https://www.bbc.com/ By Tom Burridge 

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Passengers flying from Heathrow to Hong Kong on Tuesday will be the first to have the option of paying for a rapid Covid test before checking in.

The test will cost £80 and the result is guaranteed within an hour.

The aim is to help people travelling to destinations where proof of a negative result is required on arrival.

Collinson, the company behind the initiative had hoped the test could be used to enter Italy, but talks with the Italian government are continuing.

A growing number of countries have classified the UK as being “at risk”, meaning travellers from the UK face more restrictions.

The authorities in Hong Kong now require people to show they have a negative test result, taken within 72 hours of a flight from London.

The rapid saliva swab, which is now available at Heathrow Terminals 2 and 5, is known as a Lamp (Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification) test.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific will now offer it to customers.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of the aviation trade body Airlines UK, said he would like the cost of the test to be lower.

“For business passengers £80 is probably quite competitive but we’ve certainly said to the government in terms of introducing a test on arrival in the UK anything from £50-£60 would be better,” he said.

Confidence to travel

A Lamp test is quicker than the PCR test, which is widely used in the NHS, because the sample does not need to be sent to a laboratory.

Collinson, the company behind the initiative at Heathrow, admitted that the Lamp test is “slightly less sensitive” than the PCR test.

However, the Lamp test is considered to be much better than another rapid option – the antigen test.

Collinson’s chief executive David Evans told the BBC that “health screening” was quickly becoming another stage of the airport experience.

He said passengers would only have to turn up at the airport an hour earlier. And he maintained testing would help give people confidence to travel, because flights would be “Covid-secure”.

“It starts to make travel easier again,” he said.

Opening routes

Collinson, which partners with Swissport, hopes testing will help open up routes between the UK and other countries.

People arriving in Italy from the UK must now either prove they had a negative coronavirus test before departure, or take a test on arrival at an airport in Italy.

However, the type of test offered at Heathrow is not sufficient for people travelling to some destinations, such as Cyprus, the Bahamas and Bermuda.

All those places currently require proof of a negative PCR test, which requires analysis in a laboratory.

The hope is that more countries will change their rules and allow for other types of test, which could be administered on the spot at Heathrow.

It is important to note that the new testing facility at Heathrow is not for passengers flying into the airport.

That means it will not have any immediate impact on the UK’s two-week travel quarantine for people arriving from “at risk” countries.

Collinson set up a separate testing facility in arrivals at Heathrow over the summer. However, that facility has not been used by passengers, because the government has not given its backing to testing people on arrival.

Ministers have promised that next month, they will give their formal approval to the idea of people paying for a test after a week of quarantine, to avoid the full two weeks.

On Monday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed the government was in talks with the US Department of Homeland Security about a different type of system, possibly involving “multiple tests”.

The government is looking at another system, under which people could take one test two or three days before they fly into the UK, and then another test when they arrive.

That could make it possible for someone arriving in the UK from an “at risk” country to avoid quarantine altogether.

However, Mr Shapps said he could not say when that type of system would be up and running, because it required international co-operation.

www.thedrum.com

Salford’s Media City is poised to double in size after Peel Media and MediaCityUK secured a £292.5m five-year loan for a major development which will see up to 10 new buildings erected including offices, 1,800 flats and shops.

The cash infusion will fund a breakneck expansion of the current campus over the years to 2026, cementing the site as one of Britain’s best international media hubs.

Stephen Wild, managing director at MediaCityUK said: “We are delighted to have such strong support from our lenders and this arrangement helps support our aspirations for future development. Our phase two plans will focus on driving forward the already established residential community at MediaCityUK, as well as acting as a magnet for even more digital and tech businesses.”

In addition to major TV firms including the BBC and ITV, MediaCityUK also hosts 250 smaller related businesses which employ 8,000 people.

propertywire 4th March 2019

The annual rate of growth in key cities in the UK continued to moderate in the 12 months to January 2019, up 2.9%, but 13 cities recorded lower price growth than a year ago, the latest index shows.

Prices are rising fastest in Leicester with annual growth of 6%, followed by Belfast up 5.8%, Manchester up 5.4%, Glasgow and Birmingham up 5.1%, Liverpool up 5%, Nottingham up 4.6% and Sheffield up 4%.

