UK property prices: Property sales tick up in May – but the outlook is uncertain June 23, 2015 The number of UK residential properties sold climbed in May, new data show. A total of 98,540 properties changed hands, according to figures released by HMRC yesterday. It marks a rise on April’s 97,610. However the market is slower than it was a year ago when 101,710 properties were sold. The figures translate to a [...]
Budget 2015: A quick guide to all the key measures March 18, 2015 Chancellor delivers good news for savers and first-time buyers as he turns up heat on banks in play for votes ahead of election. UK ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ● The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year. However, the economy grew by just 0.5 per cent in the final three months of 2014, [...]
Buyers lured as clubs post record profits June 3, 2015 ENGLAND’S leading football clubs have become the subject of increased interest from potential buyers after entering what industry experts believe is a new era of profit-making. Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, which advises parties looking to acquire and sell teams, said it had noticed the market warming to Premier League sides in response to unprecedented financial [...]
Brewing up a storm: Pact Coffee’s Stephen Rapoport talks Brazil, bikes and changing the coffee industry July 19, 2015 There is one person at Pact Coffee who knows more about a cup of joe than anyone else in the company – and it’s not founder Stephen Rapoport: “I just can’t keep up with our head of coffee, Will. His knowledge is astonishing.” This is difficult for Rapoport, who is, by his own admission, “pretty [...]
UK house prices: The proportion of house buyers shunning mortgages for cash purchases has hit a record high June 3, 2015 More people than ever before are buying houses without the need for a mortgage, according to new figures. Almost four in 10 people (38 per cent) paid for their properties in cash during the first quarter of the year, Nationwide has said. This mitigated subdued mortgage lending data to some extent. There are signs that [...]
Motoring review: Fiat 500 1.2 Pop Star September 7, 2015 IT’S s a city car, so you need to drive it in the City”, they said. Fair enough. So why am I aboard a boat, admiring the view of Tower Bridge exchanging small-talk with a fashion blogger while sipping a virgin cocktail? Well, I’m at the launch of the new Fiat 500, of course. By [...]
Motoring review: Fiat 500 1.2 Pop Star September 7, 2015 IT’S s a city car, so you need to drive it in the City”, they said. Fair enough. So why am I aboard a boat, admiring the view of Tower Bridge exchanging small-talk with a fashion blogger while sipping a virgin cocktail? Well, I’m at the launch of the new Fiat 500, of course. By [...]
Help-to-Buy mortgages nearly double in 2014 second quarter September 2, 2014 The Help-to-Buy scheme is making up an increasing proportion of the mortgage market, with the number of government-guaranteed loans nearly doubling between the first and second quarters of the year. There were 11,243 uses of the controversial scheme between April and June, up significantly from 6,335 in the first three months of the year. When [...]
BBC TV centre homes to go up for sale July 27, 2015 Homebuyers will soon be able to own a slice of TV history. Kasmira Jefford reports. THE scenery block at the former BBC Television centre in London’s White City is eerily quiet. For over 50 years the cavernous space used to bustle with carpenters and designers assembling sets for some of Britain’s best known programmes, including [...]
London property prices: In 16 weeks the value of this three bed terrace shot up £340k October 17, 2014 While the data is telling us the London property market is cooling, there are still plenty of signs of just how crazy it can be. Here’s one. It’s not a super skinny house with a bed next to the kitchen, no, this time, it’s an almost average house in zone 2- but its value has [...]