Stealth hike in inheritance tax not the answer to care crisis February 10, 2013 ONCE again, I find myself disagreeing with the government. The coalition is about to introduce a £75,000 cap on the cost of social care for the elderly, in an attempt, or so it claims, to ensure that people no longer have to sell their homes to pay for help when they become very old. It [...]
Industry wants coalition to look again at property rates change November 5, 2012 RETAIL and property groups yesterday demanded the government consider axing part of the coalition’s Growth and Infrastructure Bill, which postpones the next property revaluation upon which rates are based. The last ratings revaluation used values from 2008 – at the height of the housing boom – which industry bodies say is penalising firms in the [...]
Advisers PWC December 10, 2012 Ian Green led the innovative deal for UK Coal. Green joined PwC 25 years ago, has been a partner for over ten years, and is now the regional chairman for PwC’s operations in Yorkshire and the North East. This includes overseeing more than 1,000 members of staff at key offices, including Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and [...]
Boris calls for renegotiation of deal with EU December 4, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday called for Britain to renegotiate its relationship with the European Union, saying he wanted a new deal based solely on trade agreements that would be put to the public in a national referendum. “Boil it to down to the single market, that’s the great achievement of the European Union, I think we [...]
OpCapita boss Jackson sees repeat of MFI November 1, 2012 HENRY Jackson, founder of OpCapita, is no stranger to the UK high street but his track record of turning companies around has been far from perfect. His company picked DIY chain MFI as its maiden takeover, snapping it up for £1 in 2006 and securing a £130m dowry before it collapsed into administration with huge [...]
FTSE spikes in afternoon trading on US December employment boost January 3, 2013 BRITAIN’S FTSE rallied in the afternoon yesterday, as encouraging economic data out of the United States provided the momentum to lift the index to fresh 17-month highs. The FTSE 100 had edged lower in morning trade, but added 0.3 per cent in 15 minutes after the release of data showing that US private-sector employers added [...]
Mortgage firm should use new ambitions to fund core activity December 3, 2012 SO, it looks like even the buy-to-let cash cow isn’t enough to satisfy FTSE 250 success story Paragon anymore. Paragon’s share price has been mirroring the rental market recently. Rents soared to yet another record high last month, with the average London tenant paying £1,102 a month according to LSL, while mortgage provider Paragon’s shares [...]
New chair for British Land as profits increase November 20, 2012 BRITISH Land, the UK’s second-largest property company by market value, said yesterday that its chairman will step down at the end of December, as it reported a solid growth in profits for the first half of the year. Underlying profit before tax at the real estate investment trust rose 3.8 per cent to £137m in [...]
Entertainment pros who thought outside the box January 20, 2013 WHEN Michael Comish and Adrian Letts first met, they prefaced everything they said with “just so you know I’m not stealing your idea, here’s what I think”. They needn’t have worried. What emerged was a concept that seems so obvious now it may leave you pondering that frustrating question: “Why didn’t I think of that?” [...]
Rail users hit by above-inflation fare increases January 1, 2013 TRAIN passengers will from today have to pay an average of 3.9 per cent more for their tickets. Commuters on some routes will be hammered by hikes of more than 10 per cent, sparking anger among campaigners and politicians over the government’s rules on setting fares. Train operators must stick to an inflation-linked cap on [...]