The data from the Zoopla cities house price index also shows that prices are still falling on an annual basis in Aberdeen, down by 1.6%, but this is a substantial improvement on 2017 when they fell by 6.8%, while in London and Cambridge growth is almost flat, up a marginal 0.2%.

The index report says that weaker growth than a year ago is a result of affordability pressures and increased uncertainty. The sharpest slowdown in the rate of growth has been registered in Edinburgh, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Bristol.

Bristol, for example, is recording annual house price growth of 1.8%, the lowest rate for over five years as affordability pressures impact demand. It is a similar story in Portsmouth, Bournemouth and other cities across southern England.

The weakest housing markets have the longest sales periods and the largest discounts, currently Aberdeen and Inner London where discounts to asking price average 7% and the time to sell is 16 weeks.

Nottingham has strongest fundamentals with an average asking price discount of just 2% and less than eight weeks to achieve a sale. House price growth is holding steady at 4.6%, the report points out.

‘Our analysis reveals that market conditions are strong across twelve cities. All these are located outside the south of England. While increased uncertainty has resulted in a slower rate of house price growth, there remains further potential for price growth,’ the report adds.

Achieved prices are higher than asking prices in two cities. Edinburgh and Glasgow have the fastest time to sell a property and achieved prices are on average 6% to 8% higher than the asking price.

The latest data for housing sales shows transaction volumes holding up in line with the five years average with first time buyers the largest buyer group in 2018. ‘Uncertainty has impacted the headline rate of growth, but demand for housing is holding up better than many had expected,’ the report explains.

‘We expect city level house price growth to moderate further in the very near term. Underlying market conditions remain strong across many cities and there is potential for further price inflation once the outlook becomes clearer,’ it concludes.

Simon Heawood, chief executive of Bricklane, believes that the foundations of the market in key cities is positive with 15 of the 20 cities delivering price growth above or equal to inflation at 1.8%, and investors receiving rental income on top, property remains a strong performing asset class, particularly in the current environment.

‘Regional cities such as Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Birmingham remain strong investment options. However, the realities of investing in property far from home mean that investment in these cities will be out of reach for many,’ he said.

‘The top line price growth figure in London is low, but is made up of many smaller housing markets, with performance much stronger in Outer London than Inner London. In a buyer’s market, there are opportunities for professional investors to take advantage of discounts, even in a lower momentum market,’ he added.

The price growth continues to be driven by affordable locations at the bottom end of the house price ladder, according to Marc von Grundherr, director of agents Benham and Reeves. ‘In these slower market conditions, it’s only natural that the more desirable UK cities will see prices growth flatten and the time to sell extend, due to the already inflated price of getting a foot on the ladder there,’ he said.

‘The commitment of investing in the inner London market at present is likely to take a bit more thought than it may have previously, but to label London as a drag and to liken the market strength to that of Aberdeen is a tad misleading,’ he pointed out.

‘Prices are holding firm, transactions are steady and London remains the pinnacle of the UK housing market, having emerged from the negative price trends of the previous year,’ he added.

www.propertywire.com

 UK

House price growth in the UK is expected to be relatively moderate at 1.8% in 2019 with the property market affected by a number of economic, political and financial trends, according to the latest outlook report.

The outlook is influenced by lower sales volume and capital growth, growing caution amongst lenders, and dampened investor demand for buy to let, says the real estate market outlook report from global real estate advisor CBRE.

It also says that Help to Buy (HTB) continues to underpin the new build market, although the volume of HTB sales will fall after 2021 when only first time buyers will be eligible while affordability and mortgage regulation will constrain price growth.

It also points out that house prices are approaching the limit that current incomes and credit conditions can support, and the ability for buyers to bid up prices is limited, but nevertheless will see steady growth of a cumulative 13.1% over the next five years.

The forecast also says that rents are set to rise over the next five years, and demand for rental homes will increase after a two year period of weakening tenant enquiries, particularly from lower earning younger people.

Home

10/8/2018

Vaioni Group has outlined plans to roll out a superfast internet service across the UK, starting in Manchester.

The company has already connected the city centre to Trafford Park and MediaCityUK and it’s now aiming to standardise 1Gb and 10Gb services.

The business-only operation currently connects more than 60 cities and towns, 96 exchanges and 180k postcodes nationwide. It’s hoping to increase this to 170 towns and cities, with the potential to connect 80% of UK businesses.

