No more bubble? UK house price growth falls to 10.2 per cent August 19, 2014 House price hysteria has calmed slightly with prices rising by a marginally more modest 10.2 per cent in the year to June, compared with 10.4 per cent in May, official figures showed today. According to the Office for National Statistics' House Price Index, London and the South East continued to drive growth, with prices [...]
UK house prices soar as lack of homes fuels cost of living crisis September 22, 2014 House building in the UK has been in a continual state of decline since the 1970s, making it harder to own a home and to pay rent, according to a report released yesterday. In the several years preceding the financial crisis, just under 200,000 houses were completed per year – half the number that [...]
Green & Black’s founder Craig Sams on his plans to get us drinking real kola beans with Gusto Cola July 26, 2015 Back in the 1980s few people even knew that cocoa came from a pod grown on a tree. Absurd though that sounds, even supermarket buyers were unaware of cocoa’s provenance. As an experiment, Craig Sams, a legend in the macrobiotic diet community and founder of organic food company Whole Earth, decided to have some [...]
Car review: Don’t judge the Audi RS3 Sportback by its flashy logo June 29, 2015 Do you chuckle when you press your car’s accelerator to the floor? Do you have an exhaust that barks so loudly it startles passersby? Does your car cover ground so quickly that it’s just a blur to pedestrians? If you wish you could answer yes to these questions, then Audi’s new £40,000 RS3 could [...]
General election jitters? UK house prices fall off the boil in February March 5, 2015 The path to house price equilibrium is an undulating one. After a 1.9 per cent spike in January the average cost of a house fell by 0.3 per cent month-on-month in February, according to the latest data from Halifax. This put the price of the average home slightly lower at £192,372, with some analysts suspecting [...]
Focus on Soho: West End hotspot proves that central London never stops moving April 23, 2015 Moments away from Oxford Street and its swinging sister Carnaby Street, Soho has been frequented by artists, writers and more than a few ladies of the night over the centuries. But the recent influx of boutiques, gourmet burger chains and private members’ clubs means the area has caught the eye of London’s prime property developers. [...]
Riskier house lending rises to five year high June 10, 2014 MORTGAGES with smaller deposits now make up the largest share of the mortgage market in five years, as the credit market recovers. In the first quarter of 2014, mortgages with higher loan-to-value (LTV) ratios were growing as a share of the market, according to statistics released by the Bank of England yesterday. Loans worth 90 [...]
David Cameron’s party conference speech: Here’s what you need to know October 1, 2014 David Cameron has delivered his final party conference speech before the 2015 general election, to a surprisingly upbeat audience. The start of the Tory conference was marred by the defection of Tory MP Marck Reckless to Ukip and a ministerial resignation. Since the weekend, former deputy mayor of London Richard Barnes and Tory donor Arron [...]
In graphs: London house prices up 18.7pc in just a year June 17, 2014 House prices in London rose 18.7 per cent in the 12 months to April according to new figures released today by the Office of National statistics (ONS). Across the country prices were up 9.9 per cent, with growth outside London and the south east at 6.3 per cent. Despite figures from Rightmove yesterday showing the market [...]
Three reasons new car sales had their best month since 1999 April 8, 2015 Car dealerships across the country have been partying like it's 1999. They sold 492,774 new cars last month, which represents a six per cent increase from the same time last year, data released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers has shown. It was the best March on record, as well as the best monthly performance since [...]