Topps Tiles’ fortunes follow housing market January 7, 2014 Topps Tiles, the UK's largest tile and wood floorings specialist, saw a 9.3 per cent jump in like-for-like revenues over the run up to Christmas – in the 13 weeks ending 28 December. For a company that helps people refurbish their homes, how well Topps does is closely linked to the housing market (people do [...]
Letters to the Editor – 16/01 – Market share cap, France crumbling, Best of Twitter January 15, 2014 Market share cap [Re: Miliband mulls cap on market share of banks, yesterday] The idea of forcing banks to sell branches in order to promote competition is entirely misguided. If Labour is serious about this, it needs to provide far more detail on its definition of market share – will mortgages, branch size, and the [...]
Housing supply still restricted as booming demand raises prices across the country December 1, 2013 DESPITE renewed activity in the property market, the number of houses for sale in the UK has actually fallen over the past six month, according to a new survey of estate agents and surveyors. Figures released by Hometrack today show that, in the six months to November, the supply of housing for sale fell 0.6 [...]
Grafton selling more building supplies in Britain and Ireland January 9, 2014 BUILDERS’ merchant Grafton posted an eight per cent rise in annual revenues to £1.8bn yesterday, as demand for DIY and building equipment started to recover. Grafton, which moved its primary stock listing from Dublin to London in October, said its UK merchanting business posted a 3.2 per cent like-for-like rise in revenues, or a total [...]
2013 sees mortage lending rise by a quarter as market warms December 12, 2013 MORTGAGE lending rose by nearly a quarter in the 12 months to October, as prices and activity in the housing market begin to climb again for the first time since the financial crisis. According to figures released by the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday, lending for house purchases rose 24 per cent in the [...]
Budget at a glance: Osborne’s plans for Britain’s economy March 19, 2014 As growth bounces back, the focus turns to reforming savings THE ECONOMY UK growth for this year is now expected to be 2.7 per cent, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday – up from its previous estimate, made in December, of 2.4 per cent GDP expansion. A year ago the OBR expected growth [...]
We’re seeing respectable growth for a New Normal but real risks still remain February 1, 2014 UK ECONOMIC growth is looking up. The 0.7 per cent GDP increase in the fourth quarter of 2013 might not have been as strong as some commentators were expecting, but it means economic activity is up a full 2.8 per cent on a year ago. It’s not as strong as the 3.3 per cent growth [...]
Hays bullish after increase in UK hires January 19, 2014 Alistair Cox sees plenty of growth to come for British jobs, but skills shortages are a worry AFTER a torrid few years for the jobs market, the boss of the country’s biggest white-collar recruiter is feeling optimistic enough about the growing signs of recovery that he’s even planning to add some staff to his own [...]
Recruiters now seeing signs of broader economic recovery January 9, 2014 Hays has become the latest recruitment company to declare a thaw in the UK jobs market, with net fees in the last quarter of the year up 10 per cent. Hiring is on the rise in construction and there are pockets of jobs growth in financial services, finance director Paul Venables said. “In the City [...]
Britain’s consumers still have dangerously high levels of debt February 3, 2014 BRITAIN’S economic debate has moved on. A year ago, commentators were obsessed with whether austerity was good or bad for growth; today, with GDP roaring ahead, the big divide is between those who believe that the UK’s economic recovery is unbalanced and those who believe it will eventually turn out to be just fine. One [...]