“Manchester is at the forefront of becoming a global digital leader, showcasing some of the most successful and forward-thinking businesses. This is the reason Vaioni has chosen to roll-out its new network at home, to its fellow Manchester businesses,” said Sachin Vaish, managing director, Vaioni Group.

“We want Manchester businesses to experience the internet revolution ahead of the UK market, by delivering superfast speeds, which incorporates intelligence and automation at the heart of the service.

“Imagine being able to increase internet bandwidth within seconds as and when you need it, through a few clicks in an app for example, which normally would take several weeks to do with the traditional connectivity providers! I can proudly say Manchester businesses will finally get this and much more from Vaioni first.”

The promise of being able to increase internet bandwidth comes through the infrastructure’s Software Defined Network (SDN) capability. It incorporates “Elastic Bandwidth” to increase or decrease bandwidth when required, in real-time.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk – 27 JUN 2018

This year is a significant year for us all at Manchester Airport as we mark 80 years since the airport opened, and our birthday celebrations have already begun.

We recently enjoyed being the official partner of Manchester Day with a whole host of our colleagues hitting the streets for the parade with our birthday float, including, of course, a version of our famous chandeliers.

Earlier this week I was pleased to unveil a birthday video we’ve created in collaboration with Mancunian poet, Tony Walsh. Tony’s poem, and the accompanying video, do a wonderful job of showcasing how the airport has evolved over the last eight decades, and includes memories from colleagues, passengers and members of the public.

It’s been great to hear the memories and see the photos of colleagues past and present, and even passengers who remember the very early days of the airport.

As we turn 80, the milestone provides a great opportunity to look to the future.

The £1bn transformation of Manchester Airport is looking (Image: Manchester Airport)

As you will all be aware, our £1billion Manchester Airport Transformation Programme is well underway and hopefully you will have seen the stunning aerial footage of the construction site in the Time Flies film. It really showcases the size and scale of what we are doing.

MAN-TP will provide millions of passengers and airlines with facilities that combine state of the art services with excellent customer service. With the new development complete, we will be able to grow alongside a thriving northern economy to handle 45 million passengers a year, an increase of almost 20 million compared to today.

That also means jobs being created for the region and local firms being boosted as a result of working on the scheme. If you’re passing through, look over to T2 and you’ll see the new terminal taking shape.

There’s still lots to come as our 80th year progresses. We’re joining forces with the Bee in the City campaign on Friday, taking the wraps off a giant bee in our Ground Transport Interchange.

The bee will have a theme of ’80 years around the world’ representing our extensive route network and will be one of the many bees that eventually go on auction to raise money for the I Love Manchester fund.

https://gulfnews.com  June 6, 2018

By Simon Green and Kelly Dunn

In the UK there are two types of legal ownership of a property: freehold and leasehold. An owner of a freehold property will own that property in perpetuity, whereas an owner of a leasehold property will own the property for a period of time (that is the term of the lease). Here are some important aspects to consider in relation to the acquisition of a UK residential property.

Anti-money laundering (AML) legislation

Under the new AML regulations, which came into effect in April, estate agents are now required to carry out due diligence on their customers, and the beneficial owners of their customers if the client is a company, before entering into a “business relationship”.

 A “business relationship” includes putting forward any offer made by a buyer to a seller. Therefore, be prepared and have the documents ready to be able to comply with regulations.

Tax issues

The acquisition of UK residential property will give rise to tax liabilities and these potentially include stamp duty land tax (SDLT), an annual tax on enveloped dwellings (Ated), income tax and ultimately capital gains tax (CGT) and inheritance tax (IHT). There have been a number of critical changes to the tax landscape in England and Wales over the past few years:

• CGT is now payable by non-UK residents on gains accruing post April 6, 2015;

the introduction on April 1, 2016, of the 3 per cent SDLT surcharge levy for buyers of second homes, which includes buyers who own residential property abroad; and

• if the buyer is a company, a change to the law on April 6, 2017, means the value of the shares is subject to IHT.

Acquisition structure

Tax considerations are likely to be one of the most important factors to determine the most optimum acquisition structure. However, and in conjunction with tax planning, there are also a number of other factors to consider:

• who will buy the property, whether it will be a special purpose vehicle (SPV), a trust or an individual;

• if the buyer is an SPV or a trust, will this be incorporated off-shore and, if so, in which jurisdiction?;

• will the property be an investment?;

• will financing be required?; and

• any other factors such as family requirements, succession planning, confidentiality, intended level of occupation and Sharia issues.

