Property Week Leader & Blogs

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  The circle of life sciences

  2023-02-03T00:00:00+00:00By Lem Bingley

  This week I learned a new word, although I’m not sure it’s a real one that has made it into any dictionaries. ‘Cycology’ is the belief that events will run in predictable cycles, with the implied hope that you can make better decisions if you can see where you are ...

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  PM stumbles in Zahawi zone

  2023-01-27T00:00:00+00:00By Lem Bingley

  If any of us wondered what kind of leadership the UK might get from prime minister Rishi Sunak, we now have a clear indicator courtesy of the tax troubles of Conservative party chair Nadhim Zahawi. The leadership we are getting is not what we need.

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  What lies ahead for housing?

  2023-01-20T00:00:00+00:00By Lem Bingley

  This week has served up plenty of food for thought on housebuilding, and a dog’s breakfast of industry reactions that run from bleak pessimism to blithe optimism.

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  Back to the office?

  2023-01-13T00:00:00+00:00By Lem Bingley

  On 19 January last year, the government withdrew its Covid guidance suggesting people in England should work from home. The pace and scale of the resulting return to work naturally became a topic of great interest and no little anxiety throughout the subsequent 12 months.

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  Tales of the unexpected

  2022-12-16T00:00:00+00:00By Lem Bingley

  Five housing ministers, four chancellors of the exchequer, three prime ministers, two different monarchs and a partridge in a pear tree. Season’s greetings at the end of a very difficult year.

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  Small details, big gains

  2022-12-09T00:00:00+00:00By Lem Bingley

  A couple of weeks ago I visited Brent Cross Town, a 180-acre, £7bn new neighbourhood for north-west London being co-developed by Related Argent and Barnet Council. Plans are advanced but work is still at an early stage.

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  You win some, you lose some

  2022-12-02T00:00:00+00:00By Stephanie Denton

  This week started with relief that the nation hadn’t gone entirely crazy and voted rogue MP and former health secretary Matt Hancock winner of ITV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Instead, Lioness Jill Scott picked up the crown.

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  EV revolution lights the way

  2022-11-25T00:00:00+00:00By Andrew Hillier

  Electric vehicles (EVs) have come a long way in the space of a few short years. Once ridiculed for their short ranges and odd looks, electric cars, scooters and vans are now a familiar sight on our roads as EV technology has improved and owners and business have bought into ...

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  Postmodern planning reform

  2022-11-24T00:00:00+00:00By Lem Bingley

  This week we hear from Hashi Mohamed, who is one of those remarkable people who runs the risk of making almost everyone else feel like a lazy failure. He is not only an accomplished barrister, broadcaster and author but also a former refugee, underscoring the extent to which he has ...

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  Unhelpful history lessons

  2022-11-17T00:00:00+00:00By Lem Bingley

  As is widely recognised, history repeats itself. Unhelpfully, it does so in a jumbled kaleidoscope of random repetition that makes it hard to apply the lessons learned.

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  Don’t bury your head in the sand

  2022-11-11T00:00:00+00:00By Stephanie Denton

  The Bank of England last week warned that the UK was facing its longest recession in 100 years as it raised interest rates to 3%. Coming off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the UK political merry-go-round, supply chain costs rapidly increasing and the cost-of-living crisis, this ...

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  Office of the future? On your bike

  2022-11-04T00:00:00+00:00By Lem Bingley

  Last month I toured the almost complete JJ Mack Building in Farringdon, guided by Gerald Kaye, chief executive of its developer, Helical.

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  The regeneration game

  2022-10-27T00:00:00+01:00By Lem Bingley

  This week saw the dramatic return of a face we thought we’d seen the last of. Alas I am not talking about the nostalgic return of David Tennant to the role of Doctor Who, after a gap of more than 12 years.

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  Burning questions on rates

  2022-10-20T00:00:00+01:00By Lem Bingley

  The response from shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, after new chancellor Jeremy Hunt gave his “economic update” to the Commons on Monday, perfectly captured the calamity created by September’s mini-Budget.

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  The dicey business of pricing

  2022-10-14T00:00:00+01:00By Lem Bingley

  Arriving at a fair value for an asset is a tricky business at the best of times, doubly so in a period of high inflation, rising interest rates and exchange-rate volatility. Agreeing a transaction or indeed estimating what’s required to turn a profit has become markedly more challenging than at ...

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