Housing associations in £30bn mega-merger talks to build 100,000 London homes April 6, 2016 Three of the UK’s biggest housing associations are in talks to merger, with the view to build 100,000 new homes across London and the south east over the next decade. L&Q, The Hyde Group and East Thames said the proposed move will turn them into one of the country’s top four largest housebuilders with a [...]
Cala Homes targets £1bn sales by 2020 after record profits September 7, 2015 Upmarket housebuilder Cala Group delivered a record number of house sales last year as part of a major expansion drive that will see it reach £1bn sales in the next five years. The Edinburgh-based group, which was sold by Lloyds Banking Group to Legal & General and private equity firm Patron Capital a year ago, [...]
London homes now more expensive that two thirds of world’s private islands, says Labour’s London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan April 6, 2016 Wouldn't it be nice to live on your own private island. Nice – nice and cheap. London homes are now more expensive than two thirds of the world's private islands, says Labour's London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan. He's looked at data from global property consultancy Knight Frank, which shows 65 per cent of private islands currently [...]
Tata will start a formal sales process by Monday for its UK business after Javid hails “constructive and positive meeting” in Mumbai April 6, 2016 Indian steel giant Tata will kick off the formal sales process of the its UK business on Monday its been announced by business secretary Sajid Javid following emergency talks in India. Javid hailed the meeting as "constructive and positive". He yesterday held meetings with steel unions and the only party that's publicly expressed interest in Tata's Port Talbot steelworks, Liberty [...]
Fancy living like royalty? Move into the wing of this Grade-I listed castle on the corner of Greenwich Park April 25, 2016 Everyone has a favourite London park, but when it comes to views, Greenwich is unrivalled. Rolling hills give way to the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, which eyes up the white-domed O2 Arena with its bright cranes like candles on a birthday cake. For 22 years, Dave and Barbara Edgar have invited friends and family to [...]
BHS saga continues: Chappell comes under spotlight as MPs scrutinise funds he used June 23, 2016 Ever since BHS collapsed into administration, recriminations have flown about who is to blame for the parlous state of its finances, particularly with regard to the £571m pension deficit. Today, the spotlight fell again on Dominic Chappell, the former racing car driver and bankrupt whose outfit Retail Acquisitions bought BHS for £1 off from its [...]
UK property transactions down by 45 per cent in April as stamp duty changes hit May 24, 2016 The number of property transactions in the UK fell by 45 per cent between March and April, according to new data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The figures from HMRC show 94,370 properties were sold in April compared to 164,400 in March as landlords scrambled to snap-up homes before stamp duty changes came into effect, putting a [...]
Japanese drinkers snap up Digby Fine Wines’ first shipment of fizz to the region in less than a month March 29, 2016 It seems that it's not just British whisky that's whetting Japanese consumers' appetites. Trevor Clough, chief executive of UK fizz maker Digby Fine Wines, is loudly trumpeting the news that his firm's first shipment of English sparkling wine to Japan has sold out before the end of the month. Digby, which counts luxury investment company The House [...]
London is leading a second post-crisis boom in house prices March 30, 2016 House prices across the country continue to surge. Data published by the Land Registry this morning shows the average UK property price was £190,275 in February, a 6.1 per cent climb on the same month last year. London leads London house price growth continued to outpace the rest of England and Wales. The average price [...]
Nine up-and-coming fintech startups to watch (and Lloyds thinks so too) August 2, 2016 A handful of startups from around the world are hoping to disrupt the big banks with new innovations after being chosen as ones to watch in the world of fintech by one of London's top accelerators and top global businesses. Startupbootcamp's fintech programme, backed by the likes of Lloyds and PwC, have chosen nine new up-and-coming early stage fintech [...]