Posts with tag: investment

Legal & General Invests Billions in East London Housing and Infrastructure

Published On: September 23, 2016 at 9:25 am

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Legal & General has backed investments of over £1 billion in east London housing and infrastructure in 2016 alone. The firm has already invested over £8 billion in UK infrastructure, housing and urban regeneration, and SME finance, and is on track to invest £15 billion.

Legal & General invests in infrastructure to secure long-term income for pensioners and returns for shareholders. Infrastructure investment boosts UK economic growth, which benefits businesses and wider society.

Legal & General Invests Billions in East London Housing and Infrastructure

Legal & General Invests Billions in East London Housing and Infrastructure

In east London, Legal & General’s investments include:

  • Transport for London’s new £246m headquarters in Stratford
  • Build to rent flats in Walthamstow, in partnership with PGGM, creating over 400 homes
  • Forward funding of 445 rooms for Queen Mary University of London students in Stratford for £63m
  • DP World’s London Gateway port, with the Pension Protection Fund, for £400m
  • Amazon’s new fulfilment centre at Tilbury

The firm is committed to modernising Britain’s cities by investing in real assets, creating new jobs and, through collaborative partnerships, delivering local economic growth.

The Managing Director of Legal & General Retirement, Kerrigan Procter, says: “East London is a great place to invest. We have invested over £1 billion of long-term capital in new assets, and are looking at many more opportunities here and across the UK. Our direct investments are economically and socially useful, with every £1 invested in physical infrastructure generating around £3 of local economic activity.

“In a world where over $10 trillion of government bonds earn negative returns, our direct investments create local economic growth, income for pensioners and returns for shareholders. The UK needs new infrastructure if it’s going to grow and prosper in the 21st century, and we are helping to fund and deliver it.”

The Transport for London building, at the International Quarter in Stratford, is part of the wider regeneration of the area, which is expected to create over 40,000 jobs and 11,000 new homes in the coming years.

The Walthamstow build to rent development is scheduled for completion in 2018, and is part of Legal & General’s partnership with PGGM, the Dutch pension fund manager, to invest £600m in build to rent homes and create a new institutional asset class.

The 26-storey student accommodation development is pre-let to Queen Mary University of London and is being built on the site of a former petrol station on Stratford High Street.

The DP World’s London Gateway port is the UK’s first new port in over two decades, and is situated on the Thames estuary at Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. Since the start of construction, London Gateway has already created thousands of jobs in London and the South East, and is helping London to regain its status as one of the world’s largest ports.

Amazon’s new fulfilment centre at Tilbury will create 1,500 jobs and be completed in 2017.

Landlords, take this great opportunity to invest in an up-and-coming area. East London is soon to be a hub of new homes, more jobs and improved infrastructure – all features that attract private renters to an area. Snap up an east London investment now!

If you need more encouragement, here’s why you should buy in east London: /why-landlords-should-buy-in-east-london/

Investment in student property set to increase

Published On: May 20, 2016 at 9:23 am

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More landlords are looking to invest in student property, according to new research.

Rising rental values in the sector are persuading more investors to purchase in the sector, according to data released by Knight Frank.

Increases

Investment in student property in Britain reached a record high of £5.1bn in 2015, a figure more than double the £2.41bn recorded one year previously.

The firm suggests that year-on-year growth during this year will follow the pace set in 2015, meaning there will be a rental uplift of 3.5%. This will give would-be investors a fairly secure income.

Knight Frank also predicts that the development pipeline for purpose-built student accommodation will slip during 2016, particularly in London.

Both London and Manchester are examples of cities with substantial student populations but modest delivery deadlines. That is the view of Neil Armstrong, partner at Knight Frank Student Housing Valuations.

