High stamp duty on prime property may prove self-defeating for the government October 2, 2015 In the days that followed the Conservative Party victory in May, the widely-held assumption was that normal service would resume at the prime end of the London housing market with double-digit annual growth. It was a proposition that never looked likely for several reasons, the principal one being a rise in stamp duty last [...]
Property firm Grainger achieves sales growth despite electioneering building February 5, 2015 PROPERTY management firm Grainger said despite the good start to the year, the company expects the months leading up to the election to result in a softer market on home sales as uncertainty weighs on market sentiment. The company saw sales in the four months to the end of January increase by four per cent [...]
UK house prices: A return to optimism? – CNBC Comment February 16, 2015 The UK housing market is a favourite topic of conversation – a national pastime, even. But an abundance of different data types mean that statistics can swamp and confuse anyone looking to gauge the current climate. Property website Rightmove just announced its busiest ever month for house hunters, while Halifax saw its biggest January monthly [...]
London can revive its industry and double house-building by getting creative with its space October 18, 2015 The average Briton spends eight hours and 41 minutes using digital devices each day, according to Ofcom – more than they sleep. It is therefore little surprise that we are also the biggest online shoppers in Europe, and this rapid growth in e-commerce partly explains London’s resurgent industrial sheds market, required to stock goods. Transactions [...]
Taylor Wimpey reports sunny outlook for spring as it shrugs off slowing housing market March 3, 2015 The figures Britain's second biggest homebuilder said full-year revenue rose 17 per cent to £2.7bn, up from £2.3bn a year earlier. This was helped along by operating profit which swelled 53.6 per cent to £480m. Total home completions jumped 6.5 per cent to 12,454 (including joint ventures) up from 11,696 in 2013. Total average selling price [...]
EU referendum: Prime Minister David Cameron says “we can succeed in this renegotiation” October 19, 2015 Negotiations with the United Kingdom's European counterparts are going well, Prime Minister David Cameron has said. Speaking to MPs in the House of Commons, Cameron said that the negotiations which took place last Thursday in Brussels, including a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, were positive. Cameron added: I've set out the four things we [...]
Bank of England stress test: British lenders assessed against global economic crunch March 30, 2015 Britain's biggest banks have to prove they could withstand a global economic crunch, under a stress test unveiled by the Bank of England yesterday. The fictional scenario is based on real fears that a slowdown in China and renewed recession in Europe could hit the UK economy and its banks. The six biggest banks [...]
VC fund targets £83m space sector shake-up October 5, 2015 A VENTURE capital fund that aims to nurture start-ups disrupting the UK space industry will kick off a roadshow this week to close an £83m fundraising. Seraphim Capital’s Space Venture Fund wants to speed up the commercialisation of space by investing in small to medium-sized businesses developing cheaper and more accessible technologies. It will also [...]
City Moves for 23 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 22, 2015 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS The law firm has appointed Dale Huxford as of counsel in its corporate practice in London. He joins from BroadTech Global. Huxford was also formerly a member of the emerging companies group at Orrick in London, where he provided legal services to early and growthstage technology companies. STRAWBERRY STAR The property company [...]
Skills shortages are a perfect storm for London construction September 22, 2015 No matter where you are commuting from this morning and where your final destination is, it will be impossible not to notice the construction boom taking place in the capital. All around us, new housing is taking shape to accommodate the largest population that London has ever known. Whether colossal structures piercing the low-lying [...]