Construction work coming in at quickest rate seen this century October 22, 2014 THE CONSTRUCTION sector is continuing to pick up momentum, with workloads rising at their quickest rate for 20 years, new survey data shows today. The survey undertaken by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) uses net balances – the proportion of people giving a positive response minus the per cent of those giving a negative [...]
London tech startups attract $200m Singapore venture capital fund Infocomm October 21, 2014 Singapore venture capital fund Infocomm is setting up shop in the capital, bringing its $200m (£124m) fund to startups in London and the rest of Europe for the first time. The move was spurred by the momentum in the capital's tech sector and the new outpost makes permanent an 18 month “commuter relationship” with the city, [...]
£106m Quantum IPO puts Zeus Capital over £1bn raised November 27, 2014 Zeus Capital has advised on over £1bn worth of funds raised on Aim this year, after securing £106m for Quantum Pharma’s float next month. Quantum, the County Durham-based firm, is set to become the biggest pharmaceutical and biotech float on Aim this year with a valuation of £125m when its shares begin trading on 11 [...]
How Britain can tackle its stubborn trade deficit December 17, 2014 AS WE take a moment to look back on 2014, there is one aspect of the economy that has underperformed – UK exports. Recent forecasts predict that British exports will be down on last year, having a tangible impact on overall economic growth. In fact, net trade knocked 0.5 percentage points off GDP growth in [...]
Islington’s war on foreign investors will do nothing to solve the housing crisis December 9, 2014 ISLINGTON Council has just declared war on overseas investors. It has even coined a catchy little phrase, “buy-to-leave” investors, citing them as the cause of new homes standing empty. Under new proposals, under consultation until 30 January, owners of new builds will be unable to leave their homes empty for longer than three months or [...]
Construction output expected to outstrip UK economic growth October 19, 2014 CONSTRUCTION output is forecast to increase twice as fast as UK economic growth as a whole next year, according to a bullish assessment of the market by a construction trade body today. The Construction Products Association, which includes Lafarge Tarmac, Hanson and Grafton Group as its members, forecast construction output to grow by 5.3 per [...]
UK construction output flat in July on back of slowing housebuilding market September 12, 2014 The UK's construction output was flat in July, according to month-on-month figures out this morning from the Office for National Statistics. On an annual basis, output has risen 2.6 per cent – the slowest rate of growth since November, and down from June's three month high of 5.3 per cent, the data showed. Could [...]
Why Labour’s landlord plans will mean a better private rented sector September 10, 2014 Contrary to the views expressed by Ryan Bourne of the IEA, Labour’s reforms to the private rented sector are designed to address the chronic instability faced by families up and down the country. However, I agree wholeheartedly with his analysis that addressing the shortage of homes is paramount, and that’s why Labour has committed [...]
Surprise as UK construction falls by 3.9 per cent in August October 10, 2014 UK construction contracted by 3.9 per cent in August – far worse than the 0.5 per cent expansion predicted by economists. Surprisingly almost no one saw this coming: a Bloomberg poll of analysts predicted a 0.5 per cent rise: 4.4 percentage points too optimistic. Every analyst polled by Bloomberg predicted expansion. As the Office of [...]
How shared ownership can help get Londoners on the housing ladder October 22, 2014 The Scottish Parliament has set out plans to levy its first tax since 1707. In an effort to support first time buyers, it proposed reforming stamp duty into a marginal – rather than a “slab” – tax, meaning that house sales in Scotland will no longer incur the highest rate on the whole price. These [...]