Weekly News Roundup – 12/01/24
A roundup of the week’s top property and proptech news stories in partnership with Proptech-X
Adam Pigott of tlyfe says rentals are let on average just nine days after listing, so tenants need to be Rent Ready
Adam Pigott CEO of Openbrix/tlyfe gives his thoughts on the current rental market and why tenants should up their game to be front of the queue when looking to secure a property to rent.
‘In the dynamic landscape of the UK rental market, the window of opportunity to secure your next dream home has become as fleeting as ever. On average, rental properties are now vacant for a mere 9-days between tenancies, a significant drop from the once-typical 20-25 days. The driving force behind this swift turnover? Unprecedented demand.
The surge in demand for rental properties has created a competitive environment, leaving prospective tenants with a smaller timeframe to secure their desired homes. In this fast-paced scenario, being ‘Rent-Ready’ is not just an advantage; it’s a necessity.
The Challenge: Shrinking Vacancy Periods In recent years, the demand for rental properties has skyrocketed, especially in metropolitan areas like London. The average vacancy period of just over a week between tenancies underscores the urgency for prospective tenants to act swiftly. This trend is a testament to the competitive nature of the rental market, where being proactive is key to securing the property of your choice.
Rising Rents: A Compounding Factor Adding to the complexity, rents have experienced a significant uptick, with London witnessing a 10% increase and an average of 9% across England over the past year. This escalation in rental costs further emphasizes the need for a strategic approach when it comes to securing a rental property.
The Solution: tlyfe’s Rent-Ready Assistance In the face of this challenging scenario, tlyfe emerges as a valuable ally for tenants seeking to position themselves at the top of the rental queue. tlyfe’s ‘Rent-Ready’ feature is designed to streamline the rental process, helping tenants present themselves as ideal candidates to landlords and agents.
Mergers & Acquisition Activity – The Property Franchise Group PLC (TPFG) announces a £214 million recommended all-share merger with Belvoir Group PLC
PUBLICATION LONDON ‘International legal practice Osborne Clarke is advising AIM-quoted The Property Franchise Group PLC, a leading property franchisor in the UK and manager of a substantial estate agency network and portfolio of lettings properties, in relation to its recommended proposed £214 million all-share merger with Belvoir Group PLC.
AIM-quoted Belvoir is a leading UK property, mortgage and franchise group operating through two divisions: a network of property franchisees and a network of mortgage advisers which, together, combine to support customers throughout their property transactions.
The combined group will benefit from increased scale with more than 930 property franchise locations, managing approximately 152,000 tenanted properties across the UK and will be expected to sell more than 28,000 properties per annum. Upon completion of the Merger (which is to be implemented by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement pursuant to Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006), Belvoir shareholders will hold approximately 48.25 per cent. and TPFG shareholders will hold approximately 51.75 per cent. of the enlarged issued share capital of TPFG.
Canaccord Genuity Limited is acting as financial adviser to TPFG in respect of the Merger. Completion of the Merger is anticipated to occur in March 2024. The Osborne Clarke team which is advising TPFG on the Merger is being led by Partner Jonathan King who is being assisted by Associate Director Ed Nisbet, Senior Associates Stuart Miller and Oliver Woods and trainee Tom Petrides. Partner Michael Carter and Senior Associate Stuart Rose are advising on the incentives arrangements. Partner Simon Neill and Associate Joachim Piotrowski are advising on competition aspects.
Furbnow raises funds to decarbonise a million properties
Furbnow, the end-to-end home energy efficiency platform, is helping every UK home reach net zero, without the hassle. Today’s investment is led by SFC Capital and includes funding from Norrsken Accelerator, Daniel Luhde-Thompson, InnovateUK and the Nesta/Founders Factory Mission Studio. It follows the climate-tech firm inclusion in Founders Forum’s European Climate Tech ‘One to Watch’ list .
Two homes per minute needs retrofitting to meet Net Zero targets by 2050. Furbnow fills the void where there’s a lack of support for those wanting to make changes. A pilot with Birmingham City Council is scheduled for early 2024 as part of the local authority’s programme to decarbonise homes in line with their 2030 Net Zero target.
Press Release Birmingham, January 2024: Furbnow, a new UK climate-tech start-up tackling home decarbonisation at scale, has announced a £950k pre-seed investment to bring to market its revolutionary end-to-end home decarbonisation platform to get more homes to Net Zero, without the hassle. The investment comes as Furbnow plans a trial with Birmingham City Council’s Route to Net Zero team in early 2024 to improve the energy efficiency of those households ineligible for grant funding.
SFC Capital led the investment round, with participation from Norrsken Accelerator, and angel investor Daniel Luhde-Thompson. The round also includes a grant from Innovate UK’s Future Economy Investor Partnership and Nesta and Founders Factory’s Mission Studio.
Globally, emissions from homes account for approximately 20% of carbon emissions. In the UK alone, we need to retrofit 2 homes every minute to hit the UK’s target of Net Zero by 2050. Currently, 97% of homes are classed as inefficient and not ready for the Net Zero target and we are off the pace of delivering on the target nationally and globally.
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