Why 2016 will be the year that peer-to-peer lending finally enters the financial mainstream December 21, 2015 UK peer-to-peer platforms will have lent over £2bn by the end of 2015. Our activities account for 92 per cent of the alternative finance industry, and peer-to-peer lending forms a significant part of the wider financial landscape in its own right. In just 10 years, we have developed into a grown-up and regulated industry. [...]
Manchester City on alert as Bosman lawyer launches FFP challenge November 24, 2015 One of the lawyers behind the landmark Bosman ruling has launched a second legal challenge to European football's financial fair play (FFP) rules. Jean-Louis Dupont has asked the Court of First Instance in Brussels to effectively freeze FFP rules and prevent governing body Uefa from implementing the next phase, which is set to see [...]
Stamp duty was already a bad tax – the buy-to-let surcharge makes it even more stupid November 30, 2015 Petty, shallow and stupid. That pretty much sums up the government’s new 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge on additional properties, announced by the chancellor in the Autumn Statement last week. Beyond the naked appeal to the public’s envy of second home owners and buy-to-let landlords, there is almost nothing to recommend this measure on [...]
The UK legal sector is vital to the City’s international success March 17, 2016 The City of London’s position as a world leader in finance and business is widely acknowledged. I know this only too well from my own work, both as an international commercial barrister and as the current chairman of the Bar of England and Wales. But the City is being challenged by other financial centres in [...]
Google tax row: Corporate behaviour and the UK’s tax code need to change – and urgently February 11, 2016 The tax affairs of multinational companies have dominated debate in recent weeks. Interest will likely spike again later today, when the Public Accounts Committee takes evidence from HMRC on the tax deals agreed with well-known global corporates. MPs will doubtless have some sharp questions to ask, reflecting increasing public anger around this complex issue. In an ever-more [...]
Sadiq Khan’s policies would only make London’s housing crisis worse April 15, 2016 When Londoners go to the polls for the mayoral election on 5 May, there’s no doubt that the issue of housing will be at the top of many voters’ minds. Over half of Londoners now mention housing as one of the most important issues facing the capital – an increase of 13 percentage points compared [...]
With reform of Sunday trading laws put on hold, is England showing the world it’s closed for business? November 10, 2015 Adrian Pepper, managing director of Pepper Media and the founder of consumer group Open Sundays, says Yes You can now shop on the Champs-Elysees in Paris all day on a Sunday. But you can only spend six hours in the supermarkets and tourist emporiums of Knightsbridge, Oxford Street or Westfield. As things stand in the [...]
The City has nothing to fear – and much to gain – from Brexit February 29, 2016 The UK’s continued membership of an increasingly hostile EU is putting the City at risk. The EU is an important market but its significance has been waning. In 2005, 39 per cent of our exports in financial services, pensions and insurance went to the EU, but this has now fallen to 33 per cent. By [...]
Budget 2016: George Osborne’s speech in full March 16, 2016 George Osborne has just revealed the Budget for 2016. There was good news for businesses with corporation tax being sliced and business rates being reformed – but bad news for smokers and students who hate maths. Mr Deputy Speaker, Today I report on an economy set to grow faster than any other major advanced economy in [...]
UK Task Force on Shale Gas: Start fracking to determine its economic benefits December 15, 2015 Britain should start exploratory fracking as a litmus test for how much it could contribute to the country's economy, according to the Task Force on Shale Gas. The Conservative government has promised to drive forward shale gas in the UK. But projects often face opposition from local councils, due to concerns ranging from its environment impact to the [...]