Pre-exchange

The pre-exchange stage is probably the most important part of the conveyancing process. It is the buyers’ responsibility to ensure that the property is suitable for their needs and that there isn’t anything that would adversely affect their enjoyment of it.

To assist the buyer in reaching this decision, the buyer’s solicitor will analyse the title documentation, carry out searches with the relevant authorities, raise enquiries with the seller’s solicitor and then provide the buyer with a detailed report.

Exchange

Once the buyer is happy with the due diligence, both parties have approved the contract and the buyer has paid the deposit, which is usually 10 per cent of the purchase price, the parties will be in a position to exchange contracts.

Exchange means that a legally binding agreement has been created between the seller and the buyer. Neither party can withdraw after exchange without incurring penalties.

Pre-completion

Following exchange, it is necessary to finalise all the legal documentation, such as, but not limited to, the transfer deed, mortgage deed and lease/licence to assign (if applicable) and arrange for execution of these documents.

At the same time, and if applicable, a request will be made to the lender to drawdown the funds. A completion statement will be issued to the parties confirming the amount required to complete and pre-completion searches will be undertaken.

Completion

Completion takes place when the seller’s solicitor confirms receipt of the funds in their client account. The buyer will then collect the keys from the property agent.

Post-completion

Following completion, the buyer’s solicitor will submit for payment any SDLT, apply to register the transfer of ownership of the property with the land registry and ensure that any financing is registered against the property by way of a first-ranking charge.

www.theguardian.com

9 Apr2018

House prices strengthened in March to post their biggest monthly gain since August, according to surprise figures from the UK’s biggest mortgage lender.

The average price of a UK home rose 1.5% to hit £227,871, Halifax said. Prices in the three months to March were 2.7% higher than a year earlier, up from the 1.8% annual growth recorded in February.

The figures were an unexpected boost for the housing market after months of lacklustre growth and declines in December and January reported by Halifax, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group.

The role of the London housing market in the growth increase was not clear, because Halifax will not release a regional breakdown of the data until later this week.

Last month a survey showed that house prices in prime parts of the capital had tumbled heavily over the past year, with Wandsworth falling nearly 15%. By contrast, the figures from Your Move estate agents showed that the north-west was the fastest growing market in England and Wales with prices in Blackburn growing 16.4%.

Experts warned against predicting a prolonged revival in price growth based on the Halifax figures. Samuel Tombs, the chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The jump in Halifax’s measure of house prices in March just looks like volatility, rather than the start of a strong upward trend. Halifax’s index is prone to large swings.”

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser at EY Item Club, the economic forecasting group, said: “The March spike in house prices reported by the Halifax does not change our view that 2018 will be a difficult year for the housing market. We still expect price gains over the year will be limited to a modest 2%.”

Russell Galley, Halifax’s managing director, said: “Activity levels, like house price growth, have softened compared with a year ago. Mortgage approvals are down compared to 12 months ago, whilst home sales have remained flat in the early months of the year. This lack of direction in the housing market is in stark contrast to the continuing strength of the UK jobs market.”

He said low unemployment, low mortgage rates and the ongoing shortage of properties for sale would underpin price growth in coming months. Halifax is predicting annual price growth to remain close to 3%.

Mortgages in Britain have reached their most affordable level in a decade, according to new research, also from Halifax. Typical mortgage payments accounted for 29% of homeowners’ disposable income in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with 48% in 2007.

Jeremy Leaf, an estate agent in north London and housing spokesman at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, echoed Galley’s comments. “The increase in property prices is more to do with a shortage of stock, low mortgage approvals, and subdued activity rather than any great change in the market,” he said.

“What the results do show is that those who are actually looking to buy at this time of year are obliged to pay higher prices for properties in the areas they want to live in order to get what they want, which is what we are also finding on the ground.”

 23/2/2018

The number of rental homes on the market with letting agents dropped between December and January, while the number of people registered with agents looking for property to rent increased.

Month-on-month figures in January showed a decline in the number of rental properties per letting agent branch, from 200 in December down to 184, according to statistics from ARLA Propertymark. The figures had seen some improvement since their last monthly low of 182 per branch in October, but the situation seems to have once again reversed.

