On behalf of the developer, we provide you with the latest images and information as of April 2019 from the construction site of Fabric Village in Liverpool, UK. Kindly click on the image below to access and flip through the update.
Flashback: Fabric Village
A New Stunning Development in Vibrant Liverpool for UK Property Investment
The Fabric Village is a new and stylish development comprising 449 studios (over 3 blocks) located in the heart of Liverpool’s city centre. Only a 9-minute walk away is the Lime Street Station, Liverpool’s main train station that provides access across the city. Close by is Liverpool One and St Johns Shopping Centre offering a great selection of leisure and retail outlets. Three major universities are within walking distance: The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is 7 mins away, while the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University is a 10 and 12-min walk respectively.
Project Highlights
Studios and 1-2 bedroom apartments
Amenities include private courtyard and rooftop space
UK Property Investment Highlights
Prime location within the Knowledge Quarter
10 mins walk to Lime Street Station
7-12 mins walk to 3 major universities
8 mins drive to the city centre
7% assured rental yield for 3 years
From £98,500
CSI Prop proudly promotes international investment property with high yields at low risk. Our portfolio comprises residential property in cities across the United Kingdom (London, Luton, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Glasgow, Scotland; Sheffield, etc); Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane) and Thailand (Bangkok). Our projects are concentrated in high-growth areas with great educational, infrastructural and job growth potentials. We aspire to make a difference in the lives of our clients by helping them achieve their investment goals through strong market research backed by third party experts.
Disclaimer: CSI Prop does not provide tax & legal advice and accepts no liability. Readers are encouraged to consult a qualified tax or legal advisor for a thorough review.
Need advice or clarification? Call us for more information and/or to find out about our projects / UK property investment opportunities! Hotline: 03-2162 2260 (MY); +65 3163 8343 (SG)
On behalf of the developer, we provide you with the latest images and information as of January 2019 from the One Wolstenholme Square construction site in Liverpool, UK. Kindly click on the image below to access and flip through the update.
FLASHBACK: The Epicentre of History & Culture
Imagine being at the centre of a quaint and cultural city bustling with life and steeped in history…Welcome to One Wolstenholme Square, the latest £40 million development in the most desirable postcode in Liverpool.
Located five minutes away from the city’s attractions and top university campuses, One Wolstenholme Square comprises a selection of studio and one-bedroom residential apartments with a panoramic view of the Liverpool skyline and the remarkable World Heritage Waterfront.
Liverpool is one largest economies in the UK, and home to half a million people, some of the UK’s top universities, football clubs (Liverpool FC & Everton FC), a staggering student population of over 53,000 and, of course, The Beatles!
CSI Prop proudly promotes international investment property with high yields at low risk. Our portfolio comprises residential property in cities across the United Kingdom (London, Luton, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Glasgow, Scotland; Sheffield, etc); Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane) and Thailand (Bangkok). Our projects are concentrated in high-growth areas with great educational, infrastructural and job growth potentials. We aspire to make a difference in the lives of our clients by helping them achieve their investment goals through strong market research backed by third party experts.
Disclaimer: CSI Prop does not provide tax & legal advice and accepts no liability. Readers are encouraged to consult a qualified tax or legal advisor for a thorough review.
Need advice or clarification? Call us for more information and/or to find out about our projects! Hotline: 03-2162 2260 (MY) 3163 8343 (SG)
UK rents are expected to increase by 15% over the next 5 years, according to research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The survey observed that smaller landlords were quitting the buy-to-let sector, affecting supply. “A reduced pipeline of supply will gradually feed through to higher rents,” RICS Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn said.
Meanwhile, the supply of rental property in the UK continues to fall. In 2017, buy-to-let properties were sold at a rate of only 3,800 a month, leading to the first drop in the number of homes available to rent in 18 years, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Housing.
In total, the number of privately rented homes in England fell by 46,000 last year — the largest reduction since 1988.
Buy-to-let properties decreased drastically last year. Source: Thisismoney.co.uk, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The drop is attributed to the UK Government’s recent tax measures which, among others, increased stamp duty and reduced landlord relief claims against mortgage interest. The stamp duty changes have made it more expensive to purchase a buy-to-let property, and tax relief is set to drop further yearly until the 2020-21 tax year.
These changes have made it less profitable for UK landlords, especially those on a mortgage, to rent out their properties. House prices have also grown faster than rents, prompting many landlords to exit the sector. Trade association UK Finance highlighted a 19% fall in new mortgages approved for buy-to-let homes in the UK.
Demand continues to rise, and rents are expected to spiral over the next few years. This points the way towards the purpose-built rental sector as a replacement for the traditional buy-to-let properties, which are often older houses on the outskirts of city centres, geared toward owner-occupiers.
Still, rental properties located in prime city centre locations remain attractive to young working professionals who are unable to purchase their own homes. These rental properties are set to rise in the face of dwindling buy-to-lets.
Developing cities in the UK regions like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool are growing quickly, and properties in the city centre offer access to business opportunities, employment, and entertainment demanded by a modern working lifestyle.
