news newspapers a hit
The first editions of the WhatHouse? regional newspapers, distributed before Christmas to 200,000 homes in an area stretching from the Isle of Wight to Kent, have been extremely well received by both consumers and advertisers. In the two weeks from Boxing Day, visits to the
Whathouse.co.uk home page increased six-fold on the previous fortnight and the same period the previous year. “We haven’t increased any marketing spend to our home page, so these results are solely down to natural search and the result of increased brand awareness,” says
Whathouse.co.uk managing director Daniel Hill. “We do quite a bit on off-line advertising – our taxis and Wolves sponsorship, for example – but the timing of this surge of visitors to the home page suggests that the delivery of our regional property papers in the run-up to Christmas was the key factor.” Four regional editions of the WhatHouse? newspapers will be published from January onwards, with new editions covering East Anglia and the West Midlands, bringing the total distribution up to 500,000 homes every month.
Whathouse.co.uk has also started to list resale
and lettings properties around the UK and this expanded inventory has also resulted in a significant increase in overall traffic to the website. WhatHouse? has strengthened its editorial team with the appointment of Stephen Maunder (pictured) as assistant editor, having freelanced for the site for over a year. Formerly at Sky News, The Shropshire Star and the BBC, Maunder will be focusing his experience on providing content on resales and lettings property for the website and newspapers.
Weston boss calls for lowering of Help to Buy threshold
Bob Weston, chairman and chief executive of Essex housebuilder Weston Homes, has called for a reduction in the upper value threshold of the Help to Buy scheme. In an open letter to the media, Weston said: “Rather than diverting cheap credit lines from banks to help provide mortgages to homebuyers, the government really should be looking at lowering the current threshold of £600,000 for the Help to Buy scheme. This level is far in excess of the average house or flat price, currently £174,566. Lowering it to £450,000 in London and £350,000 outside the capital is still generous, and ensures that help is targeted at those at need it most. After all, there is only a finite amount of money to support the sector in this way, so let’s ensure we make it last as long as possible.” Weston added: “It’s not in anybody’s interest for the housing market to overheat, least of all developers, as what we desperately need to fund and build future schemes is greater certainty. But let’s not forget the basic rule of demand and supply. The core reason for house price inflation is lack of supply. Put simply, local authorities need to allow more development, and when they do grant consent need to resist from imposing swingeing financial penalties which threaten the very viability of the homes we so desperately need.”
Strata Homes agrees £30m funding with RBS
Yorkshire housebuilder Strata Homes has agreed a £30m funding facility with Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate & Institutional Banking to fund the acquisition of new sites. Strata, which developes sites in Yorkshire and the East Midlands, will have a turnover of more than £82m
from the sale of around 530 new homes for the year ending 31 December 2013. KPMG advised Strata on the transaction, which will allow the company to expand its activities in its core markets. Strata Homes’ chairman, Irving Weaver, said: “The support from RBS CIB puts us in an excellent position for growth. The Leeds-based RBS CIB team showed a clear understanding of the housebuilding sector as well as our requirements and goals and we were very impressed with the bespoke funding package they offered us. We are looking forward to building a strong relationship with RBS CIB.” Giles Taylor, a director at KPMG, said: “We are delighted to have advised Strata on this latest deal. The partnership between the business and RBS comes at a great time with the housing market picking up strongly, providing lots of opportunities for further growth for players with this sort of funding support.” Stuart Heslop, regional director for RBS CIB, added: “We are delighted to be supporting Strata as it continues to deliver a growing number of new home completions in Yorkshire. The housebuilding sector is key to the UK’s recovery and is a barometer of confidence in the country and we are now seeing good levels of growth across the country in the sector. Supporting housebuilding is a key priority for the RBS team on the ground and we hope that this is the first of a number of opportunities for us as we move in to 2014.”
12| January 2014 showhouse
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