Beatles-inspired hotel for sale

CBRE has brought the Beatles-inspired Hard Days Night Hotel to market and is seeking offers in excess of £11m on behalf of the hotel’s private owner. The 110 bedroom, 4* hotel is situated on the corner of North John Street and Mathew Street where the new Cavern Club is located.

Nine facts about Rightmove

Anna White of the Telegraph runs down nine facts about Rightmove. They are: 1. Rightmove is a more popular search term than pop band One Direction 2. The website was originally going to be called Doorknob 3. Its first ad featured footballer Ian Wright 4. The most viewed property online was an all purple home with 3m hits 5. There have been eight weddings between Rightmove colleagues in 15 years 6. All employees of over 10-years receive a personalised garden gnome 7. 3,711 pubs have been put on sale via the site 8. The average price of a home in England and Wales hit £281,752 this year 9. Monday and Tuesday nights are the busiest times for the website in traffic terms.

Falling bolts cost £1m

Steelwork firm Severfield has seen costs from replacing bolts that fell from London’s Cheesegrater building reach £1m. Bolts breaking and falling saw British Land fence the building off last year and the developer, alongside Severfield and contractor Laing O’Rourke, are carrying out programme to rectify the issue that is likely to be finished by year end.

Downsizing decision a big one

The Times carries several letters in response to a report from the RICS which detailed the role a reluctance to downsize by homeowners has played in the housing shortage. One letter says that property is a popular form of wealth but an apprehension over capital gains tax sees people prefer one larger property over two smaller ones that sees one rented out. Another says that calling on older homeowners to move to smaller property will not work unless the stresses associated with the sale and purchase of property are eased. Another claims that the Conservatives’ decision to remove many main residences from inheritance tax will encourage older owners to hold onto large properties.

RICS’ budget wishlist

The Government should use the budget tomorrow to announce measures to encourage baby boomers with too many rooms in their homes to downsize and free up space for families, according to RICS. It said that Britain was experiencing the lowest level of housebuilding in peacetime since the 1920s and that owner occupancy was at a 27-year low. RICS added that 8m homeowners over the age of 60 could be interested in downsizing, bringing potentially 3.5m homes back on to the market, of which about 2.3m would be family homes of three or more bedrooms. "Many older homeowners are over-spaced, while their children face a lifetime of renting cramped accommodation in an increasingly unaffordable market," it said. It also warned that legacy of home ownership was at risk, with younger generations being unable to afford to follow in their parents' footsteps, and called on the Chancellor to use the budget to commit to a review of inheritance tax and its role in the housing market in the next parliament. It suggests that the Government should consider waiving inheritance tax and stamp duty on a property if the seller is above a certain age and specifically looking to downsize, and that measures should be introduced to remove the myriad obstacles to the building of new homes on brownfield sites.

Business rates review on Budget agenda

The Treasury will today launch a review of business rates, raising the prospect of a new system for levying a tax paid by 1.8m properties in England. Danny Alexander, Treasury chief secretary, will consider a move away from a tax based on property values, seen as a burden on high street traders that face intense online competition, ahead of this week's Budget. The Chancellor will use his Budget on Wednesday to announce a wide-ranging review of the business rates system. The review is expected to examine whether business rates could in future be raised in line with the consumer prices index measure of inflation, rather than the retail prices index. The idea of taking small firms out of the rates system altogether has been mooted, and it is noted that small firms represent half of all commercial properties but yield only 6% of the tax. The BCC and the CBI both welcomed news of a review but urged for any reform to be “root and branch”.

Bank of Mum and Dad lending less

New research reveals that the number of first time buyers relying on the Bank of Mum and Dad for support has dropped. Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks' Annual First Time Buyers Survey has revealed that less than half (46%) of the nation's first time buyers needed help in saving for their deposit in 2014. This compares with 63% in 2013.

Strong pound could keep UK in deflation

Martin Weale, a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has warned that a strengthening pound could deliver a shock to the economy and drive inflation even lower. Mr Weale argued that a strengthening pound could result in a rise in imports and fall in exports, that would feed through into lower price growth. The Bank's latest update on the health of the economy stated that it was more likely than not that inflation would fall below zero in the coming months, well below the central bank's target of 2% price growth.

Troops to retrain as builders

Several schemes have been set up to retrain returning soldiers as construction workers. Persimmon Homes is just one firm that has its own dedicated ex-military personnel recruitment programme, which is aiming to sign up hundreds of new trainees every year from the Armed Forces. The initiative, which was launched in December, aims to recruit as many as 500 ex-Service personnel each year. Group chief executive officer Jeff Fairburn explained: "We worked hard over the course of 2014 to develop this programme to help us meet a shortage of much-needed skilled tradesmen across the UK.”

Poundland gives biggest discount

Poundland founder Steve Smith has reduced the price of his Shropshire mansion by £750,000 to £5.75m after failing to find a buyer since last year. Mr Smith bought the property for £2.2m a decade ago.

Stamp duty exemption could encourage downsizing

An alliance of pension groups, insurers and retirement home builders has written to the Telegraph to argue that older people should be given stamp duty exemptions to encourage them to move into retirement homes. Organisations including Legal and General, the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance and the National Federation of Occupational Pensioners say financial incentives such as stamp duty exemptions and extending the Help to Buy scheme could ultimately free up homes for younger people and reduce the pressure on the public purse. Around 60% of older people in Britain say they want to downsize. The Scotsman sees things differently, arguing that first-timers could be priced out of the market if the older generation benefits from regulatory changes and embarks on a “grey pound” spending spree.