UK retail sales’ sluggish new year start as cash-strapped Brits go online to nab deals February 17, 2023 UK retail sales remained muted in January following December’s fall, with fuel sales spiking and prices continuing to plummet. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the figures which showed retail sales volumes increased by just half a per cent last month. This comes after it dipped by 1.2 per cent in December, despite the [...]
Ka-Ching! Brits pay instantly £1.65bn more in interest after today’s Bank of England rate hike September 22, 2022 With the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee confirming its base rate will rise by 0.5 per cent to 2.25 per cent, UK households face an immediate increase in interest payments of £1.65bn. Analysis of Bank of England data shows UK households are currently paying £20.25bn annually in interest payments on floating rate debt that are [...]
‘Divorce Day’: Why cash-strapped couples are looking at putting off their split amid money woes January 9, 2023 Over a third of married couples who had been considering a divorce are now opting to stay in their relationship because of the cost-of-living crisis, according to a survey. The first working Monday of the new year has been dubbed ‘Divorce Day’ by lawyers, but many couples are thinking twice before splitting from their partner [...]
Persimmon and Barratt to sign Gove’s cladding contract as others stall for time January 30, 2023 A handful of developers plan to sign the government contract to fix buildings affected by cladding and other fire risks in the coming weeks. Levelling up secretary Michael Gove gave developers a six-week deadline to commit to more than £2bn of repairs to fix the issues in buildings taller than 11 metres. This comes on [...]
Home sellers in for a shock as house prices drop across UK and overall growth slows November 7, 2022 House prices across Britain recorded the biggest monthly fall in October since early 2021, according to an index out this a.m. The average property value fell by 0.4 per cent, marking the third month-on-month drop seen in the past four months, Halifax said. The latest month-on-month decrease follows monthly falls of 0.1 per cent in [...]
A new Tory green agenda has to be stubbornly pro-growth September 27, 2022 In 1990, Margaret Thatcher called for action on climate change, remarking that we all need to “make changes and sacrifices, so that we do not live at the expense of future generations”. The key question is whether Truss will follow in the footsteps of her idol, or take more inspiration from Thatcher’s climate sceptic Chancellor [...]
Octopus looks to slash heat pump costs with Lloyds deal November 9, 2022 Renewable energy firm Octopus has struck a deal with Lloyds Banking Group to roll-out low-cost heat pumps to customers today, in a tie-up that aims to boost the decarbonisation of domestic heating.
UK house price growth slows to 10 per cent as energy crisis batters Brits September 1, 2022 Annual UK house price growth slowed to 10 per cent in August, from 11 per cent in July.
Berkeley and Persimmon to reveal housebuilder pain of interest rate hikes March 10, 2024 UK housebuilders are set to shed light on the state of the fragile property market amid a number of key updates from firms next week. Shareholders are braced to see accounts for Persimmon, Berkeley and Vistry all show a fall in sales numbers after higher interest rates weighed heavily on activity last year. Interest rates [...]
TSB’s profits more than double as lending and spending soars July 28, 2022 Edinburgh headquartered bank TSB today said its profits for the first half of the year had more than doubled, as its incomes were boosted by higher lending balances and increased card spending following the end of Covid restrictions. The bank said its statutory pre-tax profits had increased 139.9 per cent to £102.9m, as customer lending [...]