While interest rates remain low, investors looking towards the UK can thus take advantage of the shortage in supply for rental properties, investing in prime locations in developing cities where the demand is the highest.
Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham are the best places to invest in the UK. Click on the hyperlinks embedded into the cities if you want to learn more. If you are interested to explore investing in regional UK property for high returns, don’t hesitate to give us a call at +65 3163 8343 (Singapore), +603 2162 2260 (Malaysia), or email us at info@csiprop.com!
Global demand for serviced offices is growing rapidly
The United Kingdom is the world’s largest market for serviced offices. Growth of the sector is set not only to continue, but accelerate, with optimistic suggestions putting the sector’s value in the United Kingdom at £120 billion by 2025.
Today, more businesses than ever are seeking more flexible and dynamic workplaces.
The changing reality of modern business is placing serviced offices as an attractive option for a wide variety of companies. Serviced offices typically come furnished, providing its tenants with ready reception services and use of business facilities, allowing businesses to get started immediately without the hassle of setting these up.
This paradigm shift is not just limited to new start-ups or small firms, but also larger businesses looking to maintain a presence in distant markets or establish a project office – as serviced offices offer a ready package of services and contractual terms that cannot be matched by conventional commercial accommodation.
Traditionally, office space has been aimed at large corporates with a large footprint. In the United Kingdom back in the 90s, businesses generally only had the option of a 25-year lease to secure office space.
This has changed in recent years, with long lease structures becoming less common. The average lease length is now between three and five years.
The modern worker is mobile and can work away from a central office hub. Email and conference call facilities make a fixed centralised office less important. Office-based start-ups require more flexible contracts, while established businesses increasingly use satellite offices or temporary spaces to accommodate expansion.
According to software multinational company Citrix, which provides networking and cloud computing technologies across the globe, 91% of businesses worldwide are adopting mobile work styles.
It is unsurprising, then, that the growth of the serviced office sector in the United Kingdom has been so strong.
The United Kingdom is the world’s largest market for serviced offices – a British success story. Serviced offices in the United Kingdom account for around 36% of the world’s serviced offices, with more serviced office centres than in the Americas, and more than in the rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific combined.
Research firm Ramidus Consulting estimates that there are over 6,000 serviced offices operating in over 100 countries around the world. Just 50 cities account for 46% per cent of the total global market; of these 50, twelve are in the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom is at the forefront of the serviced office revolution (Source: Capital Economics)
Serviced offices have grown by over 30% in the United Kingdom since 2008. London is by far the largest and most mature market, with Manchester the second largest, followed closely by Birmingham.
Current estimates using a conventional office leasing business model estimate that the United Kingdom’s serviced office market is worth £16bn. However, a dedicated serviced office model based on workplace rental income, plus the additional charges from supplying a range of services typical to such offices, puts the sector at £19bn, close to 20% more.
“Growth of the sector is set not only to continue, but accelerate, with optimistic suggestions putting the sector’s value in the United Kingdom at £120 billion by 2025,” commented Melanie Leech, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation.
Investment management company JLL has predicted that by 2030, office space around the world will become 30% more flexible.
Economic research firm Capital Economics estimates that the United Kingdom serviced office sector could see its value rise from £19bn to £62bn by 2025. On more optimistic projections it could increase in size over fivefold and be worth over £120bn, an echo of Leech’s predictions.
These predictions are based on favourable trends and developments that are having a very positive impact on the sector, making it a compelling investment proposition.
While the serviced office market in the United Kingdom is more mature than other markets globally, it is still underdeveloped, with large untapped potential for further expansion. Following current trends, the growth in demand for serviced offices is set to continue and even accelerate over the coming decade.
The office market in Liverpool
The city of Liverpool is currently seeing its current stock of office space dwindling, with barely any new supply in the pipeline.
The city’s overall take-up for the combined commercial district and city fringe area increased by 25% in 2017, compared to the previous year. Available office space has decreased by 25% since 2016, and a whopping 53% since 2014.
The amount of total office stock in the commercial district has decreased by more than a million square feet since 2014, a 20% decrease. This highlights the continuing reduction of office stock, and the lack of new build activity in the Liverpool office market.
There is now no supply of prime Grade A office space within the Liverpool commercial district. In 2012, 8.6% of total available office space was in the Grade A sector. B* stock, which is comparative in quality to Grade A, and key to filling its void, has fallen by 40% since 2014.
62% of the currently available stock is in the poorer quality and unrefurbished Grade C and D categories.
Investments in Liverpool offices totalled £87 mil in 2017, which would have been higher but for the lack of suitable space.
Liverpool’s huge growth in demand for office space has created lucrative opportunities for investors. In 2016, London-based real estate company GKRE reported a 76% rental growth rate for serviced offices in the city.
New serviced offices in the city are positioned to take advantage of this rapid growth in demand, and the correspondingly high rental yields.
