Alan Fletcher

Taps

'Slavery, O Slavery! I cannot conceive'... In this week's blog, we examine a story that some voices in the media have misrepresented, transforming what could be one of several practical solutions to the significant labour shortage in UK home building into something slightly more sinister. We unpack how proposed and

The Needs of the Many

In this week's blog, we take a closer look at the latest round of spending commitments from the Chancellor and ask a straightforward question: is there a third option beyond tax and debt? At the time of writing, having just announced £11 billion in planned government expenditure across all sectors,

Cookie Cutter

In this week's piece, we find ourselves once again drawn into the political wrangling around housing plans as the national-level spending review beckons. Chances are, you should be reading this on Wednesday of this week, perhaps en route to the country's premier financial services expo hosted by our lovely friends

Bold Moves

In this week's blog, which once again explores the world of housing conundrums and developer difficulties, we turn to the paradoxical nature of our planning system and ask ourselves: how can our antiquated system be future-proofed without shifting the burgeoning cost burden onto the very people the system is meant

Alphabet Soup

According to popular folklore, the term "seeking Alpha" was first attributed to an investment analyst at Morgan Stanley in 2004, when a name was required to define an active investment strategy focused on a measure of excess over and above a benchmarked return on a risk-adjusted basis. Unpacking that in

Follow The Money

In this week's blog, we begin a series of pieces contextualising some of the reasoning behind how traditional development finance funding is assessed at a credit level. These pieces do not necessarily touch on our unique lending appetites but focus more on the generic sector-wide reasoning behind why we look

People

It was once mused that "Rome wasn't built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour." In this week's blog, we examine the issues surrounding the people power it will take to deliver on the UK's noble housebuilding endeavour, and attempt to extrapolate facts from the story, evading

Mountain

This week's blog examines the conflicting narratives waging war in the press around the UK housing challenge. Once again, we will refine and substantiate our ongoing argument that fintech platforms in our space are poised to present an enticing investment opportunity, with the UK property market offering a unique confluence

More Players

In this week's blog, we take a closer look at London's housing situation as reported via the online industry platform "Building", which has astutely picked up on the fact that London is facing a critical slowdown in new housing development, with new home starts plunging to a 16-year low. As

Stable

In this week's blog, after the wild theatre of the last few weeks in the markets, we return once again to the simple asset class that underpins our sector, the UK residential housing market. In a series of pieces, we will take a closer look at the three main aspects

Are We Switzerland?

As the dust settles on the opening salvo of the great trade war, one thing has become very apparent: any promise of a Schlieffen plan for instantaneous global trade harmony, the fair-weather strategy of "the war will be over by Christmas" executed by the fast deal-making of generals and shrouded

Hotel California

The art of writing an entertaining and engaging composition is often mired in the difficulty of crafting an interesting subject matter; however, in extraordinary times such as these, it's less about provoking thought and more about trying to capture a fleeting one. The news cycle, moving at a blistering pace

This Land is Your Land

In this week's blog, we continue to examine some of our clients' issues and attempt to examine the much-debated and much-questioned issue of UK land banking. The acquisition of available land to build on affects our sector's clients, their entry into the market, and their ability to execute affordable schemes.

Partners

On Thursday, 20 March, Housing Minister Matt Pennycook took to the stage at Homes England’s agency-wide Town Hall meeting to address the vital role the agency is playing and to recognise their achievements and ambitions in the housing sector. One of the points of note was their continued collaborative

Howzat!

The expression "it's just not cricket" originated in 19th-century Britain, reflecting cricket's supposed reputation for fair play, integrity, and sportsmanship. It became a metaphor for unfair, dishonest, or unsportsmanlike behaviour; however, over the years, the phrase endured and evolved into an encompassing expression for anything that violates a sense of

Storm

During the Eurozone crisis in the years following the 2008 financial crash, a moment was captured on British television that stunned BBC audiences worldwide. A Wall Street trader, Alessio Rastani, looked directly down the barrel of the BBC News lens at a concerned audience watching a ticker suggesting that a

Dead Horse

In this week's blog, we examine some of the most pressing issues facing the UK housing market and suggest that, rather than continuing down the current path, more radical thinking may be necessary to foster positive change. This thinking may involve a complete shift in the approach to aligning investor

Healthy Markets

In this week's blog, we examine the sharp rise of the build-to-rent sector, something we anticipated, although admittedly not to the degree currently reported. A recent think tank report featured in the media outlet The Canary suggested that over 20% of all new builds in the UK are now institutionally

Tipping Point

In this week's blog, we continue to unpack complex and sometimes difficult-to-digest topics. We look at what could happen in housing if the challenges we face in this country aren't met. The importance of framing these arguments this way isn't to languish in despair, fixating on the worst-case scenarios that

21st Century Thinking

In this week's blog, we look at a story hidden in the small print of this week's housing headlines. The topic has an air of inevitability: the complete digitalisation of some of the arduous transactional elements of housing. However, the real story here may be how fast this brave new

Economies of Scale

In this week's blog, we are once again looking at the plight of SME property developers in our sector and their critical role in addressing the housing crisis. We have banged the drum on this topic over the months, so loud and for so long that our ears are positively

Hot Hands

"Time in the market beats timing the market" is an adage thrown about in the sea of verbiage that aspiring and sophisticated investors sail on. Constant exposure over time seemingly removes the worry of volatility so that any storm can be ridden out with sufficient time at sea, but to

Support for Housebuilders

In this week's blog, we touch on our deepening lending alliance with the government agency Homes England, which recently reinforced its commitment to supporting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) developers as part of the ongoing plan to deliver 1.5 million new homes over the next five years. Homes England

Counterbalance

In this week's blog, our second in a series of counterargument pieces, we compare our asset class to the wealth of other options in the market. We look at the short-term volatility in equities against the time horizons of our typical facilities. There is no counterargument against long-term investing in

Choices

In this week's blog, we begin the first in a series of counterargument pieces, comparing our asset class to the wealth of other options in the market, many of which will hold a place in our client's portfolios. We fundamentally believe that P2P backed by UK real estate has earned