1 June 2012
Property Week
View all stories from this issue.
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AIG’s Dutch offices plummet by 60% from €1bn to €388m
1 June 2012
Lone Star and bondholders to thrash out debt restructure of MPC portfolio
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£80m Barnsley business plan set for approval
6 June 2012
An initiative to invest £80m in an attempt to boost business in Yorkshire is set to be approved today, TheBusinessDesk.com reported today.
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A romance at Addenbrooke House
1 June 2012
Addenbrooke House is a sad-looking 1960s office block near Telford Central station.
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A weak but stable second half
1 June 2012
Property derivative pricing has trended down over the last 18 months (graph 1, right), but has recently largely been stable.
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Ahouvi checks out of five Hiltons
1 June 2012
Israeli investor Igal Ahouvi has put five Hilton hotels up for sale for £30m.
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Anatomy of Gray’s Southwater empire
1 June 2012
Christine Eade talks to the CEO of the events and hotel group about his plans to raise Telford’s game
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Anatomy of Gray’s Southwater empire
1 June 2012
Christine Eade talks to the CEO of the events and hotel group about his plans to raise Telford’s game
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Anglo Irish industrial estates sold at 11.7%
1 June 2012
The company set up to wind down Anglo Irish Bank’s property assets has sold a portfolio of 12 multi-let industrial estates to a joint venture between Europa Fund III and M7 Real Estate.
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Asda price puts money in council’s pocket for estate moves
1 June 2012
Telford and Wrekin Council is moving civic buildings around like pieces on a chess board.
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Bank’s £200m green fund up for grabs
1 June 2012
Government to back investment into energy-efficient schemes
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Barchester attempts £1.4bn debt restructuring
1 June 2012
Care home operator appoints Goldman Sachs to advise on loan extension with huge swap liability
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Battersea’s Malaysian lifeline
1 June 2012
SP Setia chosen as preferred bidder in UK debut and would not knock down famous building
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BCSC calls into question ‘stealth’ planning tactics
1 June 2012
Shopping centre body BCSC has warned it will take a firm stance against developers that use a planning loophole to enable them to push through applications “by stealth”.
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Berkeley completes £150m Wapping buy
30 May 2012
Berkeley Group’s St George subsidiary has today completed the acquisition of “Wapping Village”, formerly known as Fortress Wapping, from News International for £150m, payable in instalments.
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Blackstone to sell RBS assets
1 June 2012
The first two companies put into administration following Blackstone’s purchase of the £1.4bn “Project Isobel” loans from the Royal Bank of Scotland are to be broken up and their assets sold.
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BPF backs empty property "Walter Mitty" claims
7 June 2012
The British Property Federation has backed criticisms by the Scottish Conservative Party of plans to increase the tax on empty properties north of the border.
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British Land in Daily Mail scoop
1 June 2012
Printworks gives developer vast swathe of Canada Water area
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Business rates are property’s crippling stealth tax
1 June 2012
“When you talk about pressure on the high street, the issue is not rent now, it’s rates,” says Mark Bourgeois, managing director of shopping centres at Capital & Regional (analysis).
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Chiswick jubilation
1 June 2012
Blackstone celebrates one of UK’s largest prelets in five years
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Chiswick jubilation: Blackstone celebrates office prelet
1 June 2012
Blackstone celebrates one of UK’s largest prelets in five years
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Christie's sold on Strutts expansion bid
7 June 2012
Strutt & Parker has signed an agreement with auction house Christie’s as part of a plan to improve its access to foreign buyers of luxury homes.
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Citygrove’s square full up after final restaurant prelet
1 June 2012
Citygrove Securities instructed Jones Lang LaSalle and Savills last month to find backers for its cinema, hotel and restaurant development in Southwater Square, Telford.
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Clinton Cards bought by American Greetings Corporation subsidiary
7 June 2012
The administrators of Clinton Cards have completed a deal to sell the business and the remaining stores to a subsidiary of American Greetings Corporation.
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Conygar and Stena get nod for Welsh marina
6 June 2012
A joint venture between Conygar and Stena Line has received planning permission for a mixed-use marina development in Holyhead, Wales.
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Co-op Manchester HQ on sale as Delancey and Landid win
1 June 2012
Group plans sale and leaseback of £160m property after entering exclusive talks on wider scheme
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Council prelet to regenerate Hanley
1 June 2012
HQ relocation means Genr8’s central business district can proceed. Christine Eade reports
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Council rejects Exemplar's Fruit & Wool Exchange plans
6 June 2012
Developer Exemplar’s plans to convert the 1920s Fruit and Wool Exchange building in Spitalfields, London, into a 300,000 sq ft office and retail complex have been rejected by the local authority.
