart systems will become the norm, and help improve your carbon footprint and your health, and TVs will get even bigger, but roll up to almost nothing. 2021 sounds great! We just need to roll up this virus to almost nothing first.
