Good morning.
E-mails and texts between Robert Jenrick and Richard Desmond have revealed a housing secretary very keen(£), even “insistent” on giving the developer exactly what he wanted, while avoiding any appearance of impropriety.
Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, may consider the matter closed(£), but the opposition don’t. Even Jenrick’s own colleagues think he has been “at best unbelievably naïve”.
The Guardian, meanwhile, praises Jenrick for admitting his errors so early on, but adds that the planning system will not be trusted while he is at its helm.
Meanwhile, the slew of government agencies and quangos reviewing their HQs has put more than 13m sq ft of London office space at risk, including City Hall.
They are asking the same question as EG’s editor: We need offices, but do we really need glitzy, ego offices towering over a piece of prime real estate?
Either way, real estate chiefs have decided enough is enough and are returning to full pay.
Crest Nicholson, however, plans to shed 10% of its workforce(£) after announcing a £51m half-year loss.
The BPF and JLL are among the signatories of an open letter to Rishi Sunak, urging the chancellor to put social housing at the heart(£) of his recovery strategy.
But finding long-term homes for Britain’ rough sleepers will prove far harder once the lockdown ends, says The FT (£).
Persimmon has chosen former National Express boss(£) Dean Finch as its new chief executive(£)…
Meanwhile John Lewis has poached Co-op’s Pippa Wicks(£) to takeover from Paula Nickolds.
Pubs and restaurants will be allowed to use car parks as dining and drinking areas under new planning changes to be announced today(£). Candlelight in a car park – is that the fine dining experience you’ve been missing?
The FT (£) has a long read on just how chicken shops became such finger-licking good business.
Some of Britain’s biggest high street chains(£) are among the many retailers who paid no rent yesterday…
… While landlords have been left £6m out of pocket after the pre-pack of fashion retailer Quiz(£)…
… And they have been left to pay the bill for JD Sports’ empire building, says The FT’s Lombard column (£).
But vacant shops could be repurposed(£) as Covid testing centres.
That won’t help Intu, who’s shares dropped to a three-month low yesterday as the Friday deadline for a deal with its lenders looms.
But good news for gyms and pools(£), which may be able to reopen in July(£) after all.
Unite has launched a £300m share placing to buy three new schemes.
Liverpool City Council has asked central government for £200m to fund 25 “shovel-ready” projects, including a modular housing development and a Science & Tech Innovation Centre.
Resilience and efficiency will be driven by accessible data, says leasle chief exec, Richard Angliss.
A London lawyer could lose her Chelsea flat after unwittingly sub-letting it as a “brothel”(£).
The Guardian asks if permanent communities floating at sea will ever catch on.
And finally, Liverpool may have 25 shovel ready schemes, but its plans for a £4m urban zipwire(£) have been upsetting the locals. Zip World wants to link the St John’s Beacon to the Central Library with a 400m zipwire. Some have complained that this will lead to the “Disneyisation” of the city. Others, perhaps more pertinently, have raised concerns over whether the roof of a library is the best place for screaming adrenaline junkies to land. All together now: Shhhhhhh…
