DFS defies wet weather to double profit Retail Furniture retailer DFS almost doubled its half-year profit despite recording lower shop footfall as wet weather dampens sales across retail. The London-listed company recorded a £30m profit in the first half of this year, almost double the £16m recorded the year prior, as revenue grew by nine per cent to £548m. The wet weather has [...]
Omaze house prize draws fuel first UK profit Property Omaze, which runs house prize draws across the UK, has made its first profit since launching in this country. The division of the US-headquartered business has posted a pre-tax profit of £6.2m for 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. The profit comes after Omaze reported a pre-tax loss of £17.3m for 2023. The [...]
Millennials and Gen Z cling to property dream as house prices soar Property Millennials and Gen Z are refusing to give up on their dream of owning a home despite the steep challenges of getting on the property ladder, fresh research has found. Over 35 per cent of Gen Z and 40 per cent of Millennials think that owning a property is the most effective way to grow [...]
FTSE 100 flirts with record high but falters once more June 11, 2025 The FTSE 100 once more narrowly missed on a record closing high on Wednesday after faltering in the final moments of the trading session. The UK’s flagship index edged up 0.13 per cent to 8864.35p. This brought it just short of March’s record close of 8871.31p. Housebuilders topped the morning risers with Persimmon and Barratt [...]
London house prices rise by just £600 as worst borough revealed January 14, 2025 The London borough where more houses fell in value than almost any other area in the UK in 2024 has been revealed. According to new data released by Zoopla, the value of 72 per cent of houses in Kensington and Chelsea fell by at least one per cent last year. A total of 73,200 homes [...]
Use development orders to tackle housing crisis, ministers told November 15, 2024 The UK government should use development orders to circumvent the planning regime, build homes and address the housing crisis, a new report has argued. Ministers should deploy existing powers – known as local development orders, which allow specific development in certain areas without a planning application – to turbocharge housebuilding, the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) [...]
Rightmove predicts positive property market in 2025 November 8, 2024 Rightmove has said it sees a “positive outlook” for the property market next year as it updated its forecasts for the whole of 2024. The FTSE 100 company has upped its 2024 revenue guidance to around £390m, reflecting seven to nine per cent growth and in line with previous market expectations. Rightmove now expects average [...]
London house prices gloom revealed but owners set for £84,000 boost November 6, 2024 The average home in Britain will be £84,000 more valuable in five years’ time, according to a new forecast, but London house prices will grow slower than anywhere else in the UK. Real estate giant Savills has said it expects the typical property value to reach £442,000 by the end of the period to 2029, [...]
Renters set for more tough times as house sales strengthen October 10, 2024 The latest RICS Residential Survey has provided a lot of optimism for house buyers and sellers, but less for tenants, who are set to contend with an even tougher market. The survey, which asks estate agents for their opinion on the housing market, found a “sustained improvement in market activity”, with measures of demand, sales and [...]
Zoopla: Property portal returns to the black after cutting almost 100 jobs September 20, 2024 Online property portal Zoopla returned to profit during its latest financial year as its sales passed the £90m mark. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have revealed that the business swung to a pre-tax profit of £18.7m in 2023, having reported a pre-tax loss of £6.2m in the prior 12 months. The results also show that [...]