Digest

• Development company Inland has bought a 3% stake in regeneration housebuilder Gleeson. Inland, which floated on AIM last year, already owns a stake in housebuilder Howarth Homes and last year bought Poole Investments, owner of a key 9.5 acre waterside regeneration site in Poole.

Inland was founded three years ago by chief executive Stephen Wicks with the aim of assembling a sizeable brownfield landbank and enhancing the value of sites by obtaining planning permission. The company's 2007 annual report said it had 22 sites owned or under contract, capable of producing more than 1,350 plots and 225,000ft2 of commercial space. Last year it sold three sites.

The news comes as the major housebuilders announced a series of bleak financial forecasts for 2008. For the months to 31 December, Barratt said that total completions fell from 10,623 to 9,056 (the completions of Barratt and recent acquisition Wilson Bowden at this point in 2006) which it said reflected an expected reduction in outlets, lower buy-to-let activity and tougher market conditions.

Taylor Wimpey said it experienced a downturn during the second half of 2007, and completed 20,645 homes in 2007, compared to 21,920 for 2006.

Redrow also reported a tough last six months of 2007 and said that higher interest rates and the current tightening of belts meant that legal completions for 2007 fell 5% to 2,111.

Forward housing sales at Persimmon fell 13% to £603m for 2008, compared to £701m at the same point last year. It said that lack of consumer confidence and the credit crunch were to blame.

The Miller Group also reported a sharp 18% drop in housing reservations compared to the same period last year.

And over at Bovis Homes, reservations at 31 December 2007 were 19% down on the previous year, with the housebuilder laying the blame on declining consumer confidence.

Meanwhile, privately owned housebuilder Croudace put itself up for sale at the end of last year. The South-east-based company is thought to be worth about £130m.

• Trevor Beattie, corporate strategy director of English Partnerships, is heading the new set-up team for the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). He will be joined by Margaret Allen from the Housing Corporation, who will lead on investment and development as well as Ros Dunn, who has worked at both the Treasury and CLG. Dunn will develop policy for the new agency. The three started work earlier this month. To read about new HCA chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake's vision for the new agency, go to page 12.

Architect Feilden Clegg Bradley has been appointed to design the UK’s first zero carbon office scheme. The Green House project is for a group of NGOs and will be located on an as yet undecided central London site. FCB beat off competition from Sheppard Robson and Wilkinson Eyre.

• The first show flat for Ikeas’ Boklok development of 120 affordable homes at St James Village in Gateshead was opened earlier this week. The houses are priced between £100,000 and £150,000 and some of the units will be sold under shared ownership. Live Smart @ Home, the commercial arm of affordable housing provider Home, has been licensed to build the BoKlok properties in the UK, which are targeted at first-time buyers earning less than £35,000.

Regenerate journalist David Blackman has won housing journalist of the year at the International Building Press awards. The judges said Blackman was a clear winner and that he raised valid issues and questions.