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14 NEWS TUESDAY 4 APRIL 2017 CITYAM.COM Housebuilders call on government for firm commitment to Crossrail 2 REBECCA SMITH @BexKSmith HOUSEBUILDERS have added to calls for the government to firmly commit to Crossrail 2, saying the project will be crucial in helping address the capital’s housing crisis. Some 66 homebuilding and property figures, including representatives from Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley, British Land and Derwent have written to the government and said the infrastructure project will help unlock new homes. In the letter, the homebuilding and property representatives, say the new railway will transform transport capacity, as well as connectivity, for underdeveloped areas of the capital like the Upper Lea Valley. They said it will give them the certainty to accelerate the development of up to 200,000 new homes. Tony Pidgley, chairman at Berkeley, said: “Crossrail 2 is the only scheme that can make a significant difference to the south east’s housing stock and the government must not delay.” Crossrail 2 will connect National Rail networks in Surrey and Hertfordshire with an underground tunnel beneath central London between Wimbledon and Tottenham Hale and New Southgate. Crossrail 2 would serve stations through the south east of England SIPPs, ISAs, funds & shares Intelligent Invest up to £15,240 tax free in a stocks and shares ISA UK cities surpass capital’s house price growth Investments Deal from £1.50 and never pay more than £9.95 per online deal In minutes Beat the 5 April ISA deadline and start investing in minutes Open an account today youinvest.co.uk Don’t miss out ISA deadline 5 April The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you originally invested. We don’t offer advice about the suitability of our products or any investments held within them, if you require financial advice you should consult a suitably qualified financial adviser. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and rules may change. AJ Bell includes AJ Bell Holdings Limited and its wholly owned subsidiaries. AJ Bell Management Limited and AJ Bell Securities Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. All companies are registered in England and Wales at Trafford House, Chester Road, Manchester M32 0RS EMMA HASLETT @emmahaslett THE CAPITAL has fallen to 55th place in a ranking of the 150 global cities with the fastest house price growth. Knight Frank’s Global Residential Cities index, out yesterday, ranked London below three regional UK cities in the final quarter of last year. Bristol, which came 38th in the world, with year-on-year house price growth of 10.1 per cent; Manchester, at number 51, with growth of 7.9 per cent, and Birmingham, at number 53, with growth of 7.7 per cent. But with house price growth of 7.5 per cent, London only managed 55th position. It is a major fall for London, which was ranked 36th in the third quarter of 2016, with 9.2 per cent growth (although admittedly that was still below Bristol, which came in at number 20, with 15.8 per cent growth). In the first three months of 2016, the capital had the 14th fastest house price growth in the world, at 15.2 per cent. Meanwhile, Chinese cities took up nine of the top 10 places in the final three months of the year, with Wellington, in New Zealand, taking 10th place. It wasn’t all good news for homeowners in UK cities: both Edinburgh and Aberdeen were listed as having falling house prices, with prices dropping 0.6 per cent and 9.8 per cent respectively. Last week figures suggested falling prices in the capital had caused housebuilding to grind to a halt, with construction falling 75 per cent in the final quarter of 2016. In the fourth quarter of 2016, construction started on 1,270 housing units in the centre of the city, a drop of 75 per cent as compared to the same quarter the year before, according to a report from JLL. Research published recently showed UK house price growth had nearly halved in a year, with prices in the UK rising 5.1 per cent in the three months to February, the lowest annual rate since July 2013. London second best city in Europe for hotel investment GEORGINA VARLEY LONDON comes second in Europe according to an analysis of the hotel investment climate of 20 European cities by Colliers International. Pipped to the post by Paris’ lower development costs, London’s ranking in the Hotel Investment Attractiveness Index is due to its high demand growth, strong hotel performance, high investment returns and market depth from 2012 to 2016. London witnessed more than 80 per cent occupancy rate in this period. Dirk Bakker, head of EMEA Hotels, Colliers International said: “According to our latest data, London scored highly in terms of valuation exit yields and hotel investment volume between 2007 and 2016. London also saw over 15m international tourists visit the city in 2015 and witnessed average hotel occupancy levels of over 77 per cent from 2012 to 2016.”
