Chinese commercial property and entertainment conglomerate, Dalian Wanda Group, revealed today that it plans to commence a major investment programme in the UK.

Wanda’s luxury hotel brand is making its first move overseas with a GBP700m development project for a five-star Wanda hotel at a prime location on the South Bank in London. The 160 room hotel will have views overlooking the River Thames and landmarks such as The Palace of Westminster and Battersea Power Station. The total size of the construction project is 105,000 square metres, with approximately 20,000 to be used for the Wanda hotel and 63,000 square metres of premium apartments.

The company has also entered into a definitive agreement with UK luxury motor yacht company Sunseeker International Ltd, which is said to have provided yachts that have featured in James Bond films. Under a total investment deal of GBP320m Wanda will acquire a majority shareholding of 91.81%, while Sunseeker management will acquire the remaining 8.19%. The transaction is expected to be complete by mid-August.

Wanda said it is committed to upholding the values and heritage of the Sunseeker brand and its chairman Wang Jianlin commented: “Acquiring Sunseeker deepens Wanda’s international influence, further enhances our position in the global luxury, entertainment and tourism markets, and represents an important step forward for the overall development of our business. With the committed support of Wanda, Sunseeker is well-placed to take full advantage of opportunities in China, one of the world’s fastest growing luxury yacht markets. We are confident that this will bring Sunseeker’s business to the next level.”

Sunseeker will remain a British company under Wanda ownership. The company will continue to be headquartered in Poole, Dorset and maintain its existing production bases in the UK along with its existing workforce. Robert Braithwaite, the founder of Sunseeker, will continue to be involved in the management of the business and the current management will remain on the Sunseeker Boards.

UK Mortgage lender Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, on Thursday released its House Price Index for May 2013, which showed a rise in UK house prices of 0.4%.

According the Halifax, this was the fourth consecutive monthly rise in 2013, with house prices in the three months to May 2013 being 1.5% higher than in the preceding three months and 2.6% higher than in the same three months last year. The index also shows that this was slightly higher than the 1.3% increase in the three month-on-three month measure in April.

Home sales remain low by historical standards and despite the continued gradual increase, the current economic situation and low income growth is said be a significant constraint on the demand for housing. However there has been an improvement in market conditions since autumn 2012, with the ratio of house sales to the stock of unsold properties rising since then.

Signs of a returning confidence in the UK housing market have been recently reported by lenders, estate agents, surveyors and property websites. The Government has also launched schemes to make it easier for people to get onto the property ladder and The Homebuilders Federation has said that 4,000 new homes have been sold since the introduction of the Government’s Help to Buy Scheme earlier this year.

There has also been an increase in number of mortgages on the market, reportedly because banks and building societies have been offering some of their lowest ever mortgage rates, while certain lenders are taking part in the Government and Bank Of England’s Funding For Lending Scheme, which offers lenders discounted loans in return for boosting the flow of credit to the economy.

Demand in the UK residential property market reached its highest level in more than three years last month, a new survey shows.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said yesterday that the government’s Help to Buy scheme had started to make an impact on the housing market in April.

In its latest Residential Market Survey, the organisation found that 25% more chartered surveyors reported seeing an increase in demand for property rather than a decrease. This is up significantly from the difference of 13% registered in March.

According to the RICS this upturn strongly suggests that, alongside the existing Funding for Lending scheme, Help to Buy is attracting interest even if the mortgage guarantee element of the product is not due to come into effect until next year.

As well as the higher level of demand in the market, surveyors also reported that supply increased in April, albeit more modestly.

Overall, with not enough housing to meet increased demand, prices are rising and the monthly survey by the RICS recorded its first positive reading for house prices since June 2010.

Demand for rented property is also continuing to outstrip supply, the RICS pointed out. A balance of 18% more surveyors expect rental prices to rise rather than fall, although most anticipate rents rising by less than 2% over the next year. One of the reasons for this moderation in rent increases may be the healthier housing market and increased access to mortgage lending, the RICS suggested.

A separate survey released today also showed increased activity in the housing market. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that the number of first-time buyers went up by 20% in March.

This trend, combined with a small rise in the number of home movers, contributed to a monthly jump in house purchase lending.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned homeowners with interest-only mortgages that they need to take control of their mortgage repayment planning.

