Standard Life Aberdeen remains optimistic despite 2020 profit slump March 9, 2021 Standard Life Aberdeen suffered a drop in profits in 2020, the fund manager announced today. Operating profit fell 27 per cent to £219m last year, while adjusted pre-tax profit dropped 16 per cent to £487m. The firm finished the year with a strong surplus capital position of £2.3bn, compared to £1.7bn in 2019, benefitting from [...]
London house prices: What £500k gets you in tube zones 1 to 6 February 23, 2021 For London workers, it can be an unsettling dilemma whether to spend more on a house near the office or upsize further out but spend more time and money on tubes. House prices differ considerably, even between adjacent tube stations. The average house price in Knightsbridge will set you back around £1.6m but hop on [...]
Home buyers seek stamp duty holiday extension over missed deadline fears January 13, 2021 The majority of house hunters believe the government should extend the stamp duty holiday, with many concerned they will be unable to complete their deals before the March deadline. According to the latest research, 67 per cent of buyers would like to see the property tax break extended, with 48 per cent worried the sale [...]
How Instagram conquered the antiques world January 20, 2022 It was a classic case of love at first sight. Over breakfast I’d spotted my ‘forever-table’ on Instagram, and by that afternoon my partner and I were en route to a residential street in Brixton to pick it up. The caption gave some dimensions and the price; the seller’s bio read ‘shop via the grid’. [...]
UK housing transactions surge in October due to stamp duty holiday November 24, 2020 UK housing transactions surged in October as the stamp duty holiday reignited the property market following the first coronavirus lockdown. Residential transactions jumped 8.1 per cent to 105,630 last month, compared to October 2019. Activity was 9.8 per cent higher than September, according to the latest statistics from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Non-residential transactions [...]
Scotland says, who needs oil and gas when you have whisky? November 2, 2021 As world leaders and conservationists continue to put more pressure on the use and extraction of fossil fuels to preserve the planet and combat global warming Scotland moves investors swiftly away from this sector to one of its oldest and most prized exports, whisky: Yes, you read correctly whisky, and what’s more surprising is scotch [...]
Lords committee: UK and EU both to blame for Northern Ireland Protocol mess July 29, 2021 A House of Lords committee has laid the blame for the mess around the Northern Ireland Protocol at the feet of both the UK and the EU, urging the two to come to a compromise solution. The Lords’ European Affairs Committee report into the protocol said Brussels needed to implement the protocol in a more [...]
From soldier fly farms to making crypto ‘not feel like crypto’ October 25, 2022 Remi Tuyaerts of Alluo Finance meets Jillian Godsil to discuss growing mushrooms and making crypto 'appeal to the average Joe'.
Shop ’til you drop: High street stores to stay open until 10pm after lockdown March 26, 2021 High street stores will be allowed to stay open until 10pm when they reopen next month. Non-essential retailers should be given the opportunity to extend opening hours to trade between 7am and 10pm every day except for Sunday, the government has said. The extension is intended to help reduce footfall, ease transport pressures and make [...]
London’s £10m+ home market is booming in these postcodes despite lockdown pause October 14, 2020 The market for homes worth more than £10m has boomed this year with total sales eclipsing £1bn despite the shutdown of the industry during the coronavirus lockdown.