CITYAM.COM TUESDAY 4 APRIL 2017 NEWS 15 Vitol’s profit up 25pc on trading volume increase JULIA PAYNE THE WORLD’S largest independent energy trader Vitol’s profit rose 25 percent last year, the Financial Times reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Swiss-based company had a net income of $2bn (£1.6bn) in 2016, up from just over $1.6bn in 2015. The 2016 net income included $500m of gains from asset sales and a $100m tax bill, the newspaper reported. The results are unaudited and subject to revision, according to the Financial Times. Vitol said last month that annual traded volumes rose 16 per cent in 2016 to a new record. Crude represented 48 percent of its traded portfolio and it sold more gasoline and diesel in markets such as the US, Australia and expanded further its presence in key African markets. The biggest jump in percentage terms came from gasoline, up 44 per cent and gasoil, up 26 per cent. Vitol’s turnover, however, fell to $152bn in 2016 from $168bn in 2015 as a result of lower energy prices. On Friday the company said: “(Global) demand growth of 1.4m barrels a day exceeded our expectations slightly, but the continued efficiency gains within the exploration and extraction sector ensured the market was well supplied and the impact on price constrained.” The firm also said oil prices in 2016 were no longer in the steep contango market structure that boosted results in 2015. Contango is a market structure in which the price for delivery of a product in the future is higher than the immediate price. Vitol said growth in the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from US shale was creating new opportunities. “Our 2016 volumes increased by 131 per cent and, longer term, we anticipate that the ample supply of LPG will facilitate the switch away from solid fuels for cooking in economies across Africa and Asia,” it said. “In addition, we are working with power plants and light industry in Africa to help them move from burning fuel oil and diesel to LPG”. Reuters Back-billing rules set to protect energy customers from late charges COURTNEY GOLDSMITH @courtneynoelg NEW PROTECTIONS outlined by Ofgem will block suppliers from backbilling customers on energy used more than 12 months ago. The industry regulator said backbills, which typically occur when suppliers estimate bills before taking a meter reading, can result in large Brexit stage left “catch-up” bills for customers. Suppliers signed a voluntary commitment in 2007 not to back-bill British customers for energy used more than a year ago, but case studies from Citizens Advice suggested the rule was not being applied consistently. “Shock gas and electricity bills can throw people’s finances into disarray,” said Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice. “We’ve long been calling on the regulator to introduce a mandatory time limit for back-bills instead of relying on voluntary action – which suppliers have refused to apply in some cases.” Ofgem expects the new rule to go into effect this winter, and it is also considering whether to introduce a shorter time limit once smart meters are rolled out. AFRICAN THRONE Last minute touches at Buckingham Palace for gifts exhibition A BEADED Yoruba throne from Nigeria, presented to the Queen in 1956, was one of the items put on display yesterday for a preview of the Royal Gifts Exhibition. Visitors will see over 250 official presents given to the monarch during her 65-year reign. Qatar lifts ban on mega gas field development after 12-year freeze TOM FINN QATAR has lifted a self-imposed ban on development of the world's biggest natural gas field, the chief executive of Qatar Petroleum said yesterday, as the world’s top LNG exporter looks to see off an expected rise in competition. Qatar made a moratorium in 2005 on the development of the North Field, which it shares with Iran, to give it time to study the impact on the reservoir from a rise in output. The vast offshore gas field, which Doha calls the North Field and Iran calls South Pars, accounts for nearly all of Qatar’s gas production and around 60 percent of its export revenue. “We have completed most of our projects and now is a good time to lift the moratorium,” QP boss Saad al- Kaabi said yesterday. “For oil there are people who see peak demand in 2030, others in 2042, but for gas demand is always growing.” Reuters As the UK moves a step closer to bowing out of the EU, take a position on the UK 100, EUR/GBP and GBP/USD Article 50 may have been triggered but the show certainly isn’t over. Whichever direction the markets move during the Brexit negotiations, you can take a position on our award-winning trading platform*. Learn more at cmcmarkets.co.uk/article50 Spread betting | CFDs | FX | Binaries Spread betting and CFD trading can result in losses that exceed your deposits. Volatility can increase risk and spreads may widen. *Best Online Trading Platform, Shares Awards 2016.
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