Focus On Croydon: Concrete jungle of Zone Five is increasingly popular with young professionals July 8, 2016 It’s a concrete jungle out there. At least, it is if you live in the London borough of Croydon. Despite birthing Kate Moss, Sir Philip Green and Tracey Emin, it’s not an area that’s known for glamour, largely due to a preponderance of outdated 1960s office blocks. Though there have been many attempts to revive [...]
Bank shares and stress tests: the value investor’s verdict December 8, 2016 The Bank of England’s latest stress tests of the UK banking system attracted many column inches of space in the newspapers last week. The aim was to calculate whether these institutions would have enough capital to withstand certain grim scenarios. Moving away from some of the inflammatory headlines, it is worth looking in more [...]
Bank shares and stress tests: the value investor’s verdict December 8, 2016 The Bank of England’s latest stress tests of the UK banking system attracted many column inches of space in the newspapers last week. The aim was to calculate whether these institutions would have enough capital to withstand certain grim scenarios. Moving away from some of the inflammatory headlines, it is worth looking in more detail [...]
Over half of remortgagors lowered mortgage rates in May as EU referendum looms June 20, 2016 More than half of people remortaging in May chose to lower their mortgage rate, as remortgagors braced themselves for a possible Brexit. A third of borrowers reduced their monthly spend by up to £500, and over a quarter (26 per cent) increased the size of their loan, according to research from Legal Marketing Services (LMS). Read [...]
How the ONS single-handedly knocked £100,000 off the average UK house price in April June 15, 2016 Eagle-eyed house price watchers may have spotted something fishy about the official house price figures for April. Yep: in the figures, published yesterday, the average UK house price was almost £100,000 lower than last month – dropping from £292,000 in March to just £209,000 in April. Are those jitters over the EU referendum really having that bad an [...]
Better Capital boss Jon Moulton on Brexit, his firm’s exit and why he still hasn’t forgiven Liam Fox January 16, 2017 Bald, bold and bespectacled, private equity veteran Jon Moulton has had more than his fair share of knocks as well as high points during a long career. He was branded the Christmas Scrooge in December 2014 when City Link collapsed into administration leaving nearly 2,700 jobs at risk. “We made a very bad decision to [...]
Countrywide shares are getting hammered after warning on profits November 4, 2015 Countrywide’s share price is getting hammered, leading the losers on the FTSE 250, after having warned on profits. The company’s share price was down 12.70 per cent in mid-morning trading after the announcement. Read more: Countrywide shares slump after housing market slowdown Shares in Britain's biggest lettings and estate agency Countrywide have plunged more than [...]
A tale of two cities: Sales of London new-build homes have plunged as sky-high prices put off buyers August 15, 2016 New research suggested sales of new-build homes in London have almost halved – despite the fact the city is in the grip of a housing crisis. Research by London Central Portfolio (LCP) using figures from the Land Registry has shown only 1,491 new-builds in inner London have been sold so far in 2016 – 43 per cent [...]
The government’s public land sell-off for new homes is not running to schedule, according to the National Audit Office July 12, 2016 The government's plan to release enough public land to build 160,000 homes is not running on schedule, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has claimed today. The government has only sold land with capacity for 8,580 homes – and it needs to release the land for 160,000 new homes by 2020. Read more: Can [...]
Sir Stirling Moss’s Mayfair house up for sale: Live life in the fast lane in the first home of Formula One legend September 4, 2015 Fancy yourself a bit of a hotshot? Well, there’s no way to ensure you’ll reach the finish line first but you can get a headstart by following in the footsteps of a Formula One legend. Sir Stirling Moss’s first house has gone on sale in Mayfair and it’s sure to attract some high flyers. [...]