Good morning. Here is your latest fix of the news and views from EG, plus a few interesting stories from the national press.
Vistry looks set to rethink its executive pay plans after a major shareholder revolt. Some 47% of shareholders voted against its remuneration report at yesterday’s AGM.
Meanwhile, London’s economy has outstripped all other regions according to data that emphasises the government’s challenge to “level-up” the country.
In other resi news, the era of massive house price rises is coming to an end, according to an OBR economist. David Miles said the increase in working from home, rising interest rates and slower population growth would result in “much weaker” growth than over the past 40 years.
The prime minister vowed to protect “our green spaces” as he tried to draw a dividing line with Sir Keir Starmer on housing. Meanwhile, Starmer has promised to bring in a Scottish-style right-to-roam rule for the whole of the UK.
And equity release sales among over-60s jumped by 28% last year, as older people tapped the equity in their homes to cover rising living expenses.
Capital & Centric has submitted plans to restore Neptune Mill in Manchester as its new HQ.
Japan’s NTT Urban Development is to make its UK resi debut after forming a joint venture with Amro Partners to finance a £80m co-living development in Surrey.
In infrastructure news, National Grid has called for an overhaul of the planning system and said it is not to blame for connection delays.
And plans to set up a new body to run the UK’s rail infrastructure – Great British Railways – appear to have been cancelled by Downing Street. In March Derby was selected as the home of the venture, but it appears the bill to set it up will not be in the King’s Speech.
Further afield, New York City may be sinking under the weight of its skyscrapers…
… Disney has scrapped plans to build a $1bn corporate campus in Florida in its ongoing battle with the state’s governor Ron DeSantis…
And The FT (£) has an obituary for Sam Zell, the distressed property investor. In the US, Zell became known as the “Grave Dancer” for doing well out of other developers’ misfortunes, particularly during the early 1990s property market crash.
And finally, dirty nappies could be the solution to making construction greener. A team of scientists from Japan have built a house in Indonesia, with used nappies replacing some of the sand used to make concrete. This would solve the problem of billions of nappies going to landfill, and also lower the carbon cost of construction. Don’t worry, they sanitised the nappies first.
