Big Yellow agrees 150m partnership

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Self storage firm Big Yellow has agreed a 150m partnership with funds managed by Pramerica Real Estate Investors to develop up to 25 stores in the Midlands, the North of England and Scotland.

Big Yellow and Pramerica are investing up to 25m and 50m respectively. The partnership will have a four-year exclusivity period on the defined territory.

U.K. Home Prices Fall; Sellers Told to Ask for Less

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. home values dropped this month in every part of the country except London and sellers shouldn't hesitate to reduce prices further because a more protracted slowdown is on the way, Rightmove Plc said.

The average asking price dropped 0.7 percent to 239,986 pounds ($491,000) from October, Britain's most-used property Web site said in a statement today. From a year earlier, the cost of a home rose 7.9 percent, the least in 17 months. Rightmove conducted its survey from Oct. 7 to Nov. 10.

Credit crunch hits top end of housing market

LONDON (Reuters) - Ongoing turmoil in financial markets has started hitting the top end of Britain's housing market, according to estate agents, exacerbating worries of a sharp slowdown in the wider property market.

House prices in Britain have more than doubled in the last five years and the London market has led the way as a booming financial services sector has encouraged bankers to shell out huge sums for properties in the capital's most desirable areas as well as invest in buy-to-let homes across the country.

THE $150M CASTLE

A billionaire buyer has signed a letter of intent to pay $150 million for a massive triplex apartment at the Upper East Side condo tower The Mark, sources close to the deal told The Post.

The prospective purchaser, sources say, is real-estate magnate Leonard Blavatnik, who is worth $7.2 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

London Luxury-Home Prices Increased at Slower Pace in October

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Luxury-home prices in London rose last month at the slowest pace since July 2005 as the prospect of job cuts and smaller bonuses deterred investment bankers and other buyers, Knight Frank LLC said.

The average price of houses and apartments costing at least 2.5 million pounds ($5.2 million) increased 0.3 percent in October from the previous month, according to an index compiled by the London-based property broker. Prices gained about 34 percent from a year earlier.

U.K. Home Prices, Loans Fall, Signaling Cooling Boom

U.K. house prices fell for the first time in two years in October, and mortgage approvals dropped to a 26-month low, signs the country's decade-long housing boom is coming to an end.

The average cost of a home in England and Wales dropped 0.1 percent to 176,100 pounds ($361,462) from September, research group Hometrack Ltd. said today. Central London led the declines. Separately, the Bank of England said banks granted 102,000 loans for house purchase in September, the fewest since July 2005.