Centric Serviced Offices, located right in the heart of the CBD, is a prime example. Its location opposite the Moorfield train station makes it extremely accessible, which will be of importance to any business tenant. It is professionally-managed, and is expected to offer investors good rental returns.
As one of the major cities of the Northern Powerhouse, Liverpool is set to grow in the next couple of years as billions of pounds are ploughed into the city. Already we can see massive redevelopment projects gearing up to push the city into a major economic powerhouse in the North.
The savvy investor will note Liverpool as a vastly untapped market in the office sector, with a huge potential for rapid growth over the next couple of years.
Do you think serviced offices are the workplace of the future? Drop us a comment below. If you’re interested to tap into the attractive potential that the Liverpool office market has to offer, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 03-2162 2260, or email us at info@csiprop.com.
Article by Ian Choong
Sources:
Serviced offices: A new asset class, Capital Economics
Commercial Office Market Review 2017, Liverpool BID
Workplace of the Future: a global market research report, Citrix
Grade A space is defined as office space that was completed since 1st January 2013, Grade B space completed before 1st January 2013 or other accommodation recently refurbished or due to be refurbished, Grade C as unrefurbished but ready for occupation. Grade D is office space which could not be occupied without substantial refurbishment and where no plans exist for such refurbishment
A new survey on the UK’s 24 leading urban economies saw Liverpool rated as one of the top four hotspots in the UK for economic growth potential.
Liverpool’s economic growth rate, coupled with investments into the city’s development and infrastructure, is poised to create more jobs, further driving demand for housing and cementing its reputation as one the best-performing property investment locations for landlords.
The results of a survey on the UK’s 24 leading urban economies saw Liverpool rated as one of the top four hotspots in the UK for economic growth potential.
The study was executed by a global design and infrastructure consultancy known as Arcadis. To achieve the rankings, six key features of a prospering city were calculated and compared: workforce and skills, infrastructure, business environment, place, city brand and housing. Liverpool was ranked within the top four economic hotspots together with Edinburgh, Oxford, and Cambridge.
The report was welcomed by both City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and managing director of the Liverpool City Region LEP, Mark Basnett. Mr Rotheram said: “This is an encouraging report but, in a sense, it tells what we already know. External validation is always useful and helps to signal to UK and international investors the huge opportunities that exist within the city and wider city region. Devolution gives us a huge opportunity to realise that potential by prioritising the areas identified in this report.”
The report revealed that Liverpool’s strengths were its brand, infrastructure, positive business environment and quality and affordability of housing supply — the latter has earned Liverpool a considerable number of titles as one of the UK’s best buy-to-let areas.
Not the First Time
A look at Liverpool’s economic history reveals that its position at the top of a list on economic growth is not some newfangled occurrence. In 2015, figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), revealed that Merseyside, a metropolitan county that comprises Liverpool among other cities, experienced an economic growth rate faster than London, Manchester and any other major British city. Just last year, Liverpool was voted as ‘The UK’s Buy-To-Let Hotspot’ for property investment returns and capital growth. With this positive trend extending into 2018 along with major regeneration schemes, Liverpool and economic growth are set to be well-acquainted in the years to come.
Liverpool’s strengths were its brand, infrastructure, positive business environment and quality and affordability of housing supply.
Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter: Catalyst of Economic & Student Population Growth
What will further catapult Liverpool’s economic progress is the Knowledge Quarter, a £2bn vision to establish the city as one of the world’s leading districts for science, technology, innovation and education.
For this goal to be actualized, it is crucial for well-resourced and world-leading universities to take the lead due to their resources and conducive environment. What is usually forgotten is that labs and classrooms are the birthplace of pretty much all the latest technology. AI and deep learning, automation and predictive analytics have all, in some form, started in an educational institution and not a traditional software development environment. The Knowledge Quarter is a perfect example of the UK’s progress towards this major goal, marking its transition into the next digital revolution and cementing Liverpool’s position as one of UK’s core cities taking part in it.
With several universities already residing in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, a growing student population is bound to follow — Liverpool is home to a whopping 67,000 students!
Worth noting is the rising demand for proper accommodation in the undersupplied student property market. Found below are figures that illustrate the dire shortage of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in Liverpool as of late 2017:
Student Population: 67,000 Amount of Housing Available Through University: 4,500 Amount of Total Student Housing Available: 17,857 Potential Yields: Approx.8% per annum
This shortage, a burgeoning student population and the relevance of the Knowledge Quarter as a one-stop education and technology centre, make PBSA in Liverpool the ideal investment.
Opportunities for investment are also found in the residential property sector as high house rental values have given Liverpool’s city centre some of the highest rental yields in the UK. According to latest research, Liverpool and Nottingham were the best performing property investment locations for landlords with average nett rental yields of 6.2%, no doubt greatly credited to the education sector. With Paddington Village, a massive regeneration scheme within the Knowledge Quarter, poised to create up to 10,000 jobs and fuel demand for housing, we see this trend continuing into the future.
With Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter and education centres in mind, it would be a good idea to dip your toes into the pool of Liverpool’s looming success as soon as possible!
