Building an Opportunity Society is critical to Britain’s competitiveness July 9, 2015 While bolstering Britain’s economic growth and giving working people financial security is rightly this government’s most pressing priority, building the Opportunity Society must be its distinct legacy. A society where everyone can fulfil their potential, no matter what their starting point in life, is what a new generation of Conservatives is determined to help deliver, [...]
…but lending dip may have bottomed out February 25, 2015 MORTGAGE lending may have picked up again, with approvals rising marginally in January. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase was 36,394, according to the British Bankers Association. It marks the first climb in approvals since June 2014, but approvals are down 26 per cent year-on-year. “Aspirational first-time buyers and home movers face multiple [...]
SSI coke ovens and blast furnace to be closed after no viable offer was made for Redcar plant October 12, 2015 SSI's Redcar steel plant will be closed after no viable offers were received from potential buyers, the government confirmed this afternoon. SSI was wound up by the high court in Manchester last week at the company's request, but the Official Receiver had kept the site running while talks took place with interested parties, in the hope [...]
UK property prices: Have renters given up on owning their own home? Just 40 per cent of renters are saving for a house April 7, 2015 The UK's renters have given up on graduating to property ownership, it seems – after new research suggested just 43 per cent of renters aged between 20 and 45 are saving to buy a home. The figure has fallen by six percentage points since last year, Halifax's Generation Rent report showed. More than half [...]
Volkswagen UK market share plummets after emissions scandal as new UK car registrations rise December 4, 2015 Volkswagen sales in the UK fell 20 per cent in November, compared with last year, figures by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have shown – while the number of new cars sold in the UK rose. The embattled carmaker, which has been hit after it emerged software installed in some of its diesel engines allowed [...]
Metro Bank float may take the (dog) biscuit February 4, 2016 How much is a dog biscuit worth? A lot, if you believe the contents of documents sent to shareholders in Metro Bank ahead of its listing on the London Stock Exchange in March. Since its launch six years ago, the first new lender to hit UK high streets in more than a century has done a [...]
UK house prices: Buyer interest surges in March despite looming General Election April 22, 2015 Home buyer demand surged in the UK during March, as almost 22 per cent more people were hunting for houses than in the previous month. The uncertainty around next month's General Election was expected to dampen demand in the market, but the figures show healthy interest – in line with seasonal trends in a non-election [...]
Consumer’s guide to blockchain: How the cryptocurrency will revolutionise life for the consumer February 18, 2016 When I spoke to Peter Kirby, chief executive of blockchain startup Factom, he laughed when I described myself as a “blockchain traditionalist”. I meant that I still think of blockchain as the technology that made bitcoin credible – a peer-to-peer distributed ledger which immutably logs all transactions. This all sounds like jargon, so what does [...]
Expensive housing delays Brits’ aspirations to own family home March 16, 2015 Most Britons’ plans to own a family home have been thrown off track by the rapid price rises of the past decade, a study from Lloyds Bank shows today. More than 80 per cent of Brits believe homeowners have to wait longer for their long-term family home than they expected 10 years ago. And the study [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: David Cameron to unveil affordable housing plan October 7, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron will today claim the Conservatives are “the party of homeownership” as he unveils plans to accelerate the building of discounted properties for first-time home buyers. In his speech at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, Cameron will announce that the government’s proposed “starter homes” will be part of the wider [...]