Format: News
“Unprecedented” £825k planning fee for Kensington megabasement
            A hedge fund manager is going to have to dig deeper than expected after being landed with an £825,000 Section 106 fee for a lumpy basement excavation in Ladbroke Grove.
        
    Birmingham tops buy-to-let hot spots
            Birmingham is best for buy-to-let investors, offering a 10%+ rental yield, according to a new survey by Home.co.uk and Move with Us.        
    Infographic: Rightmove House Price Index
            Who doesn't love a good infographic? Rightmove definitely does. The portal's gone to town with its August House Price Index, breaking it down into many blue and green pictures:         
    New Group Chief Exec for LSL
            Ian Crabb is taking over as Group Chief Executive of LSL Property Services, which owns Marsh & Parsons, Lauristons, YourMove and more, from 9th September.        
    Homes on Film: Zoopla launches Property Movies
            Zoopla Property Group has just rolled out Property Movies across its platforms, tapping into the the pretty widely-accepted idea that video is the future of property marketing (look out for an announcement…        
    New chief for Northacre as expansion plans gather pace
            Super-prime developer Northacre Plc. has hired former Partner of Estate Four, Niccolo Barattieri di San Pietro, as Chief Executive Officer.
        
    Top taxman joins Foxtons ahead of float
            One of HMRC's top brass, Ian Barlow, is joining the board of Foxtons as the estate agency preps for a major IPO, according to reports by Sky News.        
    Full steam ahead for Admiralty Arch hotel and resi scheme
            Rafael Serrano has netted formal approval to turn Admiralty Arch into a hotel, private members' club and super-prime private residences, with construction due to kick off early next year.
        
    Transactions at highest level since Dec 2009 as July sales rocket by 18.5%
            88,960 homes were sold in July, according to the latest SDLT stats from HMRC. That's a 0.6% drop on June's numbers but an 18.5% rise on last year's July figures.
        
    MOD to flog old War Office in Whitehall for £100m+
            The MOD's Old War Office building in Whitehall is now surplus to requirements, and is being put up for sale for "more than £100m". 
        
    Igloo bags planning nod for £10m Barnsbury scheme
            Green developer Igloo has been given the thumbs up by planners for a new £10m mixed-use scheme in Barnsbury, North London.
        
    New HQ for Carter Jonas
            Following Savills' big move to Margaret Street earlier this year, another major agency has just announced a new Central London HQ.