Feel free to contact the team at CSI Prop for more information about how to get involved with Natex and how to build an impressive property portfolio.
— CSI Prop proudly promotes international investment property with high yields at low risk. Our portfolio comprises residential and purpose-built student property in cities across the United Kingdom (London, Luton, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Glasgow, Scotland; Sheffield, etc); Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane) and Thailand (Bangkok). Our projects are concentrated in high-growth areas with great educational, infrastructural and job growth potentials. We aspire to make a difference in the lives of our clients by helping them achieve their investment goals through strong market research backed by third party experts.
Disclaimer: CSI Prop does not provide tax & legal advice and accepts no liability. Readers are encouraged to consult a qualified tax or legal advisor for a thorough review.
Need advice or clarification? Call us for more information and/or to find out about our projects! Hotline: 03-2162 2260
The latest census on UK property price growth has been released by HM Land Registry and Office for National Statistics (ONS), showing tht UK regional cities top property price growth in the country.
It also shows a promising annual growth rate of 5.2% recorded in the month of December, 2017 — a 0.2% increase from the previous month. The average house price in the UK stood at £226,756 in December, approximately £12,000 higher than in December, 2016 and £1,000 higher than last month.
Regionally, the Southwest, which includes the cities of Bristol, Plymouth and Salisbury, earned the best track record, with the highest annual growth rate of 7.5% approaching the month of December.
The Southwest is followed by the West Midlands, which includes the city of Birmingham, with an annual growth of 6.3%. Meanwhile, the East Midlands also recorded similar property price growth levels.
London experienced the lowest annual property price growth, at 2.5% — on the bright side, those looking to purchase homes in London for possible stay can enjoy affordable prices while they last.
Rising rates in the South West, East Midland and West Midland show positive outlooks for areas outside London (Img source: http://bit.ly/2C045Ql)
James Cameron, director of estate agency Vesper Homes, said landlords are selling up in London and looking for buy-to-let opportunities elsewhere, which is benefiting first-time buyers in the capital.
“Landlords are therefore selling up so they can invest outside of London or trade up to a larger property which frees up the smaller ones for first-time buyers,” he said.
Property price growth: what this means for investors
What can be derived from recent trends seen in areas outside England’s capital is that the regional market holds the greatest appeal to the savvy investor.
Savills identifies Birmingham, Manchester and the overall Northwest as the top places for buy-to-let investors, with the highest comparative returns. They predict a 4.5% average annual return for Birmingham and Manchester, and 4.1% for the Northwest. Mortgage brokers Private Finance place Liverpool at the top for nett rental yields in 2017 once mortgage costs are taken into account, at a whopping 8%.
Price change by local authority for the year till November 2017 (Source: Gov.uk)
While house prices in London remain the highest, the affordability and potential of regions outside London make investing in property outside the capital so much more attractive.
Addressing the elephant in the room
While Brexit continues to amass uncertainty within the property market, the house price growth indicates resilience in the housing market supported by the undersupply of housing in the UK.
Recent news regarding property in London illustrates the housing crisis. Micro-flats, housing units that can take up as little as 31 square meters in total, show the extent to which the UK must reach to meet the demands of a growing population.
Just this month, the Mayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill, voiced her concern after the council learned it might have to double the amount of houses it must build as part of the latest attempt by the Government to tackle the nationwide housing crisis.
In Birmingham, last month, a plot of land previously caught in a “store-wars” battle between a shopping centre owner and supermarket giant Sainsbury, has finally been claimed by Seven Capital, a property investment company in the UK. The plot of land, between Sutton road and Orphanage road, is being converted into new apartments, undoubtedly a consequence of critical undersupply of houses currently affecting the city.
Late last year, it was reported that the dire undersupply of houses in Brighton and Hove would scarcely be supported by the Prime Minister of England’s solution to deliver 5,000 houses a year throughout the UK, which would bring only around a dozen new houses to the previously mentioned areas. This leaves room for private developers to establish themselves where demand is exceptionally high.
The housing market in the UK is still growing and you can be a part of it – should the positive outlook on the property market in the UK pique your interest, do contact us to get involved.
Article by Nimue Wafiya
—
CSI Prop proudly promotes international investment property with high yields at low risk. Our portfolio comprises residential property in cities across the United Kingdom (London, Luton, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Glasgow, Scotland; Sheffield, etc) and Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane). Our projects are concentrated in high-growth areas with great educational, infrastructural and job growth potentials. We aspire to make a difference in the lives of our clients by helping them achieve their investment goals through strong market research backed by third party experts.
Disclaimer: CSI Prop does not provide tax & legal advice and accepts no liability. Readers are encouraged to consult a qualified tax or legal advisor for a thorough review.
Need advice or clarification? Call us for more information and/or to find out about our projects! Hotline: 03-2162 2260
The recent Autumn Budget clearly demonstrates the importance that the UK Government has placed in the Northern Powerhouse as the country’s emerging economic juggernaut. Allocations have been made into the transport and digital tech sectors, giving the northern economy a huge boost in jobs creation and population. Read on to find out why investments into the Northern Powerhouse makes sense.
