Opinion: Lloyd’s Lend a Hand mortgage is a great deal for the bank, but is it any good for borrowers? February 15, 2019 A “new” mortgage called ‘Lend a Hand’ from Lloyds made the headlines last week – well, the real headline was the 100 per cent Loan-to-Value, which brought back memories of the financial crisis. Digging deeper into the mortgage itself, this product may well help first-time buyers, provided they are very careful, but, really, it is [...]
Focus on Willesden: A well-connected area where North London buyers can upsize November 1, 2019 One of the universally acknowledged truths of the London housing market is that needing more space often means moving further out. But it need not mean going all the way out into the sticks – and the North West London neighbourhood of Willesden is testament to that. While it is on the zone two-three border [...]
Autumn Budget 2017: Where first-time buyers will find the biggest stamp duty savings after it’s scrapped on property under £300,000 November 22, 2017 First-time buyers are being treated by the chancellor to a helping hand (albeit small) when it comes getting on the property ladder. Philip Hammond abolished stamp duty on homes under £300,000 for them – something that is expected to help out 80 per cent of newbies. Halifax has handily calculated just how much first-time buyers [...]
German court bans Tesla ads over self-driving claims July 14, 2020 Germany has banned Tesla from repeating what a court says are misleading statements relating to its driver assistance systems and autonomous driving. The case was brought by Germany’s Wettbewerbszentrale, an industry sponsored body tasked with policing anti-competitive practices. Tesla can appeal the Munich court’s ruling. The court agreed with the industry body and banned Tesla [...]
London housing market bearish in face of Brexit, chartered surveyors say April 11, 2019 Sentiment among London’s chartered surveyors is among the worst in the country, with house prices expected to fall in the capital over the next year, new figures show. In a poll of its members, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found London and the South East were the only two parts of the country [...]
Lack of buyers for No 1 Poultry loan in worrying sign for City’s property market December 6, 2023 Bank of Ireland is trying to dodge a loss on a loan secured against No 1 Poultry, a worrying sign for London's commercial property market.
Time to buy? Shares are up as Hotel Chocolat says it’s ‘on the front foot again’ October 12, 2023 Hotel Chocolat CEO said the "hard work" of a turnaround plan was beginning to pay off
McCarthy & Stone swings to a loss as completed projects halve July 15, 2020 McCarthy & Stone posted a £25m loss for the first half of 2020 this morning, and warned of further difficulties as the pandemic continues. The retirement-home builder said coronavirus had dampened housing transactions, affecting the number of sales it was able to complete in the six months to the end of April. McCarthy & Stone [...]
Bitcoin parabola signals the starts of a new crypto paradigm November 27, 2020 Bitcoin momentum stalled at around $19,400 as it began to slip into dangerous territory before breaking its parabolic trend that began in the first week of October. However, historical precedent speaks volumes about bitcoin’s mini parabolic run-up, and what’s to come in 2021. While hindsight bias could elaborate on what precipitated the sell off, bitcoin’s technical [...]
Why we built a better Tether January 27, 2021 This week I had a long meeting with the FCA reviewing our fully regulated Peer to Peer savings and loan platform JustUs. The FCA has the unenviable task of trying to stress test the health of the financial services industry in the middle of a health and economic crisis via their quarterly “Covid19 Financial Impact [...]