General

The UK’s inflation-induced economic slowdown is expected to dampen fourth-quarter activity in the real estate sector as investors and lenders reassess the rapid reversal in monetary policy, the outlook for occupier markets, investor appetite, and financing liquidity.

The Bank of England’s (BoE) jumbo 75 basis point interest rate hike last Thursday (3 November) came with a bleak warning that the UK economy is heading for recession that could last until mid-2024.

The UK construction industry is starting to show early signs of stress and distress. Successive external shocks have tested the industry’s resilience – from the consequences of Brexit to the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Jeremy Hunt, the UK’s fourth Chancellor of the Exchequer in four months, reversed around two-thirds of his predecessor’s £45bn tax cuts and scaled back the energy scheme on Monday (17 October) to reassure markets over the UK’s fiscal sustainability.

The European aviation industry’s post-pandemic demand recovery may already have peaked.

The new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng delivered an expansive emergency budget last Friday (23 September), designed to shield households and businesses from the energy crisis, curb inflation and stimulate growth and investment funded by sweeping debt-financed tax cuts.