Research carried out by the FCA, the UK’s new financial services industry regulator, shows that many people with this type of borrowing are expected to be in a good position to repay the mortgage when it is due for repayment. However, many others, particularly those whose mortgage is due to be repaid before 2020, need to consider whether they will be able to repay the outstanding amount and take action accordingly.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Societies Association have agreed with the FCA to make sure that lenders get in contact with their borrowers in order to prompt them into checking that their plan for repayment is on track and considering the options available to them.

According to the FCA, this type of pre-emptive work is an example of the way the new regulator intends to act in the future, endeavouring to spot potential problem areas and prevent them from developing into bigger issues.

By acting now, in collaboration with the mortgage sector, the FCA is aiming to prevent interest-only borrowers defaulting on their loans in the future.

Over the next 30 years, some 2.6 million interest-only mortgages in the UK will become due for repayment. The FCA’s research indicates that around 90% of borrowers have a repayment strategy, such as a mortgage linked endowment policy. Despite this, just under half of all interest-only borrowers are modelled as likely to have a shortfall.

The FCA expressed concern that some borrowers are underestimating the problem, wrongly believing that they will have enough money to pay off their loan.

Among those who are set to repay their loan before 2020, a third of the shortfalls are expected to be over GBP50,000. Lenders will be contacting this group of borrowers first, if they have not done so already, because these are the people who have the least amount of time to find a solution.

The FCA said it believes that with careful planning, consideration and engagement with their lender, many interest-only borrowers – even those with loans maturing by 2020 – should be able to find a viable way to pay off their mortgage if they take control of the matter now.

Real estate investment trust The British Land Company plc (LON:BLND) said it had bought the 50% stake in the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre in South East London it did not already own from joint venture partner Tesco Plc (LON:TSCO) for GBP48m (USD72.5m/EUR56.5m).

British Land bought its initial 50% interest in the centre, which is located in Canada Water and features a Tesco Extra, in 2009.

Under the terms of the acquisition of Tesco’s holding, the UK retailer has committed to a new long-term lease on its store and the petrol filling station, which make up a substantial part of the centre’s income, the buyer said.

The deal follows a recent GBP493m stock placement, which has boosted British Land’s capacity to take advantage of investment opportunities, especially in London and the South East, the real estate investment trust added.

Real estate investment trust British Land Co Plc (LON:BLND) said today it plans to raise about GBP500m (USD743m/EUR571m) for current and future sector investments by placing a stake of up to 9.99% with existing and new institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Securities Ltd, Morgan Stanley & Co International Plc and UBS Ltd are assuming the roles of joint bookrunners and corporate brokers, while Goldman Sachs International will only act as a joint bookrunner with regard to the placing of up to 89.7m new ordinary shares.

British Land plans to use the proceeds to fund investment opportunities in its core sectors in London and the South East. The company noted it is in advanced stage of discussions in connection with some GBP150m of potential buys.

The placing is seen to be earnings accretive on an annual basis within 12 months following investment.

Government schemes to help home buyers in the UK are having a positive impact on the housing market, three housebuilding companies said this week.

Redrow, Persimmon and Bovis Homes have all announced strong growth in profit and all three voiced support for recent government initiatives designed to stimulate lending and boost activity in the market.

This morning Redrow announced a 50% increase in pre-tax profit to GBP23.0m for the last six months of 2012. The company’s chairman, Steve Morgan, welcomed the government’s attempts to improve the market through the NewBuy scheme, the extension of FirstBuy and the Funding for Lending scheme. He added that, if the current trend in reduction of mortgage rates continues, it will assist in the housing market’s gradual return to more normalised conditions.

On Monday Persimmon reported a 52% rise in pre-tax profit for the whole of 2012, to GBP225.1m, and said that its forward sales had passed the GBP1bn milestone, an increase of 9% on last year.

Mike Farley, group chief executive, commented that the company welcomes the government initiatives to support customer activity through FirstBuy and NewBuy. Group chairman Nicholas Wrigley noted that the availability of mortgages remains the key constraint on the housing market but said there are signs that lenders are embracing the Funding for Lending scheme.

Also on Monday, Bovis Homes posted a 69% increase in pre-tax profit to GBP54.1m for 2012. The company said that NewBuy activity is increasing and the second phase of the FirstBuy scheme will provide further support for first-time buyers in obtaining finance from lenders.

Chief executive David Ritchie added that although the positive effect of the Funding for Lending scheme is not yet clear in the published mortgage approval statistics, there is a growing consensus that the impact will be seen in mortgage approval data over the coming months.

