LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
SPOTTED IN THE SNOW CITY A.M. ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE RAREST OF LEOPARDS P16 MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2023
ISSUE 3,940
MOVING FORWARD? THE VERDICT ON BORTHWICK’S NEW ENGLAND P18
CITYAM.COM
LONDON SET TO POWER RECOVERY
CAPITAL TO OUTPACE REST OF THE COUNTRY THIS YEAR, RECKON ANALYSTS JACK BARNETT LONDON will power the UK economy out of recession and is poised to be the fastest growing area in the country over the coming years, new forecasts published today reveal. The capital’s economy is on track to expand at an average annual rate of 2.6 per cent between 2024 and 2026, pushing it to the top of the countrywide growth table, according to consultancy EY. The City’s high performing financial and legal sectors will fuel London’s best in
class economic growth over the coming years, the report said. While London’s GDP is expected to undergo a minor blip, shrinking 0.2 per cent this year, also the lowest of any region, it is tipped to race past Britain’s overall growth rate of 2.1 per cent per annum in the years afterwards. Experts said the report illustrates policymakers need to avoid making the capital a casualty of the government’s levelling up agenda or risk holding back the UK economy for years to come. “London’s performance is dependable,
but should not be taken for granted,” Julie Carlyle, managing partner for EY in London, said. “While there is a need to level up the rest of the country, London will have its own investment needs to be met so that the capital can continue to help form the backbone of nationwide growth,” she added. Her calls come as Britain is teetering on the edge of slipping into a recession driven by the cost of living crisis wreaking havoc on family and business finances. Dire forecasts about the economy
suffering a recession that could have knocked around three per cent off GDP now look slightly overcooked, although EY still suspects the UK economy as a whole will shrink 0.6 per cent in 2023. The firm reckons the coming slump will be fuelled by “declines in services most dependent on household spending”. Inflation has been a key downward pressure on economic growth, though some forecasters now expect price hikes to fall back to the Bank of England’s target rate of two per cent as soon as the end of the year.
FREE ANOTHER BREXIT ROW
Brexit deal on way in just ‘days’ JAMES SILVER
THE DEPUTY Prime Minister has said a deal with the EU over changes to the Northern Ireland protocol could be announced as soon as today – but there is still little sign it may command the support of Brexiteer Tories and Northern Irish politicians. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London today to thrash out changes to Northern Ireland’s legal and customs relationship with the continental bloc. Dominic Raab told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge yesterday that there had been “real progress” in recent days. “We want to make sure all the pieces are in place,” he continued yesterday. Any deal is likely to get through parliament, but Sunak would rather do it with the support of his own party – and backbench heavyweight Boris Johnson – rather than being forced to rely on votes from the Labour party. Mark Francois, who leads the Eurosceptic ERG grouping of Tory MPs, has said that any deal which continued to allow the European Court of Justice a say over Northern Ireland would not be acceptable. “It is simply not going to fly,” he said over the weekend in a warning to Sunak and Downing Street.
Major Home REIT investor looking at ‘propositions’ for embattled property trust EXCLUSIVE
CHARLIE CONCHIE TOP HOME REIT investor Liontrust has slammed “serious shortcomings” at the beleaguered social housing firm and said it is mulling “propositions” with other major shareholders to try and
steady the ship. The FTSE 250 asset manager, Home REIT’s third largest shareholder, broke its silence on the debacle surrounding Home REIT in a statement over the weekend, after the firm faced down investors for the first time in an annual general meeting last Monday.
Home REIT has been plunged into crisis since a damning report by short seller Viceroy Research in November raised questions over the fragility of its rental income and the financial stability of its tenants. Shares tumbled more than 50 per cent before being suspended at the beginning of January amidst a host
of miserable news coverage. City A.M. has since revealed the National Crime Agency is scrutinising deals made by the firm in which it appears to have paid major mark-ups for run down housing, while a slew of tenants have withheld rent from Home REIT in protest at the shoddy standard of
housing it provided to some of society’s most vulnerable. “It is clear there have been serious shortcomings in the operations and governance of Home REIT,” a Liontrust spokesperson said to City A.M. £ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
INSIDE CITY GIANTS SPLIT ON OFFICE FUTURE P3 REVOLUT SET FOR BANKING LICENCE P4 ALL EYES ON HOUSING MARKET P6 THOUGHT-PROVOKING OPINION P14 SPORT P18