Investment in student property set to increase

Investment in student property set to increase

Solid

Mr Armstrong said, ‘in 2015 Student Accommodation showed rock solid occupational demand supply credentials. Rental growth averaged at 3.65% as student numbers grew and supply struggled to meet demand. Whilst the macro picture (3.65%) is relatively steady, each market demonstrates different credentials largely depending upon the current level of structural under supply together with the development pipeline and its delivery in any specific year.’[1]

In retail, office and industrial, student accommodation offered large capital (15.3%) and total returns (21.5%) during 2015.

James Pullan, head of Knight Frank Student Housing, noted, ‘of the 49,271 student bedrooms transacted in 2015, over 46% were acquired by Institutions. This wave of Institutional investment has now polarised the market such, that assets which fail to meet institutional specification have much reduced liquidity.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/5/investment-in-student-housing-set-to-rise

North East property prices fall in April

Published On: April 29, 2016 at 10:29 am

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A new report from KIS Housing has indicated that house prices in the North East of England fell by 4% in April.

As a result, the average property value in the region fell by £7,000.

Falls

The fall in values eradicates the 3.1% increase recorded in March, which had previously added £4,811 to typical property prices. What’s more, house prices are currently 3.6% down in 2016 to date.

Presently, the average house price in the area is £155,979. This is £7,016 less than at end the end of March. However, this is 1% higher than at the same time in 2015 and 3% greater than in 2014.

All areas saw decrease in property values during the last month. Whitley Bay and Blyth saw above average falls of 6.1% and 6% respectively.

Rises

Since KIS has begun to compile data from April 2014, South Shields has seen the largest price increase, with values increasing by 6.7%. Newcastle and Gateshead have also seen rises of 6.6% and 6.2% respectively over the same period.

In Darlington, April’s decline of 4.7% saw property prices slide to these seen in 2014. As a result, savvy investors are being told to consider purchasing in this region.

In addition, the average rent in the North East increased by £14 per calendar month to £566 in April-a rise of 2.5%.

By region, rents are nearly the same as those recorded in 2014, where an average per calendar month was £560.

North East property prices fall in April

North East property prices fall in April

Predictable

Ajay Jagota, founder and Managing Director of North-East based sales and lettings firm KIS, said, ‘house prices falling at a rate of 1% a week throughout April might sound surprising to some but the sad thing is these figures were entirely predictable. I’ve been forecasting for months that March would see prices boom as landlords raced to complete purchases ahead of tax changes which took place at the start of this month, before slumping back as many abandoned those investments altogether when they became less profitable. And so it proved.’[1]

‘The irony is that investors are now benefiting from higher rental yields and lower purchase prices. It’s the renters that lose out, as rents will inevitably rise as a consequence of those tax changes. Fewer properties are now available, leading to higher prices. It’s simple supply and demand. Having collected this data now for two years we are starting to see some fascinating trends emerging. Although average rents are all-but unchanged since April 2014, on an area-by-area basis there are some huge differences – 17.5% higher in Whitley Bay, but 21% lower in Jarrow.

The reasons for these variations could easily be something as mundane as only a few rental properties coming onto the market, or a disproportionate number of cheaper or more expensive properties skewing the figures but overall they show the real value of us collecting this data – being able to tell our clients with absolute certainly which areas of the North East are at that moment the most attractive to renters and buyers and where landlords can expect to get the best returns,’ Jagota went on to say.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/april-wipes-record-%C3%A3%C2%A27k-of-north-east-house-prices.html

Buy-to-let mortgage products rise in Q1

Published On: April 15, 2016 at 8:51 am

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The total number of buy-to-let mortgage products available in Britain rose substantially in the first three months of 2016.

Data from the latest Mortgage for Business index reveals that residential landlords with a limited company were particularly spoilt for choice.

Increases

An increase in product numbers aimed at limited company mortgage seekers saw the total of buy-to-let mortgages rise from 963 in Q4 of 2015 to 1,105 in the opening quarter of this year.

In addition, figures from the report show that remortgages outstripped purchases for all property types, except HMO’s, where purchase numbers were marginally higher.

