Bank of England has kept interest rates at 5.25% for the fourth meeting in a row. No timetable for rate cuts was announced.

British Retail Consortium reports that shop price inflation dropped 2.9% in January, down from 4.3% in December, its lowest level since May 2022. Food inflation also saw its lowest rate since June 2022 at 6.1%.

Office for National Statistics reports that the number of company insolvencies has soared to its highest level since 1993 (>25,000). As a proportion of registered companies, the rate is 53.7 per 10,000 firms, compared to a peak of 94.8 in the 2008 global financial crisis.

Frogmore is selling the 320,000 sq ft Stratford shopping centre for a guide price of c. £105m. Frogmore bought the centre from Blackstone and Catalyst Capital for £140m in 2017.

Savills reports £4.5bn investment into the BTR sector in 2023, the second highest year on record (2022 / £4.6bn). Single Family Housing, saw £1.9bn worth of investment, up from £360m in 2022, representing 42% of total BTR investment.

Cebr revealed that ditching tax-free shopping for tourists is costing the UK £11.1bn and deterring around 2m foreign visitors per year..

Morrisons has sold 337 of its petrol forecourts to Motor Fuel Group in a £2.5bn deal, as it takes around a 20% stake in Motor Fuel Group.

New PBSA schemes totalling c.1,250 beds have been announced in Liverpool (McLaren Property), Bristol (Cubex) and Brighton (Downing).

Urban Visions’ plans for The Hundred, a 33-storey, 294-home BTR development on Broad Street, Birmingham, have received planning permission.

Legal & General and Miller Homes Ltd have signed a partnership to deliver 260 single family rental homes in Northamptonshire.


Mark Charlton – Real Estate Research Consultant at Waypoint