The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development states that the tax rises set out in the recent Budget will act as “a headwind to the UK economy” until 2029, adding that the UK will have the highest inflation rates in the G7 this year and that unemployment would remain at a post-pandemic high of c.5% until 2027.

The British Retail Consortium says “Black Friday deals began earlier than normal as competition between retailers hit fever pitch”. Shop price inflation was 0.6% in November, below the 3-month average of 1.0%.

CoStar reports that development activity at its lowest level since 2014. The S&P Global UK Construction PMI fell from 44.1 in October to 39.4 in November indicating continued contraction.

Calastone reports that investors withdrew a net £3.02 bn from equity funds during November, the second-worst month on record. However, UK property fund withdrawals fell to £53m (£79m in October) as hopes of an interest rate cut slowed selling.

Cheyne Capital and Fusion Group have exchanged contracts to acquire Dockside Canada Water’s Plot B from Art-Invest Real Estate (guide price £400m). The acquisition will comprise 742 PBSA beds and 79 affordable homes.

GAIL's is to open 40 new sites in the year to February 2026. Oliver Bonas is opening three stores in December and plans a further 20 UK and Ireland openings in 2026.

M&G and an unnamed Asian pension fund are planning to invest £1bn in the UK BTR sector over the next three years.

Long Harbour Ltd is to forward fund the delivery of 369 single-family homes in Ditton, Kent, Great Dunmow, and Horsham as part of its £1.2bn investment in the sector.

Great British Energy aims to support at least 10,000 jobs over the next five years, with a focus on areas historically dependent on oil and gas, to counter concerns that the rate of clean energy job creation may struggle to match the number of roles being lost in fossil fuel sectors.

Mark Charlton – Real Estate Research Consultant at Waypoint