Unsurprising

David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business, noted, ‘with tenants looking for less expensive accommodation and landlords looking for higher yields it is no surprise that the number of HMO purchases has risen in the last quarter.’[1]

‘Even though remortgage transactions were higher this is not to say purchase numbers were down,’ Whittaker continued. ‘All types of residential investment showed a marked increase in the number of purchase transactions as investors rushed to beat the 3% stamp duty surcharge deadline.’[1]

Buy-to-let mortgage products rise in Q1

Buy-to-let mortgage products rise in Q1

The Index also shows that rental yields for semi commercial property also increased in the opening quarter of 2016. This made it the second biggest yielding property category.

Mr Whittaker forecasts that the number of buy-to-let landlords buying semi-commercial property will rise in the upcoming months. He believes this is due to the fact mixed-use properties are classed as commercial premises and will not be subject to the increases in Stamp Duty surcharges.

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/uk-buy-let-mortgages-2016041411796.html

Huge fines for landlords after illegal letting

Published On: March 29, 2016 at 12:01 pm

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A pair of buy-to-let investors who flaunted planning regulations have been told to pay a total of £116,000.

Efstratios Filis-Gelagotis and Andreas Charalambous converted a property into seven studio flats in the London borough of Islington. This conversion was carried out without the required planning permission.

Warning

In December 2013, Islington Council issued a planning enforcement notice, permitting the unauthorised use of the single-family property for studio flats to cease inside six months.

Despite this, the flats continued to be let without authority, even after several further warning letters were issued by the council. As such, a decision was taken to prosecute the two men.

In October last year, both Filis-Gelagotis and Charalambous pleaded guilty to failure to comply with the enforcement notices.

Huge fines for landlords after illegal letting

Huge fines for landlords after illegal letting

Fines

Blackfriars Crown Court has instructed both men to pay a fine of £5,000 each, alongside legal costs of £4,000. In addition, they were each ordered to pay another £49,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act. This money represents the value made from renting the property between July 2014 and October 2015.

Since the trial, the property has now been legally converted into a six-bedroom house in multiple occupancy (HMO.) Planning permission was granted in October of last year.

 

Mortgage sales in February at 8 year high

Published On: March 23, 2016 at 4:40 pm

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Fresh research from Equifax Touchstone has shown that mortgage sales surpassed expectation in February.

Residential and buy-to-let sales reached 16.6bn in the last month, an increase of 39% from January.

Buy-to-let boom

Buy-to-let mortgage agreements surged by 40.3% during February, while residential sales surges by 38.6%. Year-on-year, buy-to-let and residential sales were 52.9% and 30.4% respectively. This information for landlords will come as little shock, with many looking to invest before the stamp duty changes come into force on April 1st.

By area, sales figures increased in every area, with London seeing the biggest rises, up 50.6% on January. The rest of the country followed suit, with mortgage sales in the North West, Scotland and Northern Ireland all increasing by more than 40%.

The total mortgage sales growth by region in February is indicated in the table below:

Regional area Total mortgage sales growth in February
London 50.6%
Scotland 44.5%
North West 43.1%
Northern Ireland 40.2%
North and Yorkshire 39.0%
North East 38.6%
South West 38.2%
Home Counties 37.5%
South Coast 35.4%
Wales 35.0%
Midlands 34.8%
South East 32.1%

[1]

Mortgage sales in February at 8 year high

Mortgage sales in February at 8 year high

Averages

Further data from the report indicates that the average value of a residential mortgage in the last month was £192,568. Average buy-to-let mortgages were lower at £151,491.

Iain Hill, Relationship Manager at Equifax Touchstone, said, ‘with the impending changes in stamp duty on buy-to-let property, we expected buy-to-let sales to jump in February. However, the residential figures have taken many market participants by surprise, also rising sharply and resulting in the highest month for mortgage sales since the 2008 market crash. We expect sales volumes to remain strong in March and it will be interesting to see if the market can cope with the inevitable pressures that come with the increased demand.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/february-mortgage-sales-at-highest-for-8-years.html