©AFP A strong performance by banking stocks was not enough to keep the FTSE 100 in positive territory on Friday as losses by energy and housebuilding companies dragged it into the red. Royal Dutch Shell slipped 1.8 per cent to 1707.5p while BP fell 0.7 per cent to close at 359p on the back of a slide in the price of crude oil, which was down 0.4 per cent at $41.37. More On this topic IN UK Equities Housebuilding stocks gave back some of their gains from earlier in the week when they were given a boost in chancellor George Osborne’s budget. Barratt Developments slipped 1.8 per cent to 574.8p, Persimmon shed 1.2 per cent to 2,088.7p, and Berkeley dropped 2.2 per cent to 3,175.5p, even after it published its interim management statement saying that profits are anticipated to be near the “upper end of expectations”. Berkeley warned that housing supply could be hit by complex policy, reducing public sector resources and “one of the world’s highest property taxation regimes”. Despite the warning, analysts remained bullish on the housebuilder. “We are confident that Berkeley should be capable of maintaining a level of profit of at least the £500m that it should deliver this year in the longer term and that its record argues still for a material premium rating over the peer group,” said Robin Hardy, analyst at Shore Capital. “This still supports a fair value of around £35 per share and, having recently dropped below £30, there is currently some value here,” he added. London-listed banks were the day’s best-performing stocks as they bounced back from yesterday’s losses. Standard Chartered recovered from yesterday’s 1.3 per cent fall to close up 7.6 per cent at 497.1p. RBS rose 2.3 per cent to 236.4p, Lloyds climbed 0.9 per cent to 70.0p while HSBC slipped 0.1 per cent to 451.9p. “Standard Chartered was boosted as one of its key risk exposures is Essar Oil in India,” said Chirantan Barua, analyst at Bernstein. “Yesterday Rosneft closed a deal to acquire 49 per cent in Essar Oil with a massive sweetener deal to pump significant oil through Essar’s refinery. What was a negative for the bank has just turned positive. Add to that a weaker dollar, strong EM trade and options expiries, and it’s been a good day for banks,” he added. Lloyds and RBS were helped by a bullish note from Japanese financial group Nomura, which raised its target price for RBS from 275p to 280p and restated its “buy” rating for Lloyds. Mining stocks added to yesterday’s gains, boosted by a 0.9 per cent rise in the price of iron ore. Glencore rose 1.8 per cent to 160.8p, BHP Billiton gained 1.1 per cent to 831.3p and Anglo American rose 2.7 per cent to 546.2p, though Antofagasta slipped 4.3 per cent to 514.5p after RBC cut its rating from “sector perform” to “underperform”. Life insurance stocks also rallied on Friday. Aviva rose 0.4 per cent to 486.4p after Barclays upgraded its price target and reaffirmed its overweight position on the stock. Prudential rose 1.2 per cent to 1,373.5p, and St James Place rose 1.2 per cent to 939.7p. Sports Direct outperformed the benchmark index ahead of its demotion to the FTSE 250 next week, adding 5.9 per cent to 413.8p, with some traders attributing the rally to forced short covering before its move. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

Following a successful March sale, Savills has released its catalogue for the next regional auction, which will take place on the 19th May 2016 at the Centenary Suite, Nottingham Racecourse at 2.30pm. Up to 48 lots offer a wide variety of opportunities across the residential and commercial property market to include: Lot 1, 28 Regent Street in Nottingham. A rare opportunity to acquire a freehold period office building in the heart of the city’s professional quarter. The property is being offered at a guide price of £350,000 – £400,000. Lot 8, 10a Plumtree Road in Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire. A unique opportunity to acquire a substantial period cottage in a sought after village location, which is being offered at a guide price of £310,000 – £335,000. Lot 15, 37-39 Kirk Gate in Newark, Nottinghamshire. The chance to purchase an historic Listed building in Newark town centre, which has established planning consent for both retail and leisure use. The freehold is being offered at a guide price of £125,000 to £150,000. Lot 26, a former grain store and land in Barnetby Le Wold in North Lincolnshire. The site, which totals 0.42 acres (0.16 hectares), lies in close proximity to Humberside Airport and is guided at £10,000 – £20,000. Lot 35, 23-25 Station Street in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottingham. A substantial Grade II Listed former chapel, previously used as office accommodation, with the possibility of converting it to residential use subject to consent. The property is guided at £60,000 – £80,000. Lot 47, 21 and 21a Ashworth Avenue in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire. A strong investment opportunity, comprising two retail units and two self contained ground and first floor flats, which also offer the potential for future development. The property is being offered at a guide price of £200,000 – £225,000. Bob Crocker, director and auction co-ordinator at Savills Nottingham, comments: “We have continued to receive considerable interest in the upcoming May auction, despite the recent increase in stamp duty for buy to let and second home buyers. As a result, we still expect to see plenty of investors and developers looking to secure a quick and efficient purchase via the auction process.” Paul Giles, head of commercial auctions at Savills Nottingham, comments: “Once again the May auction offers a diverse number of opportunities across a wide geographical spread. Following the changes to stamp duty in April, we anticipate that a number of smaller investors may now start to consider commercial lots in order to avoid charges and diversify their portfolio.”   Source link