The UK Government continues its momentum of rebalancing the country’s development focus, reducing its concentration in London and pushing it up towards the North. The importance of investing in the Northern Powerhouse to drive economic growth, has been recognised in the Chancellor’s recent Autumn Budget, with increased funding announced for infrastructure across the North.
The Northern Powerhouse, an initiative by David Cameron’s government, was established to boost economic growth in the North of England, particularly in what is termed as the “Core Cities”, namely Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull and Newcastle. Its aim is to reposition the British economy, shifting the traditional focus from London and the South East, to the North.
In the Budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond promised a £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund to improve transport links between suburbs and cities outside of London. Half this amount will go to the six combined authorities with elected metro mayors, including £243m for Greater Manchester and £134m for the Liverpool City Region. The other half will go to the other cities by way of bidding.
The fund is designed to address weaknesses in city transport systems in order to spread prosperity by improving connectivity, reducing congestion and introducing new mobility services and technology. In practice, it will mean spending on improving buses, trams, cycle lanes and other initiatives in the regions.
In the Budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond promised a £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund to improve transport links between suburbs and cities outside of London. Half this amount will go to the six combined authorities with elected metro mayors, including £243m for Greater Manchester and £134m for the Liverpool City Region. Image credit: HM Government
Transport links are important to drive the regional economy, allowing growing businesses to tap into the local workforce. As the economy develops and cities expand, demand for housing will grow with the population increase it brings. This makes property a favourable investment to make, especially in the light of the severe shortage of housing in the UK.
Additionally, the fund will allow links between the new High Speed 2 (HS2) stations and local transport networks, complementing its development in improving movement throughout the regions. The HS2 is a planned high-speed railway in the United Kingdom which is poised to be the new backbone of the national rail network, linking London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester.
A sum of £300m will go towards ensuring that the HS2’s infrastructure can accommodate future Northern Powerhouse Rail and Midlands Connect services. This would enable faster services between the Northern cities of Liverpool and Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and York, as well as towards the East Midlands and London.
Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport said: “Investment in transport is crucial to a strong and resilient economy. The Transforming Cities Fund will drive productivity and growth in cities where this is most needed, connecting communities and making it quicker and easier for people to get around.
“We have already seen the impact of better integrated transport links for both passengers and the local economy in cities like Nottingham and Manchester. This new fund will enable more English cities to reap these benefits, helping to deliver the opportunities and ambition of the Industrial Strategy across the country, as well as driving forward the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine.”
The Industrial Strategy is Prime Minister Theresa May’s road-map for boosting productivity growth and encouraging investment in the UK, to help deliver a “stronger economy and a fairer society”. On the other hand, the Midlands Engine is the initiative to drive economic growth in the Midlands regions, in cities like Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Nottingham — the Midlands’ equivalent to the Northern Powerhouse.
The Chancellor also announced additional funding for development projects in the North, targeted towards the business, technology, research and development sectors, building upon work done previously.
The Tech City scheme will be expanded nationwide, and is set to receive £21m in funding over the next four years. Tech City was started in London in 2011 to accelerate the growth of the UK digital tech sector, through a series of programmes, research and events.
Since its launch, the scheme has helped the digital tech start-up and scale-up sectors become the UK’s fastest growing industry. The UK tech sector had a turnover of £170 billion in 2015, an increase of 22% in five years. More than 1.7 million people now work in the digital tech sector and jobs are being created at twice the rate of other sectors in the economy, 85,000 of which were created from the past year alone!
The digital tech sector is one of the UK’s economic success stories, growing twice as fast as the wider economy and creating highly skilled workers and well-paid jobs. Image credit: www.techcityuk.com
In line with its new focus, this scheme is renamed to Tech Nation, and aims to bring jobs, skills and higher productivity to the regions. Leeds and Sheffield will become home to a Tech Hub, which will support businesses and enable skills in the area to thrive and prosper.
Hammond said, “A new tech business is founded in Britain every hour. And I want that to be every half hour.”
The Chancellor also extended the National Productivity Investment Fund for a further year, expanding it to more than £31bn. The fund was a £23bn fiscal stimulus introduced by Hammond in 2016, to tackle the UK’s poor productivity and lower growth forecasts resulting from Brexit.
A further £2.3bn is being allocated for investment in research and development, while £500m of investment will go into a range of technological initiatives ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to 5G and full fibre broadband.
Lee Dentith, CEO and founder of the Now HealthCare Group, added: “This is a good start and will work towards ensuring the UK stays at the forefront of technological innovation. AI is vital in transforming the health of our nation and R&D investment from PhD student level onwards will help us and other digital health businesses develop pioneering solutions to tackle health problems.”
In furthering devolution for the regions, the Chancellor also announced a new deal for the North of Tyne region, a new combined authority comprising the Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside councils. Devolution is about giving more governmental powers to the local authorities for regional self-government. A mayor will be elected for the combined authority of North of Tyne and he or she will be able to exercise these devolved powers. The North of Tyne will elect their mayor in May 2019.
