High demand and slowing supply push London residential rents to highest year-over-year jump in the country

Renters are bearing the brunt of increasing housing costs across the country, but no more so than in London, where rents have soared by 36 per cent over the past year — the country’s highest increase. The average one-bedroom rent in London is now over $1,800, according to a new report from Rentals.ca — a figure that would have been almost unthinkable to Londoners a few years ago. “The unprecedented growth in rents underway is broad-based across Canada, with most markets reporting double-digit annual rent inflation,” says president of Urbanation Shaun Hildebrand. “The need to ramp up rental supply has never been greater.”

The upshot: While the impact of higher lending rates on the housing market and falling home prices has been well documented, what's happening in the rental market hasn’t received nearly as much attention. As anyone who has signed a lease — or tried to — lately can attest, rent is going up across the city at an unprecedented pace. Normally, a slowing real estate market might be good news for renters, as landlords might be more eager to find good tenants. But that’s not happening right now for a reason that Londoners have become very familiar with over the pandemic: supply and demand. “Interest rates are actually working to elevate rent inflation because many people are not buying, so they are renting more,” said CIBC economist Benjamin Tal. When demand surges, Tal explained, it’s often met by a corresponding increase in supply, but that's not happening right now because builders and owners are fearful of the risk. “Developers are cancelling projects because of the cost of building. Investors, due to higher interest rates, are not investing in real estate anymore.”

Read more: Rentals.ca | London Free Press

Renaming of Westervelt College spells end of an era for one of London’s longest-standing brands

New signage at the school’s Richmond Street location make it official: the school formerly known as Westervelt College is officially taking on the name of Anderson College, with whom it announced a merger in February of this year. Since announcing the merger, the two schools have gradually combined their educational offerings for students across the province, and the recent announcement of the name change puts a bit of a bow on things. “We have been proud to join Westervelt’s established history and culture with a college so keenly aligned in values and focus,” says Don Thibert, Westervelt CEO. “Joining together under one brand as Anderson College makes us one of Ontario’s oldest colleges, and thus increases our impact and influence as we continue to empower students.”

The upshot: The name change represents a bit of a reversal from the initial plan, from February, to operate the two schools as independent brands. “Under one brand, we can serve thousands more students, increase program offerings and expand our community and business connections to support our students’ practical learning and career opportunities,” said Rose Elia, chief operating officer of Anderson College. In any case, it’s the end of a long era: Westervelt College has been around since 1885, making it Canada’s oldest career college and a household name in London. 

Read more: London Free Press | Newswire

Indiva remains atop Canadian edibles market, ramps up house brand production

Local cannabis company Indiva is still on top of the Canadian edibles market, the company announced as part of its latest financial update. The company noted that it remained the top edibles producer in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia — the three main cannabis markets in Canada — and were second in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, enough to make them the national leader with nearly 30 per cent market share in the edibles category. “Feedback from key accounts and budtenders has been very positive, which has translated into robust replenishment orders for our new products,” said CEO Neil Marotta.

The upshot: In an industry in which quarterly financials have been ― especially of late ― grim occasions, there’s a lot that looks quite good for Indiva here. They’re still hovering around the overall profitability threshold (which sounds not-so-good but is far better than most publicly-traded cannabis companies these days). As well, their product lineup is increasingly coming from in-house. “Indiva is transitioning from relying on licensed brands, which Indiva will continue to support with its best efforts, towards focusing on innovation at its core in order to drive future growth,” said Marotta, who noted that in Q3 Indiva launched a record number of new SKUs, including several Indiva Life brand products as well as the marquee Pearls by Grön line of gummies. 

Read more: Businesswire

YXU completes $12-million runway upgrade

The London International Airport has finished its major runway upgrade, a $12-million project that was aimed at future-proofing the runway as the airport continues to grow and expand. “The old runway surface was milled and a fresh layer of new asphalt was laid down,” said the airport in a press release, adding that it also installed low-energy LED lighting throughout. The project has been ongoing for the last six months and was the first major upgrade to the runway since the 1990s.

The upshot: Purely on infrastructure, YXU looks like it’s sitting pretty. Not only is its main runway newly resurfaced, but it’s also a uniquely long runway capable of landing “any size aircraft in the world,” noted president and CEO Scott McFadzean. “We continue to invest in the future of the airports we work to build back stronger following very difficult years during the pandemic.”

Read more: London International Airport | CTV London

Business Cares Food Drive launches 2022 campaign, appeals to local business to help meet all-time high demand

The Business Cares Food Drive is set to kick off its annual campaign amid a surging community need. The 23rd edition of the Drive, which leans on the local business community to organize workplace food collections, begins on December 1 with an event at RBC Place. “The current need at the London Food Bank has never been greater,” said campaign chair Wayne Dunn (pictured), in a release from the organization. “In fact, we have seen a 32 per cent increase in demand over the same time last year. [The London Food Bank] is now servicing approximately 4,000 families a month or 9,000 individuals, in addition to helping over 30 other social agencies and programs within our area.” Noting that the success of the drive is predicated on support from the greater business community, the organization is asking local businesses to get involved by registering a workplace collection drive. Business Cares will pick up collected items at workplaces on December 16, 19 or 20.

The upshot: As food prices soar amid rising inflation, the London Food Bank is sounding the alarm about the growing needs of the community, saying the agency is at a “crossroads” as winter approaches. Record numbers of families and individuals have been seeking out the food bank’s services this year, with grocery prices climbing at the fastest rate since 1981, according to Statistics Canada. “Every day is kind of like a new record,” the London Food Bank’s co-executive director Glen Pearson said in a recent interview. “It’s not just here, food banks across the country are in entirely new territory that they’ve never been in before.”

Read more: Business Cares

Western superlab nabs $16-million in federal funding

Western’s Covid superlab has nailed down $16 million in federal funding as it works on expansion plans for its new Pathogen Research Centre, an extension of the ImPaKT lab. The $16-million grant is being made through the federal Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund and will “support the expansion of ImPaKT to include a facility to test new antimicrobial strategies to prevent the airborne spread of infectious diseases and a facility to produce antimicrobial therapies and vaccines for human use.” Total cost of the Pathogen Research Centre will be $26 million to $30 million, and the school has applied to Ontario’s research fund for up to $10 million of the remaining cost. Similar to the ImPaKT lab, the new facility will be a Level 3 lab, the second-highest level of biosecurity facility, and construction is expected to start in the spring.

The upshot: ImPaKT was a relatively brand-new lab at the start of the pandemic, and quickly became one of the hotspots for Covid research in Canada. “We responded to [Covid] quickly by offering our expertise in pathogen research, and supporting public policy through efforts like our wastewater surveillance program — the first of its kind in Canada,” said Eric Arts, ImPaKT’s executive director. “This announcement recognizes that crucial work and attests to the fact that ImPaKT has the potential to develop into something bigger.” When completed, the expansion will be home to the ongoing wastewater surveillance program and will also house a drug manufacturing facility. 

Read more: Western News | London Free Press

Dispatch: November 25, 2022

A summary of recent business appointments and announcements, plus event listings for the upcoming week.

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