Average prime commercial property yields rose to 4.69% in April 2016, up from 4.62% last month; the largest upward movement since June 2010, according to Savills latest Commercial Market in Minutes report. Average prime yields are now at their highest level since July 2015. Whilst this movement is small, Savills says that it is significant as it is most likely due to a mix of investors broadly accepting that total returns on UK property are likely to be lower in 2016 and some pre-referendum uncertainty. Savills forecasts that total returns in 2016 will be approximately 7.5%; comparatively high compared to most asset classes, but lower than the average returns of 13% seen in 2015. As investors focus on income rather than capital growth, annual rental growth on commercial property continues to improve. Steady occupier demand combined with restrained supply is delivering rental increases across all the main commercial property sectors with growth no longer confined to London and the south east. Across the UK, standard UK office rents have risen by an average of 8.55% across the UK, industrial rents by 4.95% and retail rents by 1.5%. Mat Oakley, director of commercial research at Savills, says: “The UK remains one of the strongest performing developed economies with its GDP and consumer spending forecast to grow by two per cent this year. This positive economic backdrop is set to continue to support steady occupier demand, so, with supply generally unlikely to loosen in most regions, we should therefore continue to see consistent rental growth. Total returns may be lower this year, but commercial property is still a strong performer, particularly when compared to other assets, and it remains a favourite with investors.” Read Savills full April 2016 Commercial Market in Minutes here.  Source link

Fresh data released from eMoov.co.uk looks into the London Property Marathon 2016. Some 38,000 people will take to the streets of the capital this Sunday to tackle the 26.2-mile course, taking in a number of London’s iconic landmarks along the way. However, for many this is as close as they will come to a piece of London property due to the increasing unaffordability of living in the capital. In fact, based on the current London average house price of £530,368, each runner would have to raise £20,243 for every mile ran, just to get a foot on the London ladder. Either that or each of the 38,000 participants could bring £14 each and joint own one London property. The Start: Greenwich As the runners gather at the start line in leafy Greenwich Park the price per a mile will have decreased slightly, as with an average house price of £532,208, Greenwich is marginally cheaper than the London average and would require £19,969 per a mile to secure a property there. Woolwich As the runners round mile markers, two through four, Woolwich will offer them the cheapest price per a mile across the entire route. Just £11,103 would be needed for each of the 26.2 miles in order to purchase a property in Woolwich. Rotherhithe At the ten mile mark, the property price per a mile shoots back up to £19,401, as the route winds its way through Rotherhithe, home to an average house price of £508,321. Bermondsey As the runners prepare to cross the Thames the last area south of the river they pass through is Bermondsey. With an average house price of £546,974, A Bermondsey property will set you back more than the London average and a hefty £20,876 for every mile of the marathon ran. Canary Wharf & the Isle of Dogs Unfortunately, things north of the river aren’t any better and a property in Canary Wharf will still cost you £19,367 per a mile. This does drop to £18,469 as the runners hit mile marker 16 and the Isle of Dogs, but this is still a substantial number of bake sales to secure a property in the area. Monument As each runner wearily makes their way towards prime central London and the finish line the property price per a mile starts to pick up the pace. With an average house price of £934,115, it would cost each runner £35,653 to secure a property in Monument for every painstaking mile of the route. The Finish: St James’s Park But as expected, nowhere across the entire marathon would cost more per a mile than the leafy finish line of St James’s Park. As they cross the finish legs and lungs will no doubt be screaming, but this pain is dwarfed by the realisation that for every mile they have just ran, it would cost just shy of £100,000 (£94,581) to afford the average property in St James’ (£2,478,034). Location Average House Price Property Price per Mile Greenwich £532,208 £20,313 Blackheath £599,549 £22,883 Charlton £408,331 £15,585 Woolwich £290,915 £11,103 Deptford £386,354 £14,746 Rotherhithe £508,321 £19,401 Canada Water £440,909 £16,828 Bermondsey £546,974 £20,876 Whitechapel £502,322 £19,172 Shadwell £426,592 £16,282 Limehouse £526,517 £20,096 Canary Wharf £507,420 £19,367 Poplar £467,838 £17,856 Isle of Dogs £483,908 £18,469 Monument £934,115 £35,654 Blackfriars £881,423 £33,642 St James’ £2,478,034 £94,581 London Average £530,368 £20,243 Founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, commented: “Although the real obstacle of the day is the gruelling 26.2-mile slog across the capital, these figures paint a really clear picture of just how unobtainable a London property is for the majority of us. To think that for every mile of the route, each runner would need to raise close to the average UK salary just to get on the London ladder, is a little sickening. I for one am glad the money raised is going to worthy causes and not to further fuelling the London property bubble.” Source link