There’s been a huge spike in Americans searching for London property since the US election November 11, 2016 Remember when searches for Irish passports broke the Irish embassy website after Brexit? Well, it seems anti-Trump Americans have set their sights rather further – after property portal Zoopla reported a 45 per cent spike in traffic to its website from the US in the hours after the Presidential election result was announced. According to [...]
Everything that you need to know about this week’s housing white paper February 5, 2017 The government is set to reveal its long-awaited housing white paper this week after a series of delays. Q: Why do we need a housing white paper? A: There is a mismatch between supply and demand in the housing market which has caused prices to rise to levels that are unaffordable for many. Meanwhile, the [...]
Mapped: The best (and cheapest) towns to commute to London from January 17, 2017 It's the holy grail for Londoners of a certain age: a town close enough to the capital to commute from, but far enough away to be affordable. Now London's best commuter town has been named: step forward, Amersham. The Buckinghamshire town, 27 miles from London (and 59 minutes on the Tube), has been ranked the [...]
Here’s how much London’s Airbnb hosts will make on New Year’s Eve December 29, 2016 If you've already made your New Year's resolutions, here's one to add to your list: put your home on Airbnb. Figures by the company have suggested Londoners will make a whopping £17m this New Year's eve. The 2m people the service expects to find beds for is a 1,400-fold rise from New Year's Eve in 2009. [...]
Budget 2016: Commercial stamp duty cut for small firms while large-scale buyers get hit March 16, 2016 Commercial stamp duty has been cut by the chancellor George Osborne in the 2016 Budget, while the government is set to go ahead with plans to increase a duty on buy to let properties and second homes. The stamp duty on commercial property will have a zero rate band on purchases up to £150,000; a two per cent rate on [...]
City Moves for 14 November 2016 | Who’s switching jobs November 14, 2016 Valad Europe Valad Europe, part of Cromwell Property Group, a global real estate investment manager, has hired Robin Macpherson as head of risk, Europe. Reporting directly to David Kirkby, CEO, Europe, Robin will be responsible for all aspects of risk management affecting the European business. The role will include leading and overseeing legal and compliance issues [...]
UK Budget predictions 2016: What do free marketeers want from chancellor George Osborne? March 15, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne normally pulls something out of his hat on Budget day, but with pensions seemingly pressured off the table, his choices are restricted. But in an ideal world, what do free marketeers want from him next week? Corporation tax This, the TaxPayers' Alliance says, is undermining what is already weak public confidence in [...]
Investec: Challenger banks including OneSavings Bank, Aldermore are undervalued as investors are spooked by worries over buy-to-let regulation January 7, 2016 Concerns over increased regulation of the buy-to-let residential property market have prompted investors to undervalue some of Britain’s leading challenger banks, analysts at Investec have claimed. In a new note out today, Investec analysts upgraded their recommendation on OneSavings Bank, a FTSE250-listed lender, from “hold” to “buy” off the back of recent share price fluctuations. [...]
Wembley Park project secures financial backing from three institutional heavy-hitters November 15, 2016 The firm behind the multi-billion pound redevelopment of the land surrounding Wembley Stadium has announced a vital £800m refinancing, which paves the way for its "new masterplan" for the area. Quintain, which was last year taken private in a £745m deal by US private equity firm Lone Star, announced it would replace its £425m loan from Wells Fargo with [...]
Bank of England sets out UK bank stress test scenario and reveals plans to raise the countercyclical buffer rate for British banks in 2017 March 29, 2016 British banks, building societies and investment firms will need to build up their cash piles under new rules revealed today by the Bank of England. In a statement today, the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) said that even though British banks have improved their “resilience” in spite of global and domestic headwinds, investors expect weaker [...]