Good morning.
At least 40 suitors have expressed an interest in buying up bits of Philip Green’s Arcadia empire(£). US retailer Authentic Brands(£) is thought to be in pole position, but Primark, M&S, Apollo and Frasers are also taking a look at the books.
Frasers Group’s share price slumped by 13% on Friday, despite posting a 29% rise in profits to £84.4m.
Millions of pounds of ‘fake loans’ are alleged to have been funnelled from peer-to-peer lender Funding Secure(£) to a property developer, the High Court has heard.
It turns out that Robert Jenrick blocked plans for a 514 home scheme in the prime minister’s constituency after the PM complained about the project. Inland Homes’(£) boss Stephen Wicks said: “The hypocrisy of all this is that Boris is on one hand saying ‘build, build, build’ but on the other hand he’s quietly nobbling councillors behind the scenes.”
Meanwhile a Tory MP with a £5m property portfolio billed the taxpayer(£) for stays in a London hotel despite owning homes in the capital.
The Sunday Times (£) had an interview with British Land boss Simon Carter.
It also takes a look at the “wobbly foundations”(£) of the RICS.
Meanwhile The FT (£) has an interview with the Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane.
Small businesses occupying railway arches(£) owned by Blackstone and Telereal Trillium say they are facing ruin as a result of rent rises.
The UK and EU(£) have more time(£) to solve their Brexit differences(£), but remain “very far apart“.
Christmas(£) will cause third wave(£), says NHS bosses. But if that can be avoided, Britain could be “back to normal”(£) by the summer.
With that in mind, the City of London is planning a “back to work” week(£) in April to revive the Square Mile.
And don’t believe the doom and gloom, house prices will rise by 4% next year, say Rightmove(£).
Residents of fire-risk flats(£) in Sheffield, however, have been left homeless after being told to move out at a moment’s notice.
CBRE’s Richard Day has moved to real estate finance advisory firm Laurus Property Partners.
London’s City Hall has approved 850 homes at Suez’s Benedict Wharf in Mitcham after Merton Council refused plans in June.
Scarborough Group International has won planning for a 113,118sqft HQ building at Thorpe Park Leeds.
The Office Group has submitted plans for a £114m makeover of Chancery House, WC2, including a three storey roof extension.
The ‘frothiness’ of the recent IPOs – Airbnb being notable among them – is stirring uneasy memories of the 90s dotcom bubble, The FT (£) warns.
The prime minister has approved the start of negotiations with EDF for a £20bn nuclear reactor(£) in Suffolk.
Deutsche Bank(£) could move half of its 4,600 New York staff to lower cost areas of the country.
And millions of Americans are at risk of eviction as rent arrears grow to an average of $5850 for 12m renters.
The Italian city of Lucca wants to put pets at the heart of planning(£).
Plans have been drawn up for a floating tube linking Scotland to Northern Ireland, which is deemed to be more plausible than Boris’s bridge.
And finally, the owners of a house in Bristol which recently became a Banksy canvas have said they will not pull out of a sale. Newspapers at the weekend claimed that the addition of the Banksy mural – titled ‘Aachoo!’ – had increased the value of the Totterdown end of terrace to £5m. No it bloody hasn’t, says the Makin family which owns the house. In fact, it has cost them money to preserve it. They are, however, looking at inserting a clause that would prevent the mural ever being removed, or painted over.
