London house prices dropped in 2017: This is how the experts reacted January 4, 2018 London house prices fell last year for the first time since the financial crisis, and the capital was the worst performing UK region for property price growth for the first time in 13 years. House prices in the capital dropped by 0.5 per cent in 2017, according to the most recent Nationwide house price index, [...]
Halal service HalalEat looks to gobble up a slice of the food delivery boom August 1, 2017 HalalEat, the London-based food delivery startup, has today launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund its plan to expand nationwide. The company, founded in 2015, currently delivers food in East London and has limited coverage in Birmingham, Luton, Kingston and Portsmouth. HalalEat’s equity raising campaign on Seedrs reached 40 per cent of its £100,000 goal in [...]
Through the grapevine: Les Sources de Caudalie, a family-run hotel amid the vineyards of Bordeaux, is where the A-listers relax March 29, 2018 I’m soaking contentedly in a Jacuzzi constructed out of a giant wine barrel. Set among rolling vines, Les Sources de Caudalie delivers the holy trinity of life’s finer things; exquisite food and drink, world-class spa pampering, and Hollywood stars making their arrival by chopper. The hotel, located 20 minutes from Bordeaux, is part of an [...]
The UK’s EU referendum was the biggest nationwide vote since John Major was elected in 1992 September 13, 2016 June's Brexit referendum saw a higher turnout than any UK-wide vote for more than 20 years, the Electoral Commission has revealed. The figures confirmed that a massive 72.2 per cent of voters showed up to vote on 23 June, with almost 26.3m votes cast at polling stations. It means the referendum dwarfed every election since John [...]
House prices went up in August – but Nationwide says the outlook post-Brexit vote is “cloudy” August 31, 2016 Despite the recent Brexit vote – and changes to stamp duty rules – pouring cold water on new buyer enthusiasm, house prices picked up again in August. The Nationwide house price index for August showed prices increasing by 0.6 per cent, with annual house price growth increasing to 5.6 per cent, up from 5.2 per cent in [...]
After financial crisis hit, retail banks are building up their reputations (to “average”): These are the UK’s most and least trusted lenders | City A.M. May 31, 2017 The reputation of UK retail banks is growing, with Nationwide, Virgin Money and Halifax leading the way. But Royal Bank of Scotland, TSB and HSBC are trailing others in the latest UK RepTrak ranking, compiled by the Reputation Institute. The figures, based on more than 35,000 UK customer ratings collected in the first quarter of [...]
Nationwide house price index: House prices grew 0.3 per cent in September but growth slowed on an annual basis September 30, 2016 House prices increased by 0.3 per cent in September, according to the Nationwide house price index. Data for the month revealed that annual house price growth slowed to 5.3 per cent, down from 5.6 per cent in August. The rate of price growth in London slowed to 7.1 per cent in the three months to [...]
Venture funding from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), Episode1 and Entrepreneur First for biometric recognition company AimBrain could change the face of retail banking June 20, 2017 AimBrain, a biometric recognition business, could be set to change the face of retail banking after receiving £4m of venture capital funding. As banks increasingly look to explore automation and enhance security, devices ranging from mobile phones to ATMs could soon be paying much more attention to how customers look, sound and act. AimBrain’s founders, [...]
Fairtrade banking: Social impact investing is going mainstream October 25, 2017 Many people are familiar with fairtrade coffee, but less clear about where to go for the equivalent of “fairtrade banking”. This is where a new suite of products called social impact investment comes in. Social impact investment was originally a niche market. Options for people who wanted to be socially responsible in their investments were [...]
Barclays and Lloyds in £10bn borrowing boost from Bank of England term funding scheme stimulus | City A.M. September 7, 2017 Barclays and Lloyds Bank borrowed more than £10bn from the Bank of England’s term funding scheme in the second quarter of this year, ahead of the removal of the lending stimulus early next year. Barclays borrowed £6bn between April and June, while Lloyds drew on £4.5bn, according to the Bank of England’s latest data, published [...]