Good morning. Here is your AM bulletin with all the latest news and views from EG, and the best bits from the national press.
Manchester and Bristol have been tipped as the next commercial property hotspots as investors look beyond London for better returns. CBRE said the cities had the highest growth potential for offices, retail, student accommodation, build-to-rent and senior living.
Legal & General has struck a £155m deal to buy Watkin Jones’ Loft Lines project at Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. L&G has teamed up with Clanmil Housing Association to forward fund the £175m, 778-home scheme, which Watkin Jones is developing with Lacuna Developments.
US banks have begun selling off perfectly well performing property loans at a discount, as they attempt to reduce exposure to the commercial real estate market.
Is US real estate really the “doomed asset class du jour”? The FT (£) seems to think so.
But the contagion has not spread across the Atlantic just yet. In fact, Britain has kept its place as the top European destination for investment in financial services, defying Brexit fears.
Hybrid working is not a pandemic-related aberration, the boss of a human resources company insists, and businesses forcing staff to return to the office will pay a heavy price.
Meanwhile, Chelsea landlord Cadogan Estates has moved on from its Covid-era kindness and is demanding tenants sign inflation-linked leases and put down hefty deposits.
It turns out the £450m of “new equity” Asda’s owners will put into the merger with EG Group is in fact the proceeds from sales of Asda property.
And The Times (£) takes a long look at the Alvarium founders who set up, and arguably brought down, Home REIT.
Plans for Soho House’s Brighton venue have riled locals, who say their sea view will be spoilt.
The Voice of the Region podcast has a different sea view this week, as it talks to Penn Commercial boss Vanessa Penn in Felixstowe, Suffolk.
And the latest EG Like Sunday Morning also looks at logistics, as well as D&I and, naturally, Succession.
The Times (£) takes a trip to Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s $22bn eco-project, to see if it can really live up to its promise, or is it just a mirage?
It also asks if Copenhagen (£) is taking the right steps to go green.
But only by looking at whole-life carbon will we be able to gauge whether it will be better to retrofit or rebuild anew, writes Savills Earth Passivhaus designer Stephen Lloyd. But assessments also need to go beyond carbon and look closer at whether existing buildings are fit for purpose.
The rising number of holiday lets is negating the supply of new homes in tourist hotspots.
And finally, Prince William is being urged to invest more money in his estate as his dad, the king, gives up his Welsh farmhouse to cut costs. It is now likely to become a holiday home instead.
