London average house prices top £600,000 for the first time November 16, 2014 The average price of a residential London property has risen above £600,000 for the first time but signs of cooling are evident. The break through the £600,000 barrier in house prices in November marks just a 0.8 per cent increase on October’s figure, according to data released today by online property market platform Rightmove. Rightmove’s [...]
Playing by the book February 18, 2015 Annabel Denham talks to CrowdBnk founder and chief executive Ayan Mitra about plugging the SME funding gap and the importance of regulation in a new industry CROWDFUNDING appears to be experiencing an interminable growth spurt. According to Nesta, the UK alternative finance market grew by 91 per cent between 2012 and 2013, and crowdfunding represented [...]
British mutuals seize customers from big banks February 26, 2014 THREE major building societies yesterday reported big increases in profits for 2013 as the sector seized customers from the big banks. The Yorkshire Building Society saw pre-tax profits jump to £199.3m, up 26 per cent on the year. It is the second largest mutual behind Nationwide, and its gross lending volumes increased 48 per cent on [...]
Letters to the Editor – 09/04 – Student migrants, Stamp duty, Best of Twitter April 8, 2014 Student migrants [Re: It’s a national scandal that Britain is driving away foreign talent, yesterday] Lord Bilimoria hits the nail on the head. The government’s ridiculous net migration target has had the perverse effect of forcing the Home Office to tighten up the rules on international students, who are presumably the very migrants we should be [...]
Thorntons’ share price collapses 25 per cent following profit warning December 23, 2014 Chocolate maker Thorntons has ended the year on a disappointing note, warning falling sales will hit the company's earnings for the full year. The company's share price slumped a whopping 25 per cent when the market opened. Thorntons announced its UK Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) division had faced "challenges" that hit sales performance in [...]
UK house price growth slows, but prices are five times average earnings December 4, 2014 House prices across the UK were up 8.2 per cent in the year to November, another month of slower growth after October's 8.8 per cent rise. The price to earnings ratio is ticking up, however, and has reached a multiplier of 5.02. Halifax’s house price index also showed quarterly prices up 0.7 per cent (slowing [...]
House sales hit six-year high as activity spreads across the UK April 9, 2014 PROPERTY sales have soared to their highest level in six years as the housing boom grips regions across the UK, a new survey by property experts revealed today. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said the housing recovery is “well and truly underway” with buyers testing the market right across UK and not just [...]
How one million homeowners have only known ultra low rates March 4, 2014 MORE than one million first time buyers have jumped on the property ladder in the five years since the Bank of England cut interest rates to 0.5 per cent, raising fears that borrowers are unprepared for a rate rise in the years to come. It is five years to the day since the base rate [...]
Surveyors say house shortage is lifting prices February 12, 2014 A SHORTAGE of homes is forcing up house prices across the whole of the UK, according to a leading survey published this morning. The alarming figures follow a separate data release yesterday which showed mortgage-lenders ramping up loans to first-time buyers who are anxious to get on the housing ladder. Demand in the market appears [...]
England to start march towards World Cup with victory over Wallabies November 27, 2014 AFTER months of careful planning, preparation, and fans’ anticipation, England’s Autumn Internationals all comes down to this. The Red Rose will run out at Twickenham tomorrow for the final time of 2014 to take on Australia, knowing that yet another defeat to a Southern Hemisphere side will cast serious doubt on their ability to emerge [...]