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Crest has Passion for joint venture development
1 June 2012
Crest Nicholson has begun a new push into London. The housebuilder has signed its first joint venture agreement in the capital with Passion Property Group for a site on Sidmouth Street, near Gray’s Inn Road.
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Cushman & Wakefield poaches CWM retail agent
7 June 2012
Cushman & Wakefield has appointed a retail agent from CWM to bolster its London retail and leisure team.
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Cushman & Wakefield poaches two German Jones Lang LaSalle retail agents
6 June 2012
Cushman & Wakefield has poached two German retail agents from Jones Lang LaSalle.
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Debenhams and CSC Stoke up competition
1 June 2012
Debenhams began work last month on refurbishing its 100,000 sq ft department store at the Potteries shopping centre, Hanley.
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Debt burdens could cause further healthcare casualties
1 June 2012
Barchester and General Healthcare Group latest to undergo health scare. Mike Phillips reports
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Diamond Jubilee: 60 years of HRH and property
1 June 2012
To celebrate HRH Queen Elizabeth’s 60 year’s on the throne, Property Week has trawled through our archive to bring you images her relationship with the property industry through the year.
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Disused dock becomes hive of activity
1 June 2012
Thames Water has donated 2.5 acres of property to help east London charity Gasworks Dock Partnership transform a neglected London dock into a creative hub ahead of the Olympics.
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DTZ team turns other cheek
1 June 2012
DTZ’s team effort to find a contact lens at last Friday’s Jones Lang LaSalle Property Triathlon provided an opportunity to analyse the rears of the company’s eight entrants
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EasyGym limbers up for expansion
1 June 2012
Low-cost gym operator EasyGym has commissioned Savills to help it expand its portfolio across the UK.
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Euro bargains could lure prime investors away from London
1 June 2012
Development Securities report warns eurozone crisis could impact prices. Emma Haslett reports
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First round of ‘Portas pilots’ picked
1 June 2012
Stockport, Margate and Croydon are among 12 town centres to receive a share of £1.2m to rejuvenate their high streets.
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Fitness First CVA will keep landlords healthy
1 June 2012
Gym operator Fitness First was this week set to unveil proposals for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that would require it to shed a third of its units.
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Food revamp as standard
1 June 2012
Standard Life Investments is thought to be planning a revamp of the food courts at its shopping centres in Brighton and Wimbledon.
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Foreign foodies force up London restaurant prices
1 June 2012
Prime London locations lead way for influx of overseas operators. Rachel Hunter reports
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Forget growth vs austerity: this is an economic emergency
1 June 2012
Across the world, politicians are debating the merits of growth versus austerity.
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French Riviera hotel’s €25m refurb
1 June 2012
Benson Elliot has completed the €25m refurbishment of the Sophia Country Club hotel on the French Riviera.
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German goes flat out for €1bn Barclays assets
1 June 2012
German residential property investor Deutsche Wohnen has agreed to buy a €1.24bn portfolio from Barclays.
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Ginkgo buys £285m Drapers Gardens
1 June 2012
A Chinese sovereign wealth fund this week bought one of the City of London’s newest office blocks.
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Government launches SDLT consultation
1 June 2012
The government has launched a consultation on its proposal to put an annual charge on properties valued at over £2m owned by “non-natural persons”.
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Government U-turn over proposed caravan tax
1 June 2012
Caravan park owners celebrated a victory this week after the government backtracked on proposals to introduce 20% VAT on the sale of static holiday caravans.
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Government’s emissions plan should prompt greener property procurement
1 June 2012
A government commitment two weeks ago to “green” its supply chains in catering, transport and energy should also apply to the procurement of property services. By Simon Crowe
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GPE confirms Piccadilly buy
1 June 2012
Great Portland Estates this morning confirmed it has bought Railways House and 50 Jermyn Street in London’s West End, as revealed by propertyweek.com yesterday.
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Healthcare developer in Prime position
1 June 2012
Changes to NHS prompt flurry of deals for Prime Group in Staffordshire. Christine Eade reports
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Helical persuades Slade to stay for further five years
1 June 2012
Chief executive of 26 years would like to ‘finish the job’, and return firm back to pre-credit crunch form
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Help Property Week’s ladies pull a Fass one
1 June 2012
Property Week’s female contingent might be the fastest journalists in the field (Is this right? Ed), but they also hope to be the fastest “on” the field at Cancer Research’s Race for Life on 9 June on Hampstead Heath.