Home repossessions in the UK last year fell to their lowest level since 2007, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported today.

Over the course of the year a total of 33,900 homes were seized by residential mortgage lenders, a decrease from 37,300 in 2011. As a result, the rate of repossession fell to 0.30% in 2012 from 0.33% a year earlier.

Additionally, the stock of properties in possession held by lenders at the end of 2012 was the lowest recorded for over five years.

The CML stressed that lenders try to keep borrowers in their homes and only take possession as a last resort.

In the final quarter of the year the number of properties repossessed by lenders amounted to 7,700, the lowest quarterly figure since the same period in 2007 and a decrease from 8,200 in the third quarter, maintaining a repossession rate of 0.07%.

There are indications that the number of repossessions will remain low, as the number of households in mortgage arrears at the end of the year also fell.

In fact, the number of households in the lower arrears bands has fallen fairly consistently since 2007, but the CML noted that there has been an increase in the number of cases where borrowers are in arrears of more than 10% of the mortgage balance.

The organisation emphasised the fact that higher arrears pose the greatest challenges for all parties involved in terms of households getting back on track. Anyone worried about their financial situation should talk to their lender as soon as possible, CML director general Paul Smee recommended.

The CML represents banks, building societies and other lenders who together account for around 95% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK.

A long decline in the UK’s construction sector was halted in the fourth quarter of 2012, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed today.

Construction output grew by an estimated 0.9% in the final quarter of the year, compared with the third quarter. This ends a run of quarterly decreases that started in the third quarter of 2011 and has resulted in the industry shrinking by 11% according to a report in the Financial Times.

Output in the fourth quarter grew by more than initially estimated by the ONS. In its preliminary estimate of fourth quarter 2012 GDP, the statistics agency had assumed an expansion in construction output of just 0.3%.

However, the revision to the estimate will not have a significant impact on later estimates of GDP for the fourth quarter, which is believed to have shrunk by 0.3% compared to the prior quarter.

The biggest contribution to the increase in construction output in the fourth quarter came from private housing (5.9%) and infrastructure (4.2%) although this growth was partially offset by falls in public non-housing and private housing repair and maintenance (4.9% and 4.8% respectively).

The estimated volume of all new work grew by 1.6%, while repair and maintenance work declined by 0.3% compared with the previous quarter.

Despite the quarterly improvement, construction output in the fourth quarter of 2012 fell by 9.3% compared with the same quarter in 2011, continuing the trend of year-on-year falls that began in the third quarter of 2011. The ONS noted that there were decreases in seven of the nine published sectors, with growth recorded only in two relatively small sectors – private industrial and public housing repair and maintenance.

The year-on-year comparison also shows that the estimated volume of all new work fell by 11.6% and repair and maintenance work was down 4.7%.

Further signs are emerging of a recovery in the UK housing market, as the Bank of England said today that mortgage approvals rose again in December 2012.

The number of loan approvals for house purchases climbed to an 11-month high of 55,785, increasing for the fifth month in a row.

Analysts believe that the revival in the market is an indicator that the government’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) has been successful in boosting lending. The scheme was launched at the start of August 2012 and was designed to encourage lending to households and growing businesses by allowing financial institutions to borrow at low interest rates.

Since the launch of FLS the number of mortgages on the market has increased and lenders have been reducing their mortgage rates, according to personal finance website This is Money.

Separate figures released today by the Building Societies Association show that, over the whole of 2012, mortgage lending by building societies and other mutual lenders grew to a total of GBP30.7bn. This is a 30% increase compared to the prior year.

Mutuals also represented a larger share of the overall lending market, taking a 22% market share of total new lending in the year, up from 17% in 2011. In December, total lending by mutuals increased to GBP2.4bn from GBP2.1bn a year earlier.

Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association, said that mutual lenders such as building societies are likely to continue to play a prominent role in the mortgage market in 2013 and he pointed out that more than half of the 35 firms that were signed up to the Funding for Lending Scheme in December are mutuals.

Last week the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported that gross mortgage lending in December reached an estimated GBP11.7bn, taking the estimated total for the year to GBP143bn, up from GBP141bn in 2011. In the coming year the organisation forecasts that gross lending will reach GBP156bn.

The CML represents banks, building societies and other lenders who provide a combined 95% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK.