Housebuilder Barratt Developments defies Brexit jitters as profits climb September 4, 2019 Barratt Developments shrugged off concerns of a housing market slowdown today after reporting a rise in pre-tax profits for the year to June 2019. The figures Britain’s largest housebuilder, which has been reducing its exposure to Central London’s subdued property market, posted profits before tax of £910m in the 12 months to 30 June, rising [...]
Mortgages, pensions and other savings products are not designed for self-employed workers – here’s what needs to change September 4, 2019 A growing number of us are choosing to go it alone. According to recent figures from the Office for National Statistics, the number of self-employed workers is now nearing the five million mark. That’s around 15 per cent of the UK workforce, and a million more people than the same period in 2009, with London [...]
Hotel group Dalata buys Shoreditch site from Foxtons tycoon’s property firm September 3, 2019 Hotel operator Dalata has snapped up a plot of land in Shoreditch from Foxtons tycoon Jon Hunt’s property firm in a deal worth £32m. The Irish company today said it has secured the purchase of the Paul Street site, which has planning permission for a hotel with up to 140 rooms. Read more: Easyhotel bidders [...]
No-deal Brexit to accelerate London house price drop September 2, 2019 London house prices could sink up to seven per cent next year if no Brexit deal is reached by the 31 October deadline date, according to the latest research. If the UK exits the European Union with a deal London house prices will fall by a smaller 4.7 per cent, continuing the trend of declining [...]
Berkeley Group faces opposition to new bonus policy September 1, 2019 Berkeley Group is facing opposition to its payment policy after a shareholder advisory firm urged investors to vote against the housebuilder’s new bonus structure at a meeting this week. The payment policy has been opposed by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which said proposals to axe its bonus were “unlikely to affect the remuneration received by [...]
Mortgage approvals hit two-year high while consumer credit growth remains stagnant August 30, 2019 Mortgage approvals for July hit a two-year high according to official data released on Friday. The Bank of England data revealed that lenders approved 67,306 mortgages last month, up from 66,506 in June. Read more: Londoners pay highest UK house premium to live closer to a station The housing market has endured a slowdown since [...]
UK house prices remain stagnant as no-deal Brexit looms August 30, 2019 UK house prices grew at less than one per cent for the ninth month in a row in August, Nationwide figures revealed today, prompting calls for Boris Johnson to slash stamp duty. The value of homes did not grow between July and August, Nationwide’s House Price Index found. Read more: London commuter belt house prices [...]
Property of the Week: An avant-garde home where where architects once partied in the garden August 30, 2019 There is a niche sub-sector of the London property market consisting of homes that appeal mostly to architects – or at least to those with more than a passing interest in design. On the outside their appearance can be divisive, often consisting of a fair bit of concrete, aluminium or glass. Inside, though, you will [...]
New comparison website claims to be ‘Skyscanner for interiors’ August 30, 2019 Ever bought a piece of furniture that you thought was just right for your home, and then been dismayed to stumble across a very similar item that was a better shade, significantly cheaper, or just a bit nicer? This is the problem that Kuldea, a new comparison website billing itself as a kind of Skyscanner [...]
Focus on Balham: The family-friendly outpost is now pricier than Wimbledon and Putney August 30, 2019 In the post-war era, Balham was mocked as the ‘Gateway to the South’ in that infamous Peter Sellers sketch sending up radio adverts for far-flung holiday destinations. The joke was that nothing much exciting happened there – it was an archetypal dreary suburb. How times have changed. It is now a fiercely sought after location [...]