Housing market boom helps to boosts demand at Topps Tiles July 2, 2014 TOPPS Tiles yesterday posted a jump in third quarter sales, helped by a buoyant housing market pushing more Britons into upgrading their homes. The tiling specialist, which runs 330 UK stores, said like-for-like revenues rose by 6.3 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 June compared with a drop of 1.5 per cent in [...]
Bottom Line: This house is built on strong foundations June 18, 2014 I WAS standing outside the Liberal Democrats’ party conference a few years ago (bear with me here…) when a group of Hampsteadite activists began to seethe about some or other goings-on inside the hall. Eavesdropping, I discovered that Vince Cable had just announced plans for a “mansion” tax on properties worth over £1m – in other [...]
In graphs: London house prices up 18.7pc in just a year June 17, 2014 House prices in London rose 18.7 per cent in the 12 months to April according to new figures released today by the Office of National statistics (ONS). Across the country prices were up 9.9 per cent, with growth outside London and the south east at 6.3 per cent. Despite figures from Rightmove yesterday showing the market [...]
Housing boom cements double digit revenue rise at Topps Tiles May 20, 2014 TOPPS Tiles yesterday posted a double-digit rise in sales, helped by a buoyant housing market pushing more homeowners into upgrading their floors. The firm said revenues rose 11.8 per cent to £97.7m in the half-year to 29 March, claiming this growth was “ahead of the tile market”. Pre-tax profits rose 70 per cent to £8m, [...]
Crowdfunding: Beware the celebrities offering investors strange deals September 14, 2014 I am a great fan of crowdfunding – it really is a cheap way of using modern technology to enable investors, including very small ones, to invest in all manner of things. So what can go wrong? Well, the regulators can stop it as effectively as they have made share offers to the public so [...]
Iced-Berg? Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and fellow tech CEOs get soaked August 14, 2014 It's often been said that the Silicon Valley tech scene is overheating, but photos of its best known chief exec dumping buckets of ice water over themselves is nonetheless perplexing. On closer inspection, though, you realise its a new social media “nomination”, not completely dissimilar to the no-makeup selfie, in a bid to raise [...]
London Report: Fall in financials brings London’s market down July 28, 2014 THE FTSE 100 yesterday ended down after weak US housing data discouraged investors in America and Europe during a data-light European day. The blue chip index lost 0.1 per cent to close at 6,788.07. Earlier in the day it had traded as high as 6,809.61, but moved lower together with other markets after pending home [...]
Living in luxury in London… as a student? September 5, 2014 Students deserve better and they’re willing to pay for it. At least, this is what some of the country’s leading estate agents and developers are starting to realise, and they’re happy to oblige with a range of quality alternatives to traditional student digs. Gone are the days when students were expected to put up with [...]
What the experts say: Will the arrival of Crossrail really push up property prices? May 22, 2014 Everyone’s heard that line, imparted as a pearl of wisdom, that it would be wise to buy a property near a new Crossrail station before prices shoot up. But will the high speed rail network really impact on house prices and should it make you think differently about where you’re buying? A number of developers [...]
What the experts say: Will the arrival of Crossrail really push up property prices? May 22, 2014 Everyone’s heard that line, imparted as a pearl of wisdom, that it would be wise to buy a property near a new Crossrail station before prices shoot up. But will the high speed rail network really impact on house prices and should it make you think differently about where you’re buying? A number of developers [...]