The focus of this devolution deal is to create “more and better” jobs in the Northeast. Initial analysis finding 10,000 jobs could be created, 25% of which would be south of the Tyne. £337m will go towards the Tyne & Wear Metro, which is vital funding for it to replace its ageing trains.
In the aftermath of Brexit, the UK is mobilizing its economy in a massive push towards economic development, with emphasis on building the regions. For investors this will mean a strong outlook for the property market in the UK outside of London, and new regional property developments are particularly attractive investments.
By Ian Choong
—
CSI Prop proudly promotes international investment property with high yields at low risk. Our portfolio comprises residential property in cities across the United Kingdom (London, Luton, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Glasgow, Scotland; Sheffield, etc); Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane) and Thailand (Bangkok). Our projects are concentrated in high-growth areas with great educational, infrastructural and job growth potentials. We aspire to make a difference in the lives of our clients by helping them achieve their investment goals through strong market research backed by third party experts.
Disclaimer: CSI Prop does not provide tax & legal advice and accepts no liability. Readers are encouraged to consult a qualified tax or legal advisor for a thorough review.
Need advice or clarification? Call us for more information and/or to find out about our projects! Hotline: 03-2162 2260
The Landlord Licensing scheme has recently taken effect in several cities and boroughs in the United Kingdom.
The scheme, which is also known as selective licensing, sets out to ensure that landlords are “fit or proper persons”, and that the buildings being let out are fit for occupation. If someone cannot meet the ‘fit and proper’ landlord criteria the scheme sets out, they will be refused a licence.
Despite having been introduced in certain areas recently, it is not new, and was provided for by the UK Housing Act 2004. Nonetheless, enforcement of Landlord Licensing is still in its infancy. Several city councils, for example, Bradford, Luton, Stoke & York have yet to implement the scheme (as at time of publication), whilst Liverpool and Manchester enforced the scheme in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Selective licensing really is an attempt to improve the rental market by raising standards and helping to identify non-compliant landlords and management agents who do not invest in their properties or manage them properly.
Areas are designated for selective licensing upon the discretion of the local council. Often a scheme will only cover certain wards or areas of a city, and under new rules only 20% of a council’s area can be selectively licensed without a special application being made.
A scheme lasts for five years and can be renewed if the local council deems it necessary.
Right now Liverpool is running the scheme citywide, while Manchester has introduced licensing in only some parts of the Crumpsall, Moss Side and Rusholme areas.
Landlords in London can use the London Property Licensing website to find out whether they are in an area covered by a scheme, but there is no countrywide list of schemes. Checking with the local council is the safest strategy.
Where selective licensing applies, then normally all houses within the private rented sector for that area must be licensed, except where they require to be licensed as HMOs (houses in multiple occupation). Licensable HMO properties are properties with three or more storeys, and are occupied by five or more tenants not from a single household. Non-licensable HMOs must be licensed under selective licensing.
Some properties are exempt from selective licensing. These include:
Holiday lets
Business premises
Student premises where the university is the landlord/manager
Premises where the tenant is a family member
Each local council sets their own licence fees and discounts, and the licences last until the end of the 5-year period. In Manchester the licence costs £650, with each additional licence costing £550. Liverpool charges a fee of £400 for the first, with each subsequent licence costing £350.
In Liverpool, properties managed by professional managers who are members of one of the council’s approved co-regulation organisations (e.g. the Association of Residential Lettings) are entitled to a 50% discounted fee. This means that investors of property developments like Queensland Place and Parliament Place need only pay £200 for the licence.
If the property consists of en-suite units in a cluster sharing a common living area, only a single licence is required for the whole cluster. Student accommodation is a good example of this. This means that cost of one licence can be divided amongst the individual units, greatly reducing the price of licensing.
This is good news for investors in student accommodation. The more units one cluster has, the greater the division, and the lower the cost of licensing. However, studio apartments with no common living area will require a single licence for each individual apartment.
The local councils are taking this very seriously. In October last year, a landlord in Liverpool was fined £1,500 due to his failure to obtain a licence.
“The punishments can be very high,” says Richard Tacagni, founder and managing director of property consultancy London Property Licensing. “Landlords can be forced to pay 12 months’ rent back to a tenant, or could be told that they are unable to rent out a property in future.”
Article by Ian Choong
CSI Prop proudly promotes international investment property with high yields at low risk. Our portfolio comprises residential property in cities across the United Kingdom (London, Luton, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Glasgow, Scotland; Sheffield, etc); Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane) and Thailand (Bangkok). Our projects are concentrated in high-growth areas with great educational, infrastructural and job growth potentials. We aspire to make a difference in the lives of our clients by helping them achieve their investment goals through strong market research backed by third party experts.
Disclaimer: CSI Prop does not provide tax & legal advice and accepts no liability. Readers are encouraged to consult a qualified tax or legal advisor for a thorough review.
