February Property Roundup
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Regional news
Multibillion-pound North East development pipeline to take to global stage at Mipim
A multibillion-pound pipeline of North East development projects is set to take to the international stage in March.
Invest Newcastle, part of NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI), is leading a public-private delegation from Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland to showcase the region at Mipim, the world’s biggest real estate conference taking place over three days in Cannes, France.
Mipim will see the North East stage a number of events in a programme devised to shine a light on investment opportunities including Forth Yards in Newcastle, Baltic Quarter in Gateshead and Riverside Sunderland, as well as exploring topics such as creative industries, foreign direct investment and sports-led regeneration.
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Eight-figure revamp planned for former Judges, near Yarm
The new owner of a former country house has opened up on plans to transform it into a “top-drawer” boutique hotel and spa as part of an eight-figure investment.
Judges Country House Hotel, in Kirklevington, was purchased by property developer Chris Musgrave OBE in May 2023 following its sudden closure in March of that year.
Now, Mr Musgrave, who is also the chairman of Teesworks Limited and the man behind the Wynyard Park housing development, has opened up on plans to return the historic hotel to its former glory under ambitious new plans.
https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/24940762.eight-figure-revamp-planned-former-judges-near-yarm/
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Multimillion-pound Newcastle business hub launches to help regional firms thrive
A multimillion-pound business hub has officially opened its doors close to Newcastle Airport to help propel regional companies onto the global stage.
The 10,200 sq ft International Space Station (ISS) Airview has become the newest addition to AirView Park. The business park offers commercial office space to firms looking to get a foothold in the North East as well as space for start-ups and growing firms, with unrivalled transport connectivity to the rest of the UK and beyond.
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‘Most advanced’ waste plant set for completion
A ￡15 million incinerator plant has moved closer to completion.
Work on a 75,000sq ft hazardous and clinical waste processing base, at Merchant Park, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is set to finish in the spring.
The site is being development managed by INDEV Projects on behalf of Fornax Environmental Solutions and Gresham House.
Officials say the site, said to be “one of the most advanced…facilities of its kind in Europe” will handle up to 10,500 tonnes of waste annually, transforming it into a low-carbon heat source for local businesses.
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Hartlepool's Saica Pack in ￡10 million expansion
A packaging firm has started work on a ￡10 million expansion.
Saica Pack is building a warehouse at its Hartlepool base.
Bosses say the venture will “strengthen its foundations for decades of growth and progress”.
They add the warehouse will have capacity to store up to 9000 pallets and will include solar panels tipped to generate up to ten per cent of the plant’s energy needs.
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Hadrian Healthcare reveals plans for ￡15m luxury care home in Northumberland
A Tyneside luxury care home operator has announced plans to create a ￡15m property in Northumberland.
Gateshead-based Hadrian Healthcare has been designing and developing care homes for "the discerning elderly resident" for around 20 years, with its properties attracting industry attention for offering services and features usually found in five-star hotels.
The firm has revealed proposals to build a care home in Hexham, with features including private dining, a garden cafe bar and client concierge services.
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National Property News
Gatwick second runway backed by government
A second runway at Gatwick Airport has been backed by government, providing measures to reduce noise are put in place.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was "minded to approve" the expansion. Some MPs, local authorities and residents are strongly opposed.
The airport wants to move its northern runway, which is currently only used for taxiing or as a back-up, and make it operational by the end of the decade.
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House prices hit new high ahead of stamp duty change
UK house prices have hit another record high with the average property price reaching ￡299,138, Halifax has said.
The UK's largest mortgage lender, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said property values recovered in January after seeing a slight dip in December.
The annual growth in prices slowed to 3.0%, which is the weakest rate since July 2023, but Halifax said the market was showing "noteworthy" resilience.
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Taylor Wimpey positioned for growth despite fall in profits
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has said it’s positioned for growth, after reporting a dip in revenue and profit in its 2024 annual results.
Revenue for the year to 31 December 2024 fell 3 per cent to ￡3.4 billion from ￡3.5 billion the year previous.
The house builder generated a 23 per cent decrease in pre-tax profit from ￡473.8 million in 2023 to ￡320.3 million in 2024.
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Investors choose flats and hotels over offices as property deals return
Commercial property investment started to recover from a two-year slump towards the end of 2024, as investors turned to sectors such as residential property and continued to avoid office buildings.
A spate of dealmaking in the second half drove the recovery, pushing the value of deals completed in Europe up 4 per cent to €189bn last year, after slumping 45 per cent the year before, researcher MSCI has said. The findings came a week after the data provider reported a 9 per cent increase in US investment.
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Gap between prices of UK flats and houses ‘widest in 30 years’
The gap between the prices of houses and flats in the UK has widened to a 30-year high, according to data from Zoopla, as concerns about cladding and rising service charges weigh on demand for apartments.
At ￡319,500, the average price for a house in January 2025 was 1.7 times higher than the average cost of a flat, the largest gap since at least 1995, according to research by the property portal.
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Harworth reports record 2024 on path to ￡1bn assets
Property firm Harworth says it is on track to accumulate ￡1bn in assets by the end of 2027 after what it described as a record year.
The based developer and landlord says that as key land sales complete, it is confident of meeting its target of ￡1bn European Real Estate Association Net Disposal Value (EPRA NDV) - a key measure of assets used by real estate investment trusts.
In a trading update to the London Stock Exchange, Harworth pointed to its ￡106.6m deal with Microsoft for land at the site of the former Skelton Grange power station near Leeds and completion of a ￡53.5m sale at Ansty in Warwickshire.
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Number crunching
43% of employers are investing in ‘special events’ like external speakers to encourage staff back into the office (Source: JLL)
74,000 UK home purchases are expected to miss the April 1 deadline to avoid paying higher stamp duty (Source: Rightmove)
60% of employers are planning to invest in office refurbishment in the next five years (Source: JLL)
￡2.9bn was invested in UK regional office buildings outside London in 2024, a rise of 10% on the previous year (Source: Savills)
442 homes in London sold for more than ￡5m in 2024, a 16% fall on the number in 2023 (Source: Savills)
7.9 million square foot of office space was taken up by occupiers in the nine biggest UK cities outside London in 2024, up 10% on 2023 (Source: Avison Young)