Mortgage lending grows in solid start to the year June 11, 2019 The UK mortgage market enjoyed a solid start to the year as residential lending and new mortgage commitments both rose. The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans rose to £1.45bn in the first quarter, a 3.4 per cent rise on a year earlier. Read more: Mortgage approvals rebound after delay on Brexit deadline The [...]
South West London homes grow in demand as end of lockdown nears April 12, 2021 High-end homes in South West London have grown in demand in the first quarter of this year, according to estate agent Benham and Reeves. As the end of lockdown nears, the leafy suburbs of the capital have seen a one per cent increase in interest by high-end homebuyers in the £2m and over range. “We’re [...]
Flood the streets with art: traffic-free weekends and an all-night celebration in the City for a cultural comeback May 24, 2021 The City’s reopening is building up to a crescendo with the return of visitors and audiences to some of the Square Mile’s iconic cultural institutions. One of the things that I – like many others – have missed the most during lockdown has been the opportunity to enjoy world-class art and culture in person rather [...]
How Instagram conquered the antiques world January 20, 2022 It was a classic case of love at first sight. Over breakfast I’d spotted my ‘forever-table’ on Instagram, and by that afternoon my partner and I were en route to a residential street in Brixton to pick it up. The caption gave some dimensions and the price; the seller’s bio read ‘shop via the grid’. [...]
BT ‘on path to growth’ despite first-quarter revenue slip July 29, 2021 BT today issued a bullish forecast for its prospects for the rest of the year despite posting a decline in revenue and pre-tax profit in the first quarter. The FTSE 100 firm reported a three per cent slip in revenue to just over £5bn due to the continued impact of the pandemic. This was offset [...]
Opinion: Uncertain times are leading to London property ‘microclimates’ October 25, 2019 The fluctuations and instability experienced by the capital’s housing market continue to be underpinned by, for want of a better phrase, ‘Brexit uncertainty’. A market once dictated by patterns and trends has been shaken by political turbulence, leaving buyers and sellers with little direction on how to navigate it, which is ultimately resulting in inconsistencies [...]
Labour floats radical housing policy as election looms September 2, 2019 Labour is mulling a radical new housing scheme in which first-time buyers could potentially purchase their property for less than the market price. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the plan, first floated by Jeremy Corbyn in 2015, would disrupt the rising buy-to-let market and stop landlords making “a fast buck” at the expense of their [...]
Timewarp one-owner 1979 Ford Escort up for auction April 1, 2021 The low-mileage Ford Escort comes with a wad of service history, including a copy of the cheque for £4200 used to buy it.
Channel 4 privatisation risks pulling the plug on UK production June 23, 2021 When Thatcher’s government set up Channel 4 back in 1982 as the boisterous youth-focused challenger to the BBC behemoth, it was a radical shake-up of Britain’s fusty broadcasting landscape. Now, almost four decades later, that same landscape is unrecognisable, its skyline dominated by the giants of the internet and streaming age. It’s in this context [...]
The best sports cars to buy in 2022 November 18, 2022 We nominate the best sports cars on sale in 2022, from the eccentric Morgan Super 3 to the venerable Porsche 911.