Need advice or clarification? Call us for more information and/or to find out about our projects! Hotline: 03-2162 2260
Not all about London anymore. The London housing market is struggling with prices falling for the first time in 8 years. At a record drop of 0.6% in September this year, London is the weakest performing region in the UK for the first time since 2005. Image credit: http://bit.ly/2gcAlkU
Increasingly, statistics reveal that growth is expanding outside London. The focus — be it for housing, jobs, resources, or investment — has moved to buzzing regional cities where business is booming on the back of lower costs and a higher quality of living.
The London housing market is struggling. Nationwide reports that London house prices have fallen for the first time in 8 years, and, at a record drop of 0.6% in September this year, London is the weakest performing region in the UK for the first time since 2005.
Outside London and across the UK, however — despite Brexit and concerns about the economy — prices are still rising, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. And yet, while London’s house prices may have dropped, they remain unapproachable compared to the cities beyond.
To date, house prices charting the most significant increases in England and Wales are the Midlands* and Northwestern cities of Manchester and Liverpool, as well as in some pockets off central London like Luton and Guildford, and Northern Ireland.
A chart published recently in the Financial Times shows house prices falling in London and the South East but growing elsewhere. Image credit: Financial Times; source: RICS
Greener Investment Pastures Beyond London
Years of rapid price increases have made London and the south unaffordable to many buyers, prompting them to buy further away and commute. After all, it takes less than an hour to travel from Bedford or Luton to central London by train, while cities like Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool have a buzzing business scene.
The signs have been there for a while now, says Virata Thaivasigamony of CSI Prop, an active property investment consultancy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that promotes investments in UK and Australian property.
“The writing has been on the wall for some time and we’ve said that prices in London will flatline this year. London has always been regarded as the business capital and startup central of the UK, but the fact is that businesses and investments are moving outside of London and into the regional cities. It would be remiss of us to ignore that the best places to invest in are now in those cities,” he elaborates.
What’s Trending
Manchester, popularly assumed as UK’s second city and the Silicon Valley of Britain, is fast earning a reputation as the hotbed of tech and startup talent in the UK, thus pushing property prices up. The city is also a recipient of billions in investment dollars, thanks, in part, to the government’s push for the Northern Powerhouse, propelling the rise in investment returns across central and Greater Manchester, including Salford as well as other Northern Powerhouse core cities like Liverpool.
Prices of property have been rising in Northwestern cities such as Manchester, as more corporations move from London to this city to set up headquarters and make use of its resources and talent pool. Image credit: http://bit.ly/2hEX3Um
Corporations are decentralising from London to the regional cities, too. BBC, ITV and HSBC come to mind, having set up home in Greater Manchester; airlines such as Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific have since 2014 provided direct flights between Manchester and Hong Kong, while China’s Hainan Airlines launched a direct flight service in 2016, making Manchester Airport the only British hub outside London to have non-stop flights to Beijing.
Meanwhile, Berkeley, one of Britain’s best-known luxury housebuilders has broken out of London to build a business in Birmingham to cater to housing demand in the city.
Javad Marandi, a British businessman with investments in commercial and residential real estate says, “Regional markets including the North East, the South West and Yorkshire and Humber have shown growth in commercial property activity, a sure sign of a growing business environment with an increasingly positive outlook, making them one of the best regions to invest in. Building a workforce, free of soaring London living costs, will in turn be cheaper to employ – and no doubt happier with the favourable cost of living outside the capital.”
That Britain is plagued by a serious undersupply in housing is an understatement. Opportunities in these cities have expanded the population, further underscoring the acute demand and need for housing. From a property investment standpoint, this is a good thing.
Meanwhile, a number of university cities are showing a spike in house prices. Towns that are home to a large student population such as Guildford and Liverpool, are seeing a surge in prices. The biggest 3-year percentage house price rise was near the University of Bedfordshire, which has its main campus in Luton, charting a 42% increase in prices over the period of an undergraduate degree.
“The best regions to invest in lie outside the capital – it’s no longer all about London,” Marandi concludes.
Statistics by RICS indicate that house prices are set to rise across England next year except for London. Image credit: Financial Times; source: RICS
Growth Outside London
The UK is still seen as a good and safe place to invest your money due to a weakened pound, and, in spite of uncertainties arising from Brexit.
House prices will continue to rise as demand increases and Britain grapples with a chronic housing undersupply, but it appears — for now — that the best investment opportunities lie in regional cities like Manchester and Liverpool, and the outer boroughs of London.
That said, it is crucial to note that London is a market within a market, with characteristics of its own, and that it will bounce back — just as the housing market in the Midlands* bounced back from a low in 2015 to become one of Britain’s fast-growing housing markets today. On a positive note, it is during these low-market times that savvy investors invest in order to reap the most luscious of fruits when the market bounces back.
Article by Vivienne Pal
— CSI Prop proudly promotes international investment property with high yields at low risk. Our portfolio comprises residential property in cities across the United Kingdom (London, Luton, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Glasgow, Scotland; Sheffield, etc); Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane) and Thailand (Bangkok). Our projects are concentrated in high-growth areas with great educational, infrastructural and job growth potentials. We aspire to make a difference in the lives of our clients by helping them achieve their investment goals through strong market research backed by third party experts.
