Small companies clamour to float as Eurocell and Lakehouse line up for London Stock Exchange IPOs February 4, 2015 Two small companies this morning announced their intention to float on the London Stock Exchange, among the first few of a much-anticipated rush prior to the General Election in May. Window and door maker Eurocell said it was seeking a listing on the London Stock Exchange. It had sales of £173m and operating profit of [...]
Economic optimism? Many Brits still feel left behind – Brand Index January 27, 2015 Although yesterday’s 2014 fourth quarter GDP figures confirmed the fastest growth since before the financial crisis, the economy risks slowing in early 2015 as consumer confidence continues to be restrained. The first quarter of 2015 has got off to a muted start with the YouGov/Cebr Consumer Confidence Index rising only slightly in January as households’ [...]
In charts: UK house price growth slows but first-time buyers still feel the pinch December 16, 2014 First-time buyers are paying 12 per cent more this year than at the same point last year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS revealed house prices were flirting with stagnation in October, when they increased just 0.1 per cent on a month-on-month basis. After yesterday’s data from Rightmove showed [...]
With P2P lending passing £1bn in 2014, is it a real alternative to traditional financial services? February 1, 2015 Christine Farnish is chair of the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association, says Yes. Alternative finance is growing and the current regulatory and consumer environment in the UK means it is set to grow even further. Last week, the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Finance Association put out figures showing that, in 2014, our members had lent more than £1.2bn in [...]
London house prices: Renting in the capital could cost you half your salary November 24, 2014 As Britain’s property market continues to cool, rental prices are dropping too. According to data from HomeLet, rental prices in five of seven UK regions dropped between September and October, although the annual rate was still positive at 7.5 per cent. For Greater London, which has the highest average rental prices in the country, [...]
Wage growth set to support UK’s recovery January 12, 2015 STRONG wage growth and low inflation should boost Britain’s economic recovery, analysts at UBS Wealth Management told City A.M. The recovery has been rapid over the past 18 months, but a weak Eurozone and a slowdown in emerging markets had raised fears the UK would also take a knock. Instead, UBS hopes wage growth at home will help [...]
Booming house prices defy talk of cooler times November 18, 2014 UK HOUSE prices continued their summer boom into September, official figures say, but other sources show price growth slowing. House prices shot up by 12.1 per cent in the year to September 2014, up from 11.7 per cent in the year to August, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday. [...]
UK house prices: Berkeley Group brushes off lower growth to post 80 per cent profit growth December 5, 2014 UK house prices may have begun to slip from the meteoric growth levels seen earlier this year, but Berkeley group is still reaping the rewards. The British house building company reported a 79.9 per cent rise in profit before tax for the six months to 31 October, putting the figure at a healthy £305m. Revenue [...]
Bank of England: UK mortgage approvals fall to their lowest since 2013 December 1, 2014 The number of mortgages approved by banks fell to their lowest since June last year in October, figures by the Bank of England showed today. There were 59,426 approvals for house purchases during the month, down from 61,234 in September. That's down from an average of 63,727 over past six months. Mortgage approvals have been [...]
UK house price rises: should we copy Germany’s rental model? June 23, 2014 As fears continue to circulate that the UK housing market may be overheating, is it time to take some tips from our European friends when it comes to renting property? First let's take a look at how high property prices really are in the UK when compared to other countries in Europe. The best way [...]