London Report: Insurance firms start a deluge of UK earnings February 23, 2014 A BUMPER week for UK earnings kicks off today with results from Hiscox, one of the big home insurers reporting full-year figures. Figures from Hiscox, RSA and Direct Line could give more detailed estimates of losses for UK industry and themselves after recent flooding and storms. Aviva and L&G are also set to give end [...]
Housebuilders take a knock as BoE ends Funding for Lending for mortgages November 28, 2013 Shares in the housebuilding sector have taken a tumble across the board this morning on the news that the Bank of England is ending its Funding for Lending scheme for mortgage providers. At pixel time, Barratt Homes has plummeted 9.6 per cent. Persimmon, the UK's largest home builder, is down over six per cent. Taylor [...]
House sales jump as Help to Buy kicks in November 6, 2013 British house building company Persimmon has posted an increase in weekly private sales of 45 per cent in the third quarter. The firm attributed a large part of the stronger growth to the government's Help to Buy scheme, which the company says "has proved particularly attractive." Persimmon sold 3,000 homes under the first phase of [...]
Help to Buy lifts Persimmon new sales past 3,000 November 6, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon said yesterday it has sold over 3,000 homes under the government sponsored Help to Buy scheme, in yet another sign of rising confidence in the housing market. Chief executive Jeff Fairburn said that while 90 per cent of sales were to first-time buyers, growing market confidence was prompting more second and third-time buyers [...]
Labour’s land grab will only exacerbate our housing crisis. Here’s why December 16, 2013 Ed Miliband is set announce details of how a Labour government would intervene in the housing market to boost supply. A Labour government would give local councils the power to purchase land or charge fees to believe developers are hoarding land. The Labour leader will say in a speech on Monday: We will back home [...]
London Report: Rio Tinto holds up FTSE despite housing drop November 28, 2013 HeAVYWEIGHT miner Rio Tinto helped keep the FTSE 100 in positive territory yesterday, offsetting weakness in housebuilders after the Bank of England removed a mortgage support scheme. Rio Tinto enjoyed hefty gains in an otherwise subdued session – adding six points on its own to the FTSE 100 – as investors responded bullishly to the [...]
Strong start to the new year for Persimmon February 25, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon yesterday reported a sharp rise in full-year profits and said its strong performance has continued into 2013, with forward sales reaching £1bn. Britain’s largest housebuilder by market value said underlying profit before tax increased by 52 per cent to £225.1m in the year to 31 December while its operating margin rose 10 per [...]
Persimmon builds on improving sentiment with jump in profits August 20, 2013 AN IMPROVING housing market, a pick-up in mortgage availability and a rise in consumer demand have helped to boost Persimmon’s profits and margins in the first half. Britain’s largest housebuilder by market value yesterday reported a 40 per cent jump in underlying pre-tax profits to £135.3m in the six months to 30 June, compared to [...]
FirstBuy helps attract buyers to Persimmon January 8, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon yesterday posted a 12 per cent rise in annual revenue and an uptick in interested first time buyers helped by government incentives. The news came as Persimmon revealed its chief executive would retire in April after seven years at the helm. Mike Farley, who has been with the company for more than three [...]
RBS and Lloyds results look set to show losses February 24, 2013 STATE-BACKED banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group are both expected to announce full-year results this week, with analysts forecasting both lenders will remain loss-making. Investec believes RBS, which will deliver its 2012 figures on Thursday, will announce an attributable loss of £2.2bn for the final quarter – or a £5.6bn loss for [...]