UK building societies lambast European regulators’ plans to tighten lending rules April 17, 2016 UK BUILDING societies have blasted European regulators' proposals to toughen up lending rules, which they argue would be detrimental to the growth of their businesses . The European Banking Authority (EBA) is considering tightening the necessary leverage ratio, so that building societies will need more capital in order to lend. The proposals are based on [...]
London’s Bournvilles: What the future of housing looks like in a supply-squeezed capital April 1, 2016 As everyone who studied the Victorians knows, one of the lasting legacies of these periods are the worker villages of Bournville and Saltaire. Planned and executed by the Cadbury and Salt families respectively to provide good quality housing for their employees, and thereby promoting staff loyalty and better living standards, these villages still thrive today. What [...]
How new London mayor Sadiq Khan can solve London’s startup funding crisis May 12, 2016 I would like to congratulate Sadiq Khan on becoming London’s new mayor and it is encouraging that he claims he will be “the most pro-business mayor London has ever had”. There is a booming startup scene in the capital which, if supported, will benefit our City for generations to come. But success is by no [...]
UK consumer confidence at highest level for two years, despite Brexit concerns April 29, 2016 Consumer confidence in the UK has reached its highest level in nearly two years despite concerns over the EU referendum, new figures released today show. The YouGov and Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) Consumer Confidence Index increased by 2.2 points in April to 115.2 – slightly behind the 115.4 recorded in May 2014. The largest [...]
The only “logical” answer to Brexit: Declare London a city state June 2, 2016 I believe any rational assessment of the situation should lead to a vote to remain in the EU. There is almost universal consensus among economists and the major global economic institutions that a Brexit will result in an economic hit to the country. There is a small possibility that it might destabilise global financial markets. [...]
UK housing: Skills shortages forcing construction firms to turn down building work August 19, 2015 Is a skills shortage fuelling the UK housing market's supply issues? Research published today suggests that two-thirds (66 per cent) of small and medium construction firms have had to turn down work because they don't have the staff to carry it out, according to the Federation of Master Buildings. London has the biggest [...]
Stamp duty changes and Brexit uncertainty are weighing on prime London house prices – Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors March 10, 2016 Central London house prices stalled in February as the prices in the rest of the country and outer boroughs marched on. The difference between the number of property surveyors who said London prices had gone up minus those that had said they had gone down was three per cent. The same statistic for the UK [...]
Demand for homes in London is falling as prices keep rocketing – except in these two boroughs April 6, 2016 It looks like rocketing house prices are having a demotivating effect on London home buyers, after new figures suggested demand for homes has fallen across many of the capital's most exclusive boroughs. The figures, by online estate agent Emoov, found demand for homes in Southwark fell 50 per cent between the final quarter of last year [...]
Ad agencies need better advertising: 101’s Laurence Green on why positioning should be more important than pitching June 20, 2016 Our industry conversation has swung too far from long-term to short, from strategy to tactics, and away from the alchemical power of great creative,” says Laurence Green, founder of creative agency 101. He has been critical in the past of the fact that pitching has become the default method for procuring agencies’ services. And he believes [...]
Now Halifax says UK house prices dropped last month – but rose almost 10 per cent in the year to February March 3, 2016 It was a day of two house price indices today, and while Nationwide was insistent that house price growth was flat between January and February, figures from Halifax have shown prices fell by1.4 per cent. But Halifax's house price index, released today, also showed prices rose 9.7 per cent from last February – and were up [...]