In the news this morning, London’s South Bank is set to become home to the world’s largest co-working space as WeWork signs a deal with Almacantar to occupy space in Two Southbank Place. Cash buyers spent a total of £138bn on house purchases in the year to the end of March, taking the cash share of the total spend to 44%. Middle Eastern investors have become the largest group of foreign buyers of prime central London homes, as the Brexit vote causes European buyers to become more cautious.
WeWork targets South Bank for major co-working space (The Times/£)
Shared workspace provider WeWork has signed an agreement with developer Almacantar that will see London’s South Bank home to the world’s largest co-working space.
Cash buyers account for nearly half of spending on home purchases (The Times/£)
Cash buyers accounted for nearly half of the amount spent on home purchases in the year to the end of March, spending a total of £138bn, research by Savills shows.
Middle Eastern buyers edge out Europeans in prime London housing market (The Times/£)
Middle Eastern buyers are returning to the prime London housing market, accounting for 10% of home purchases in the first quarter of the year, figures from Hamptons International show.
Lower sales and earnings at New Look (The Times/£)
New Look reported a 2.4% decline in total revenues, to £1.45bn, and a 44% drop in underlying operating profit, to £97.6m, in the year ended 25 March.
Lidl and Heidi Klum team up (The Independent/FREE)
Discount retailer Lidl is venturing into high-end fashion, teaming up with supermodel Heidi Klum.
Fosun among bidders for Body Shop (FT/£)
China’s Fosun has joined the bidders for The Body Shop, submitting an offer for the company before a deadline earlier this week, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Paul Hamer takes over at McAlpine (The Telegraph/FREE)
Sir Robert McAlpine has appointed Paul Hamer, head of WYG, as its new chief executive.
