Macquarie’s rival SDCL lays out its plans for Green Investment Bank as talk grows of ham-fisted privatisation and possible flotation January 23, 2017 The Green Investment Bank (GIB) needs to be built up before it can be floated in several years' time according to a UK-based international consortium which wants to be reconsidered as a buyer for the government-owned bank. The consortium, SDCL, is backed by the UK's Pension Protection Fund, Hancock of the US and Mitsui of Japan. It [...]
Savings ratio set to hit 50 year low as baby-boomers top savings chart April 29, 2016 The household saving ratio, the percentage of personal savings to disposable income, is forecast to fall to its lowest level in 50 years in 2016, according to a new report. The amount that people are putting aside is set to drop to 3.8 per cent, though this remains higher among older generations. Current savings levels [...]
Regular home buyers feel the squeeze as investors and second home buyers storm London property market April 27, 2016 Fewer than half of all homes sold in central London over the last three months went to regular homeowners, a new report has shown, casting a light on the extent of the housing crisis in the capital. Buy to let landlords accounted for 36 per cent of property transactions during the first three months of [...]
Property prices are continuing to soar – and it’s not just because of stamp duty May 17, 2016 There's yet more evidence that the government's stamp duty changes forced house prices up in March – but experts are warning that a chronic undersupply of housing will continue to push prices up overall. UK house prices increased by nine per cent in the year to March 2016, up from 7.6 per cent in the year to [...]
Opinion: Installing tech gadgets could increase the value of your home by £25,000 – if you do it tastefully November 18, 2016 Performing a valuation is never as simple as it appears. A property's true value can only be determined once you step inside and inspect in great detail. A home’s more obscure characteristics, from off-street parking to its historical significance, can often add a substantial premium. In our most recent agent survey, Savills looked at what [...]
Crowdfunding website offers new ways to invest in UK property development April 27, 2016 A new crowdfunding platform is offering investors the chance to buy a stake in potential housing development sites. Intro Crowd, launched today, offers the opportunity for investors to buy shares in companies owning the land plots for as little as £1,500. Gregory Baker, Intro Crowd’s chief executive, said: “The government has pledged to build one [...]
This is why insurers should be doing more M&A December 1, 2016 Insurers that complete an M&A deal are flying ahead of their peers. A year after agreeing a deal, the share prices of insurance companies have been outperforming their competitors', according to research by Willis Towers Watson, the Cass Business School and Mergermarket. Read more: Insurance premium tax has been hiked… again The group looked at all M&A [...]
UK house prices: Buy to let investors are swarming the property market ahead of April’s surcharge, but supply is actually rising February 22, 2016 Buy to let investors are clearly getting their houses bought before the new surcharge rules come into place: new figures show a 35 per cent surge in buyer activity as supply fell eight per cent. According to estate agent Haart, there were 15 buyers for every new property that came on the market in January. But [...]
UK house prices: Asking prices reach record highs due to first-time seller surge, according to Rightmove April 2016 house price index April 18, 2016 If you had been hoping the property market would become easier to enter this month, you might still have to wait a while… UK house prices continued to rise throughout March, according to Rightmove, and the average asking price has reached a new record high of £307,033. This was a rise of 1.3 per cent, or £3,843, compared [...]
Housebuilders have their doubts about government targets May 6, 2016 When the government revealed its target to build one million homes by 2020, plenty of those dreaming of stepping onto the property ladder must have rejoiced. However, a study out today warns that they might have celebrated too soon, as over half (51 per cent) housebuilders believe that the target will not be met, with lack of land, painfully [...]