The Government has launched its Plan for Change, including a reform of the planning system, which will speed up decisions for c.150 housebuilding and infrastructure projects. Starmer reiterated his pledge to build 1.5m homes in England.

The Institute of Directors (IoD)’s economic confidence index has fallen to (-65) - its fourth consecutive monthly decline.

The Investment Property Forum Consensus Survey reports the All-Property total return forecast for 2024 at +5.6%, increasing to +8.6% in 2025, with Retail Warehousing to be the best-performing sector between 2024-28 with a total return of +9.4% pa.

Tritax Big Box has sold Trafford Retail Park, Manchester to Knight Frank Investment Management (KFIM) for c.£37m, a yield of c.5.5%.

AustralianSuper is to build a UK student platform as it closes in on a £120m forward funding deal for a 450-bed scheme in Bristol.

PLATFORM_ and Invesco EMEA have sold a portfolio of five BTR assets to LRC Group for c.£120m – the first UK transaction involving a portfolio of modern, stabilised BTR assets.

Yoo Capital and Deutsche Finance International are seeking £1bn of funding for its Olympia scheme in London to refinance a £875m development loan from Goldman Sachs.

Quintain Living has completed a £128.7m refinancing of a BTR project at its Wembley Park scheme with a green loan from Natixis Investment Managers.

British Land is to expand Glasgow Fort retail park by a further 60,000 sq ft to include more retail and leisure.

Redevco is acquiring a portfolio of 16 retail parks for close to £520m from Oxford Properties Group and M7 Real Estate Ltd.

Mercedes-Benz AG has is to create a new solar paint that could be seamlessly applied to the bodywork of EVs. The wafer-thin paste could generate enough electricity to power a vehicle for more than 12,000km a year. The solar paint contains no rare earth materials or silicon.

Mark Charlton – Real Estate Research Consultant at Waypoint