Andrew Wallace
Andrew reports on homeownership, landlords and the UK housing market.
- Investing
Royal London and Simten win planning for Soho Square redevelopment
Westminster City Council approved plans for about 55,000 sq ft of office space at the former 20th Century Fox headquarters and neighbouring Soho buildings.
- Interiors
Burberry to restore Regent Street flagship as Burberry House, opening autumn 2027
Burberry says the Grade II-listed 121 Regent Street store will be restored in phases and stay open during the works, with the 'Burberrys' clock returning.
- Homeownership
Notting Hill film house with blue door listed at $10.05m
The three-bedroom house used as William Thacker's front entrance in the 1999 film is on the market through UK Sotheby's International Realty.
- Investing
Delano London to open in early 2027 with 67 rooms and suites
The hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park will have more than half its rooms as suites, plus a Mediterranean restaurant, Rose Bar and a wellness concept.
- Investing
London luxury apartment sales above £5m fall 80% since 2023, Beauchamp Estates says
The agency says sales of new-build flats fell 87%, while the average price of £3,038 per sq ft between 2022 and 2026 has barely moved.
- Homeownership
Savills hires Simon Rosenblatt as director in St John's Wood sales team
Rosenblatt joins from Aston Chase after nearly 20 years there and will work with head of office Stephen Lindsay on St John's Wood and Regent's Park sales.
- Homeownership
Ormeley Lodge in Richmond, Princess Diana's weekend retreat, listed at £25m
The 10-bedroom Georgian and Queen Anne-style house of about 16,000 sq ft has seven bathrooms, a wine cellar and a self-contained guest apartment.
- Investing
Gardiner & Theobald leases 54,939 sq ft London HQ at 30 Finsbury Square
The firm will take 3.5 floors at MEAG's office development, with its lease starting in 2028 and staff due to move in during the third quarter of 2029.
- Mortgages
FCA: one in seven English mortgages tied to postcodes with flood risk
The regulator's analysis of public data indicates that high exposure to surface water flooding is concentrated in and around London.
- Homeownership
SNG launches Indigo shared ownership flats in Southall from £95,000
The one- to three-bedroom apartments go on sale on 31 October 2026, with a 25% share of a one-bedroom flat priced from £95,000.
- Investing
IHG signs 90-room Hotel Indigo for Kingston Bridge House in Hampton Wick
Westcombe Group's Acre Hotels Collection will convert the vacant former university building into a hotel and 22 residences, with opening planned for 2027.
- Investing
ARK Living relaunches Gants Hill student block as ARK Valentine
The 333-bed residence, owned by Crosstree Real Estate Partners, has ensuite rooms from £199 a week and studios from £292 a week.
- Homeownership
Tower Hamlets backs plan to turn four Canary Wharf offices into temporary homes
The council's plans describe about 180 family-sized homes at Marsh Wall, but approvals, design and building work are still to come.
- Investing
Helical returns about £17m to shareholders after £333m sale, trading update says
Helical's update for 1 April to 22 October 2026 also covers a Brettenham House letting to FGS Global and a Southwark Gateway 2 approval expected in November.
- Investing
Unite sells Hawthorne House academy school in London for £40.7m
Unite Group has sold the school part of its Hawthorne House student scheme to an unnamed buyer and will use the proceeds to cut debt.
- Interiors
Hilton London Metropole to refurbish West Wing with 363 family bedrooms
The multi-million-pound Edgware Road project is due to finish in November 2026 and includes five connecting suites that sleep up to eight guests.
- Investing
Helical lets three floors of Brettenham House near Waterloo Bridge to FGS Global
The advisory firm will take 23,887 sq ft on a 10-year term from January 2027 at the refurbished 1930s Art Deco office building.
- Mortgages
Churchbridge Capital scraps bridging loan broker fees and introduces cashback
The London broker will pass 10% of its lender procuration fee back to borrowers on standard bridging deals where it earns at least 1% commission.
- Landlords
Boydens wins first London block management client near St Paul's Cathedral
The Colchester agent, which manages more than 3,000 units across Essex and Suffolk, has also promoted Euan Shepherd to assistant manager.
- Landlords
Prime London rents rise 4.6% in September, fastest pace in 18 months, LonRes says
LonRes says lets agreed fell 14.9% year on year while new instructions rose 3.4% and available stock grew 6.9%.
- Homeownership
Gap between new listings and agreed sales widest in a year in September
New listings rose 14.8% on August while agreed sales fell 16.1%, cutting conversion to 41.9%, the lowest since last December.
- Homeownership
Over a third of London first-time buyer purchases exceed Lifetime ISA cap
Reallymoving says 34% of London first-time buyer purchases are above the £450,000 cap, up from 25.7% when the Lifetime ISA launched in 2017.
- Homeownership
Barratt Redrow launches 168 Colindale Gardens apartments from £355,000
The Gardenia Collection is a 12-storey block of one-, two- and three-bedroom flats near Colindale Underground Station on the Northern Line.
- Interiors
Marriott Marble Arch completes multi-million-pound renovation of all 247 rooms
Trevillion designed the refurbishment, which covers the lobby, Executive Lounge, event spaces, fitness centre and a new room category.
- Mortgages
Mortgages of £500,000 or more rise 24% in 2025, Savills says
Savills says 62,391 loans of £500,000 or more were issued in 2025, with growth since 2021 coming from outside London and the South East.
- Mortgages
Income caps would rule out over 22% of Mojo's London first-time buyer applicants
Mojo Mortgages says more than 13% of its first-time buyer applicants across the two years of its data would fall outside the proposed Your First Home caps.
- Landlords
Foxtons says London renter registrations fell 21% between August and September
The agency's lettings index shows registrations for the year so far running 11% behind last year, while listings and achieved rents edged higher.
- Homeownership
EV drivers no longer need planning permission for cross-pavement chargers
The government says the change saves drivers up to £300, though council authorisation is still required to install a charging gulley.
- Homeownership
Bouygues UK wins Gateway 2 approval for 295 homes at Tustin Estate
The Building Safety Regulator signed off the second phase of the Southwark regeneration, with four minor conditions attached, after a 34-week review.
- Landlords
Prime central London landlord yields reach highest level since 2009, Savills says
Most prime London flats now yield above 4%, with one-bedroom flats averaging 5.8%, as rents rise and property values fall.