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HMV sells Hammersmith Apollo
1 June 2012
London concert venue Hammersmith Apollo has been sold by HMV Group to joint venture operator Stage C for £32m.
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House prices flatten out
7 June 2012
House prices remained largely flat for the year to May – despite volatile monthly figures, according to Lloyds Banking Group’s Halifax House Price Index.
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How to make contacts is biggest lesson I have learned
1 June 2012
Property Week has adopted six University of Reading real estate students. Read their latest updates at PropertyWeek.com/professional. This month, Zoe Avery reflects on the importance of networking
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How to make contacts is biggest lesson I have learned
1 June 2012
Property Week has adopted six University of Reading real estate students. Read their latest updates at PropertyWeek.com/professional. This month, Zoe Avery reflects on the importance of networking
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Hoxton owner to expand brand
1 June 2012
The new owner of the trendy Hoxton hotel in London’s Shoreditch wants to roll out the brand in London and overseas.
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Hugo Boss in Knightsbridge
1 June 2012
Hugo Boss is to open a store at Olayan Group’s 31 Brompton Road in London’s Knightsbridge Estate.
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I’m with the brand …
1 June 2012
Shopping centre landlords are jumping on the brandwagon to try to leverage their profiles and achieve the “Westfield effect”. Kat Spybey reports
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IPD reports strong 2011 financial results
30 May 2012
IPD, the property performance company, increased its pretax profit by 3.4% to £2.76m in 2011.
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Itsu expansion plan is ready to roll
1 June 2012
Sushi chain plans new stores across UK as sales continue to soar. Rachel Hunter reports
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Jones Lang LaSalle's Property Triathlon
1 June 2012
Jones Lang LaSalle’s Property Triathlon passed the £1m charity fundraising milestone last week.
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Kings College London lands at Moonraker Point
1 June 2012
Kings College London has taken a 15 year lease on UNITE’s Moonraker Point student accommodation on the capital’s Southbank.
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LandSecs eyes £550m swap deal with Hammerson
6 June 2012
Land Securities is weighing an offer to Hammerson to swap shopping centres for London offices.
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Lehman banks on $1.58bn US apartments
1 June 2012
Bank of America and Barclays are to sell their stake in apartment complex owner Archstone to Lehman Brothers for $1.58bn.
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Life at 40 … Davis Coffer Lyons looks back in leisure
1 June 2012
Leisure agency Davis Coffer Lyons celebrated four decades in business last month, in which time founder David Coffer has seen “incredible change”.
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Lloyds sells major Australian loan portfolio
6 June 2012
Lloyds Banking Group has sold £809m of Australian corporate real estate loans at a write-down to face value of more than 50%
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London & Stamford’s M4 drive
1 June 2012
Raymond Mould and Patrick Vaughan are focusing on the central London residential and distribution sectors where, they say, “with careful management of occupational risk, the potential for rental growth persists”.
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Loro Piana’s Sloane range
1 June 2012
Italian clothing brand Loro Piana has taken a shop next door to its 48 Sloane Street unit in London to create a 4,500 store.
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Malaysian duo enter Battersea exclusivity
7 June 2012
A joint bid between Malaysian corporate SP Setia and financier Sime Darby has been confirmed as the preferred buyer for Battersea Power Station.
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Malaysian duo enter Battersea exclusivity
7 June 2012
A joint bid between Malaysian corporate SP Setia and financier Sime Darby has been confirmed as the preferred buyer for Battersea Power Station.
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Max pair: euro woe is opportunity
1 June 2012
Top investors Mike Brown and Nick Leslau are aiming to take advantage of the “dysfunctional” investment market by buying properties in central London that need “repositioning”, index-linked sale-and-leaseback properties and distressed assets.
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Mean lien: no right for vendors when merger is part of the deal
1 June 2012
The message: The unpaid vendor’s “lien” — its right to retain a property it is selling until the purchase price has been paid — may be unavailable if a property is surrendered.
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Middleport Pottery fires up local enthusiasm
1 June 2012
The people of Burslem learnt last Thursday how their pottery-manufacturing heritage will be conserved by the Prince’s Regeneration Trust.
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Midweek Bulletin: Inside the Malaysian Battersea Power Station bid
7 June 2012
With the announcement today that two Malaysian corporates, SP Seta and Sime Darby, have entered into exclusive talks to by Battersea Power Station, Property Week examines the detail behind the potential deal.
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MORNING AFTER: "Best of British" charity quiz
7 June 2012
Over 40 members of the property industry gathered at a central London pub last night for the “Best of British” charity quiz.