Disclaimer: CSI Prop does not provide tax & legal advice and accepts no liability. Readers are encouraged to consult a qualified tax or legal advisor for a thorough review.
Need advice or clarification? Call us for more information and/or to find out about our projects! Hotline: 03-2162 2260
Liverpool’s Knowlegdge Quarter: here’s a partial location map to provide perspective to the project. Image credit: http://bit.ly/2y9YbGi
Liverpool is on the cusp of becoming a world-class destination for science, innovation, education, technology and the creative and performing arts. The city’s £2bn vision to establish Liverpool’s 450-acre Knowledge Quarter as one of the world’s leading innovation districts, will further reinforce its status as one of the best student cities in the world.
The Knowledge Quarter is one of five mayoral development zones in Liverpool. It spans a huge area mostly to the east of the city centre behind Lime Street Station, encompassing the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Sensor City, and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
The Knowledge Quarter in Liverpool is around 450 acres and Paddington and KQ Gateway are each around 30 acres. Image credit: http://bit.ly/2ylVlPm
Within the Knowledge Quarter are two major development sites: the £1bn Paddington Village and Knowledge Quarter Gateway. Another key development is the Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) railway station, connected to the city’s underground network.
The RCP is one of the world’s most renowned medical institutions and the Liverpool project, its first centre of excellence outside London, will create 100 jobs. Completion is targeted at 2019.
Also committed to the site are Liverpool International College and The Rutherford Cancer Centre. The RCP and Liverpool International College are the anchor tenants of the site.
Work has already begun at the new Royal Liverpool Hospital, which is perhaps the biggest project in the Knowledge Quarter. Here is Aidan Kehoe, chief executive, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, on the site of the new Royal. Image credit: http://bit.ly/2xe8Bp1
KQ Gateway
KQ Gateway sits at the other end of the Knowledge Quarter, between Mount Pleasant, the old Lewis’s store, Copperas Hill and Lime Street Station. The area, with the support of the mayor of Liverpool and collaboration with other parties, will be transformed into a vibrant space – new shops, offices, galleries, bars, restaurants, gyms and university space.
Only 2 hours from London by train, KQ Gateway will offer a new commercial space for tech and digital businesses, alongside futuristic educational space. Regeneration of KQ Gateway is already underway — the Ion scheme on Lime Street and the Liverpool John Moores University’s demolition of the former sorting office on Copperas Hill, to name a few.
Work Underway
The new Sensor City in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter is cladded with stunning gold circuit boards, marking a £15m high-tech hub that could create 1,000 jobs and help make Liverpool a global technology leader. Image credit: http://bit.ly/2yawoWk
The biggest project so far in the Knowledge Quarter is the massive new Royal Liverpool Hospital.
But several other projects are already well under way, including the £15m Sensor City scheme and the Materials Innovation Factory where Unilever and the University of Liverpool are working together to create innovative products and materials.
Existing schemes in the Knowledge Quarter include Liverpool Science Park, whose three buildings are already 90% full.
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said: “With £1bn of investment already underway and a potential further £1bn at Paddington Village alone, these are really exciting times for Liverpool and the wider city region’s knowledge economy.
Mayor Anderson agrees: “KQ Gateway not only presents an opportunity for significant future investment and regeneration but will ultimately create more highly skilled jobs in Liverpool and strengthen the city’s position as a world-leading innovation district. By attracting investment and creating jobs, I believe that we can improve people’s lives.
“Ordinary cities lead to ordinary lives but Liverpool is no ordinary city – we are exceptional and exceptional cities foster exceptional lives”.
What’s clear at the end of the day is that the Knowledge Quarter scheme could bring THOUSANDS of new jobs to the city in addition to increasing demand for housing.
Knowledge Quarter chief executive Colin Sinclair said: “We’re not just banding big figures around. What we’re trying to say is this is a landmark, a historic moment in the future of Liverpool .
“And there’s a really bright future for Liverpool. When that kind of investment is being made you can really say to any investor from around the globe, America, India, China, that Liverpool is a city of opportunity.
“It’s a step change. We’re not dabbling around the edges here. We’re trying to create something that is lasting for the city.”
—- CSI Prop proudly promotes international investment property with high yields at low risk. Our portfolio comprises residential property in cities across the United Kingdom (London, Luton, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Glasgow, Scotland; Sheffield, etc); Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane) and Thailand (Bangkok). Our projects are concentrated in high-growth areas with great educational, infrastructural and job growth potentials. We aspire to make a difference in the lives of our clients by helping them achieve their investment goals through strong market research backed by third party experts.
Disclaimer: CSI Prop does not provide tax & legal advice and accepts no liability. Readers are encouraged to consult a qualified tax or legal advisor for a thorough review.
Need advice or clarification? Call us for more information and/or to find out about our projects! Hotline: 03-2162 2260
