Developer Marlin Apartments has awarded McAleer & Rushe a £28m contract design and build construct for a hotel-led mixed-use development in London.

The firm will demolish Costain’s 1950s former headquarters  at 111 Westminster Bridge Road in Waterloo to make way for the 150,000 sq ft scheme.

The portland stone and brick-clad building will consist of 218-room apart-hotel, six office suites, a restaurant and shops.

Adjoining the Grade II listed Necropolis building at 121 Westminster Bridge Road, the hotel rises from seven stories at the front to 10 at the rear.

McAleer & Rushe construction managing director, Martin Magee said: “We are very much looking forward to working in further partnerships with Marlin Apartments on other future projects in both London and Dublin.”

The draft legislation has now been published

• Under the proposals:
  • non-resident UK property investors will be charged on the gain made from the sale of their property
  • it is on the gain from 6 April 2015
  • the rate will be between 18% and 28%, the same rate as UK resident individuals
  • will also be levied on off-plan properties
  • applies to individuals, trustees, estates and close companies. It does not apply to non-resident institutional investors selling shares or units in a collective investment scheme provided they are “diversely held” and not a vehicle set up to avoid the tax liability. This will be subject to certain tests
• Using the tax bandings currently in place for individuals, those with a taxable income under around £32,000 will be liable for the 18% charge and any additional gain will be at 28%. An annual exception (which is currently £11,000) may also apply
• Non-resident companies will be taxed at 20%, the same rate as UK companies. They will also benefit from certain allowances
• Principal Private Residence allowance may be available if you have resided in the property for at least 90 nights in that year
• Obtaining a valuation prior to 6 April 2015 should be considered
• It is recommended that you seek advice from a UK tax specialist

Please note that this is a brief summary of the draft legislation. It is recommended that you seek appropriate professional advice. You should not, in any way, rely on the above summary.

Developer Galliard Homes has submitted plans for a new high-rise urban village at South Quay in London Docklands.

Two London architectural practices, Studio Egret West and Hawkins Brown, have designed the six-tower Millharbour Village project, which is expected to take 5 years to build.

The buildings will be grouped in two clusters around two new parks, with the tallest rising to 45 storeys. In total the ambitious scheme will see around 1.7m sq ft developed across two plots at Millharbour West and Millharbour East.

Galliard said the project would make a significant contribution towards the Capital’s housing needs including affordable housing and will complete the transformation of South Quay.

Millharbour Village is one of the last pieces of the jigsaw left over from the 1980′s regeneration of Docklands.

As part of the Autumn budget, the way that stamp duty is calculated on residential property transactions has changed- effective from the end of the day.

The result of the new rules is that:

– homes purchases over £1.25m and £937,500- £1.0m will pay more stamp duty

– other homes will pay less stamp duty (or the same)

– the impact of the stamp duty thresholds will be significantly reduced as stamp duty will now be calculated on a marginal basis rather than applying a single rate on the entire property price.

For those properties where the purchase has already exchanged by the end of 3 December 2014 but have not yet completed, the buyer will have the opportunity to pick between the old and the new rates. It would appear that this will apply to off plan purchases where exchange of contracts has already taken place- it is unclear what will happen where the contract is assigned at a later date.

This is the link to the HM Treasury fact sheet: Fact Sheet

Please click here to access the Chesterton’s monthly review: Nov 2014 Review

Highlights:

• Latest Land Registry data show annual house prices accelerating both in London and nationally
• 19 out of 33 London boroughs are experiencing annual price growth in excess of 20%
• London rents still rising – now 9.4% higher than a year ago
• Residential sales increase in October

Gt Scot Yard

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A consortium of investors is understood to be in talks to buy the stalled Pinnacle tower development.

French fund manager Axa is leading a consortium of other overseas investors that hope to buy the 22-24 Bishopsgate site in the city, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

Pinnacle developer Arab Investment and Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund Sedco have been looking for a buyer after funding dried up on the landmark London project.

The 63-storey tower, nicknamed the helter-skelter because of its complex twisting profile, would be the tallest building in the Square Mile.

Brookfield Multiplex started the project in 2010 but funding dried up just after Byrne Brothers started pouring the building core back in 2011. The seven-storey core has since been nicknamed the Stump.

Several attempts to refinance the project failed and architects have been commissioned to draw up a less costly tower design for the site, but property agent CBRE was also called in to find a buyer for the site last year.

Mace will start work in January on the next major tower project at London’s £3bn Elephant & Castle regeneration scheme.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, with developers Mace and Canadian residential operators Realstar, has confirmed work is to begin on the 457-home Newington Butts project.

The site is owned by the Greater London Authority and will become one of the largest long-term rental developments in the capital when finished in 2018.

Homes in the 44-storey tower, designed by Rogers Stirk and Harbour, will be available on long leases and will mirror similar style longer-term rental apartments in large cities in the US.

The tower will also include a new theatre space for the Southwark Playhouse and a café as well as retail and marketing space.

The Newington Butts site was among 670 hectares of surplus public land taken on by the Mayor in 2012, more than 85% of which has now been moved into the development pipeline.

The new development will include 179 low cost homes for rent and shared ownership, being delivered by social housing provider Peabody.

The project bears a strong resemblance to the One the Elephant housing block being built by lend Lease.

In September, the Mayor announced two further Greater London Authority owned sites, Silvertown Way in Canning Town and Pontoon Dock in Newham which are now being brought forward for institutionally backed private rented sector homes.

Chief operating officer of Mace Investment, David Grover, said, “Since Mace was selected as the GLA’s partner for Newington Butts, we have been working through the options for this complex project to deliver much needed housing for the capital.

“We are now able to move forward and deliver an iconic piece of real estate, which will be a strong addition to the London skyline, reinforcing the capital’s position as a major city in the world to live in and work.”

We are delighted that we have been able to demonstrate the strength of our rental and property management service to a range of clients.

Highlights include:

• Renting and managing an entire development in Holborn within a week of the development being completed with most rented prior to completion
• Renting an apartment for £4,000 pw in Knightsbridge and managing the property for the owner
• Renting a range of apartments in Bloomsbury. In each case tenants where found before the new owner took legal ownership of the property- achieved by working with the previous owner and lawyers. We manage the properties for the new owners
• Renting and managing a range of apartments in Canary Wharf, Mayfair, Deptford, Surrey Quays, Fitzrovia, Kings Cross and other areas of London, achieving rent in excess of the level previously achieved.

We provide:

• Highly experienced team and a personal approach
• Broad marketing of your property
• No hidden charges and payments from other parties
• We are fair but ultimately on the landlord’s side- giving you honest, pro-active and straightforward guidance
• Across London coverage allowing you to deal with one company for your entire portfolio
• 24 hours maintenance service to personally address issues as they arise.

We hope that we will be working with you soon.