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Need to know … 10 questions for Tchenguiz case
1 June 2012
Last week the Tchenguiz brothers had their day in court, as they applied for a judicial review to have their arrests last year in relation to the collapse of Kaupthing overturned. Mike Phillips asks 10 key questions for this explosive case
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Need to know: draft energy bill
1 June 2012
The government has published the draft energy bill, to encourage large-scale investment in low-carbon energy supply.
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New generation to regenerate Quintain
1 June 2012
Worthington and James to tackle debt and focus on Wembley and Greenwich
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Next round for Draft House pub chain
1 June 2012
Pub entrepreneur Charlie McVeigh aims to extend his Draft House chain to 10 sites by the end of 2014, starting with a fifth pub due to open in London’s Charlotte Street in July.
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No need for landlords and tenants to clash over climate change
1 June 2012
The record-breaking rainfall followed by the warm weather of the last six weeks prompts a return to the subject of climate change.
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OAS Development Awards
1 June 2012
High society gongs for year’s best of offices
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Paddington’s slick letting
1 June 2012
Aviva Investors, Avestus Capital Partners and Development Securities have let 26,000 sq ft at London’s Paddington Central to expanding occupier Statoil.
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Penny for Guy's thoughts
1 June 2012
Isn’t Guy Grainger, Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of UK retail, a bit old to be appearing on The Apprentice?
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People Moves: 1 June
1 June 2012
DTZ in Birmingham has appointed Katherine Price as senior surveyor in the development consulting team.
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People Moves: Shoosmiths, DTZ, Ogg Property, Savills and more...
1 June 2012
Katherine Price
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Phase one of £150m Beorma Quarter gets go-ahead
7 June 2012
Kuwaiti developer Salhia has won revised planning permission to begin the first phase of the £150m Beorma Quarter in Digbeth, in Birmingham.
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Pole star: Richard Walker's Polish venture
1 June 2012
In the latest in our monthly 1st Friday series for young property people, Hardeep Sandher talks to Bywater Properties’ Richard Walker about his latest joint venture to invest €75m in Polish retail
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Property big guns take aim at Guildford
1 June 2012
Guildford’s poor old planners must be quaking in their boots, faced as they are with probably the UK’s most formidable community campaign.
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Property DNA takes scientific approach to lettings
1 June 2012
Independent commercial lettings website aims to speed up market. Sarah Stewart reports
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Property people want review of ‘tax on failure’
1 June 2012
In a coup for Property Week’s long-running campaign against empty rates, chancellor George Osborne has asked York Outer MP Julian Sturdy to form a working group to examine how the law can be altered to help struggling businesses. Property Week spoke to industry figures about what they would like the working group to achieve.
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Property Week Digital Edition - 01 June 2012
1 June 2012
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Property’s jubilee changes
1 June 2012
In 1952, the UK’s tallest building was the 90 metre-high gilded home of a venerable 100-year-old insurance company on the banks of the Mersey.
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PWTV: Osborne needs to "face up to the challenge" says Pidgley
6 June 2012
George Osborne needs to “face up to the challenge” and “put mortgages in place”, Tony Pidgley told a packed audience at the Movers & Shakers Residential breakfast last month.
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Rates of attrition
1 June 2012
Business owners up and down the country are being hammered by the ever-increasing burden of business rates. Rachel Hunter and Sarah Townsend report. Photograph by Stephen Parker
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RBS reviews Marriott sale after Indian exit
1 June 2012
Blue Coast fails to complete £700m purchase of 42 hotels
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Retailers see value and convenience in attending Ellandi conference
1 June 2012
Property conferences are a fairly common occurrence these days, but one event later this month is likely to be better attended than most, given the current state of the retail sector.
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Revealed: 67 Fitness First gyms for sale
1 June 2012
Fitness First is to sell 67 of its UK gyms and has issued a company voluntary arrangement to landlords in a bid to restructure its remaining leases.
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Right royal fuss over Hammersmith’s £100m King Street regeneration
1 June 2012
Technically “live” scheme, which could have clashed with London Plan, may be back on agenda. Sarah Townsend reports
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River Island signs in Eastbourne
6 June 2012
Legal & General Property and Strathclyde Pension Fund have secured River Island as the latest letting at the Arndale Centre in Eastbourne.
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Saudi fund SURFs industrial wave
1 June 2012
Sidra Capital, a Saudi Arabian investment bank, and Gatehouse Bank, a UK-based sharia-compliant bank, have bought a TDG distribution warehouse in Glasgow for £22.4m.
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Screen break for Lewisham shopping mall
1 June 2012
Land Securities is working up plans for a leisure and restaurant quarter at Lewisham Shopping Centre, which will bring a cinema back to the borough after the last one — in Catford — closed in 2002.
