Claer Barrett
BlogsThere's still life on the high street
Recent months have seen a slew of UK retailers including Thorntons, Mothercare, Comet, Dixons and announcing plans to abandon high street stores, often in favour of out-of-town retail parks.
InsightFeed your olympics app-etite
The first free update to Property Week’s Olympic iPad app is in the App Store now under Property Week +. It is packed with new information on the developments in and around the Olympic Park, in addition to the indispensable original content published in July. Here is a taster …
- Blogs
Internet shopping could help, not harm, the high street
With Mary Portas on the case to save our nation’s high streets, there is already a lot of defeatist talk in the property and retail industries about what her report can meaningfully achieve. But the naysayers who claim the high street is beyond redemption should check out their local corner ...
- Blogs
There’s value in store
The rise of “austerity retailing” is one of the most compelling themes for retailers, and property landlords. Last week, the bi-annual shopping centres survey from Trevor Wood Associates proved what many suspected – namely that value brands are filling the gaps in UK malls. ...
BlogsWhy landlords should be friends with Facebook
If you’re one of Facebook’s 500 million users, chances are you’ve noticed ever-growing numbers of businesses who want you to “like” them. At first, only pop stars and film stars had fan pages on Facebook, but now all the major retail brands want to be your friend. ...
- Blogs
Pawnbrokers: coming to a shopping centre near you
The business of pawnbroking has been going on since the Thirteenth Century, but the current economic climate means the trade is finally throwing off its seedy image, and expanding like there’s no tomorrow. One of the few groups of high street retailers to have significant national expansion ...
BlogsEverything’s getting more expensive on the High Street... except the rents
How to cope with rising inflation is the number one concern of retailers right now. The situation is so serious it has pushed their other big problem - the dwindling pot of consumer spend – into second place. Why?
BlogsBookies, bargains, buns and boards are the high street's future
In last week’s FT, I predicted that bookies, bargains, buns and boards were the future of Britain’s high streets. Usually, journalists hate making predictions in fear that they might be proved wrong. In this case, I would gladly suffer the humiliation of not being right if it a better local ...
BlogsAre you listening Mr Shapps?
More evidence that Property Week’s “Regulate Resi Now!” campaign was right to demand the regulation of residential letting agents has emerged.
BlogsTax shouldn’t be this taxing
There are four letters that instill fear into the heart of every private investor – HMRC. Yes, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, who are preparing to tax the bejesus out of us all to balance the state’s books.
BlogsNo recovery until 2018, says Property Boom author
I don’t know about you, but my career in property started with a book. Or to be more specific, the loan of a book.
BlogsHoliday home taxes more changeable than British weather
It’s silly season, and our PM (ever the PR man) is boasting of his family’s decision to holiday at home. Also known as a ‘staycation’, the fact that Mrs Cameron is about to drop a sprog and therefore can’t fly has nothing to do with the Cameron’s decision to spend ...
BlogsA Moving story
Having taken the day off work to help by brother move house, I was not expecting to uncover a nasty little property scam.
BlogsLandlords are hidden victims of housing benefit debacle
The current row over the housing benefit reforms has completely ignored the fate of a hidden group of victims – landlords letting property to tenants on benefits.
BlogsProperty Trusts are beating Reits
They’re not the sexiest topic to write about, but property investment trusts are one of the most compelling investment cases in the world of listed property right now. Most are domiciled in Guernsey for tax reasons – prompting the monicker of GICs (Guernsey Investment Companies) – but ...
BlogsGarden grab means it’s time to grab shares in the builders
The coalition government has been a “Nightmare on Elm Street” for Britain’s housebuilders. Public sector hand outs for housebuilders are being pared back, regional housing targets have been scrapped, and now the Con-Dems are trying to stop “garden grab”.
- Blogs
Will Tories kill off buy-to-let?
Buy-to-let investors have been thrown into panic by the widespread belief that the Con-Dem coalition government will more than double the tax on second homes in June’s emergency budget.Estate agents are reporting an exodus from the sector – but will it really happen?The Lib Dem’s pre-election manifesto proposed hiking up ...
- Blogs
To bailiff, or not bailiff? That is the question
I was amused – but not surprised – to hear this week that the word bailiff is now being used a verb. Tenants not paying the rent? Let’s bailiff them! (the latter usage is attributable to a FTSE 100 chief exec whose modesty I will preserve).In my innocence, I asked ...
- Blogs
Spring bounce comes late for housebuilders
Back in January, I wrote about the traditional spring bounce that has boosted share prices in the housebuilding sector for 25 out of the last 30 years.In the first quarter of the year, shares in the builders have historically bounced up by 11 per cent, on average.Well guess what?They failed ...
- Blogs
Savings habit is hard to acquire
One of the figures to stick in my mind after last week’s budget was the average £33,000 first time buyers have to save up for a deposit on their first property.The British Property Federation were quick to point out that scrapping stamp duty on homes under £250,000 will not help ...
