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 [...]
Business “can’t ignore” public concern over immigration, warns IoD November 28, 2014 Businesses cannot ignore the UK's concerns about immigration, the Institute of Directors has warned, after David Cameron outlined new measures to curb immigration to the UK. Although business traditionally argues in favour of encouraging immigration, pointing out that immigrants can fill yawning skills gaps in the UK workforce, Simon Walker, director general of the Institute [...]
Rightmove stays bullish despite cooling down of housing market November 6, 2014 Property website Rightmove yesterday said it had a confident outlook for the full year, as more agents and developers used its service to advertise despite signs of a cooling housing market. In a trading update for the four months to 31 October, Rightmove said its membership had grown two per cent since the first half [...]
City Moves for 10 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 9, 2014 Lambert Smith Hampton The commercial property consultancy has appointed Kenneth Hogg as a director in its London valuation team. He has 24 years’ experience in commercial property, and joins from Davis Coffer Lyons. TSB Craig Bundell has been appointed head of credit cards at the bank. He joins from Mastercard, where he held the position [...]
Test October 13, 2014 The house price boom in the UK may be slowing, but the market isn't in bad shape. We have higher prices than before the crash and there is enough demand in the market, even it it is waning slightly. The story is very different on the continent. Spain created a property bubble of mammoth proportions in the [...]
Pub firms left in limbo by MP vote to slash beer tie November 18, 2014 Pub companies suffered a bitter setback last night after parliament voted to let landlords buy their beer on the open market, opening the door to a historic overhaul of the industry. In a surprise loss for the government, MPs voted 284 to 269 to remove the obligation for around 13,000 UK landlords to buy their [...]
Construction output falls 2.2 per cent – but it’s not as disappointing as it looks December 12, 2014 Growth in the UK construction industry rose by a modest 0.7 per cent in October compared with the year before, and contracted 2.2 per cent on the previous month. Does this mean the sector – which has until recently put in a reliable performance – is beginning to suffer? It's worth pointing out that the [...]
UK house prices grow 9.6 per cent in a year, but growth is slowing. Here’s why October 8, 2014 More data showing the housing market is slowing has emerged today. Halifax, which bases its calculations on its own mortgage lending, calculates prices have risen 9.6 per cent over the year to September (down from 9.7 per cent for the year to August and 10.2 per cent for the 12 months to July) and 2.7 [...]
UK house prices drop for the first time in 17 months September 30, 2014 UK house prices have dropped for the first time in 17 months, dipping 0.2 per cent between August and September. In price terms, this means a drop of £931 for the average residential property, from £189,306 to £188,374. The data, from Nationwide, shows the annualised growth rate also slowed to 9.4 per cent from 11 [...]
What an MBA can offer an entrepreneur March 11, 2015 Even if you don’t go on to found a firm, it’s a safe place to experiment. You dont's need an MBA to set up a business, but it could well help. Harvard Business School analysis of “unicorn” businesses (US-based software firms founded between 2003 and 2013, with valuations of over $1bn) found that 33 per [...]