Meanwhile, an average of 70 prospective renters were on the books per letting agency branch in January, a rise of more than 15% from December’s average of 59. This widening gap between the number of tenants looking for a home and the number of landlords offering one has been partly blamed on the recent government actions that have made the buy-to-let market less attractive to many.

Rising rents

ARLA Propertymark’s chief executive David Cox believes renters could struggle in 2018, particularly considering that one in five tenants also saw their rents go up in January – although rental price rises were relatively flat over the course of last year, increasing at aslower rate than inflation, according to research from HomeLet.

Cox commented:

“Housing stock is falling as rising taxes continue to force established landlords out of the market and deter entry into the sector – and the volume of renters is increasing as the cost of buying a home is moving further out of reach for many. Ultimately, until the prospect of investing in the buy-to-let market is more attractive for prospective landlords, and stock subsequently increases, tenants will continue to feel the burn.”

Section 24 of the Finance (no. 2) Act 2015 is one major change brought in by the government that is affecting, and will increasingly affect, landlords. The regulation means that landlords will no longer be able to deduct the full cost of mortgage interest payments on their buy-to-let properties before they pay tax, which will up the bill for most landlords and even push some into a higher rate of tax. Section 24 is being phased in gradually, starting in April 2017, with 2020 the final date when 100% of mortgage and finance costs will be limited to only 20% tax relief.

 

January 4, 2018

For landlords and investors, a property’s potential return on investment is key to making the right purchase choice, so finding the best location to invest your money is vital.

There are many factors involved in making a buy-to-let purchase, and rental yield is just one of them. Location may depend on each individual investor’s preference in terms of ease of property management, as well as personal ties to an area. It’s also vital to look closely at each location as a place to live, where tenants will have enough local amenities, as well as considering the level of demand in the area.

But rental yield is still of the utmost importance to long-term investors, and Totally Money has put together a report of all the postcodes across the UK – excluding those with less than 30 properties available for sale and 30 for rent at the time of the report – to reveal average rental yields available in each area.

Where are the best places to invest?

Liverpool postcodes dominate the top 25 areas of the buy-to-let yield list, with L7 – which covers the city centre, Edge Hill, Fairfield and Kensington – taking the top position with a huge average yield of 12.63%. This is based on a median rental value of £1,224, and a median asking price of £116,259. At the time the report was compiled, there were 177 properties available for rent, and 79 properties for sale.

House prices in Liverpool are lower than the UK average, with Rightmove estimates putting the average sold price in the region at £105,702 over the past year, while rental demand is high, as the city is home to three universities as well as a growing number of young professionals.

Other top performing Liverpool postcodes are L6 in second place with a 10.57% average yield, L15 in third place with a 10.29% yield, L1 in 10th place with an 8.61% yield, and L3 in 11th place with an 8.47% yield.

Next on the list are Plymouth (PL4) – one of the few places outside the north of England to get a top spot – with 10.15% average yield, Cleveland (TS1) with 10.06%, Preston (PR1) with 10.04%, Dudley (DY5) with 9.57% and Nottingham(NG1) with 8.91%.

Manchester also makes a couple of appearances in the top 25, with M6 – which encompasses increasingly popular Salford – in 14th position with an average yield of 8.25%. The rental market in Manchester has been growing in strength in recent years, and its four universities provide ample opportunities for landlords who are willing to invest in student accommodation.

North-south divide

The north of England in general has outperformed the south in terms of buy-to-let yield, especially in areas such as London and the home counties.

Eight London postcodes appear in the bottom 25 list, although part of Bournemouth – BH13 covering Canford Cliffs and Sandbanks – is the worst performer in the country with an average rental yield of just 1.41%. The median asking price for properties here is a massive £1,456,539, while rents are £1,714 on average.

Second from the bottom, London’s N2 area of Finchley brings in yields of only 1.48% on average, while N6 (Highgate) takes fourth place with 1.76%, and NW11 (Golders Green) is in eighth place with 1.93%. While the capital can command some of the highest rents in the country, average yields are dampened by the fact that property prices in some areas are almost 13 times the national average.

Joe Gardiner, head of brand and communications at Totally Money, said: “Realising a decent return on a buy-to-let rental property is becoming increasingly difficult.Property prices continue to rise steadily, albeit more slowly, and rule changes have made lenders more cautious.

“Prospective landlords need to go into property investment armed with the facts: they need to be on top of their credit report, compare the market for the best buy-to-let mortgage rates and focus on property investment in areas that can give them the highest yield.”