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Second Malaysian multinational joins Battersea lead
6 June 2012
A second Malaysian company, involved in sustainable property and energy, has joined the SP Setia-led consortium that is preferred bidder to buy and develop Battersea Power Station.
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Shoe-in for heroic agent
1 June 2012
Could this be the City’s most heroic agent?
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Shrewsbury in the speculative Vanguard
1 June 2012
Morris Property began work last month on a 23,500 sq ft phase of Vanguard Park, which the developer says is Shrewsbury’s only speculative development.
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Singapore’s GIC extends debt on InterContinentals
1 June 2012
A consortium led by GIC has completed the short-term refinancing of an £870m hotel portfolio, as it works on a longer-term strategy for the assets.
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Small consolation for independent hotels
1 June 2012
Hotels win reduced business rates amid a tough trading climate. Sarah Townsend reports
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Small consolation for independent hotels
1 June 2012
Hotels win reduced business rates amid a tough trading climate. Sarah Townsend reports
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St Modwen and Persimmon get Longbridge East go-ahead
7 June 2012
St Modwen and Persimmon Homes have been granted permission to develop 229 homes in the first phase of residential development on the former 55 acre Longbridge East works in Worcestershire, TheBusinessDesk reported yesterday.
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Standard Life in £45m City buy
6 June 2012
Standard Life Investments is close to agreeing a deal to buy a £45m City office building.
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Superdry and Lego in Arndale
1 June 2012
Two retailers have signed to occupy stores that were previously let to troubled retailers HMV and Barratts at Manchester Arndale.
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Tesco gets cinema consent in Gateshead
6 June 2012
Tesco’s has been granted planning consent for a 9-screen cinema at its £150m Trinity Square scheme in Gateshead.
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The Fragrance Shop to double in size
6 June 2012
Perfumery retailer The Fragrance Shop is poised to almost double its store portfolio in the next five years after celebrity endorsed scents from the likes of Justin Bieber resulted in a 23% increase in sales.
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The pitfalls of being a residential convert
1 June 2012
Housebuilding has stalled: frequent news headlines report that we have the lowest build rate of new homes in peace time since 1923, the lowest rate of new construction orders since 1980 and an all-time low in mortgage lending.
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The Property Lexicon
1 June 2012
Merger of equals 'm?:d??:(r) v'i:kw lzn. Corporate transaction in which larger company acquires smaller company, all the while trying to convince staff that it is (definitely) not a takeover.Example: Jones Lang LaSalle’s “merger” with King Sturge.
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Tortilla has funding for expansion wrapped up
1 June 2012
Chain wants to ride “Mexican wave” and quadruple in size. Rachel Hunter reports
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Treasury attacks NAMA over Battersea deal
7 June 2012
Treasury Holdings has attacked Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) over its proposed deal to sell Battersea Power Station to a pair of Malaysian companies.
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Union Invest in £287m US return
7 June 2012
German fund manager Union Investment has returned to buying in the US with a £287m property deal.
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US retailer buy Clinton leftovers
6 June 2012
A US group is close to buying the remainder of collapsed retailer Clinton Cards.
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US retailer to buy remainder of Clinton
6 June 2012
A US group is close to buying the remainder of collapsed retailer Clinton Cards.
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Vauxhall Sky limit for Caddick
1 June 2012
Yorkshire-based Caddick Development is in talks with Frasers Property to buy a prime development site in Vauxhall for around £20m, in what would be the developer’s first foray into central London.
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Vote to have your property personality "beheaded"
6 June 2012
LandAid is giving you the opportunity to get revenge on one of five property personalities - by having them “beheaded” at the Tower of London.
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We can build our way out of recession — with some help from government
1 June 2012
Shortly before 9:30 last Thursday morning, the mood at the Treasury was tense. Grim-faced civil servants and their political masters waited nervously for the latest figures on the economy to be released by the Office for National Statistics.
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Wyatt: 'syntonic' bonviveur bows out
1 June 2012
“I genuinely think that in four or five years’ time people will look back and say ‘the old bugger was right after all’. I would like that to be my legacy,” Adrian Wyatt tells Property Week.
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X-Man makes a stand for European invasion
1 June 2012
X-Leisure fund seeks big investor for overseas gamble. Rachel Hunter reports
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York Mailing presses ahead with investment after Pindar purchase
1 June 2012
Yorkshire printing firm York Mailing plans to invest up to £15m in equipment and technology to support its growing business, after taking over the large-scale publication printing division of Pindar.
