‘The world of Cat TV is more cut throat than you would ever imagine’ – inside the strange business of TV… for cats
Housebuilder Bellway calls for ‘immediate’ cut to stamp duty August 11, 2026 Housebuilder Bellway has called on the government to slash stamp duty immediately and roll out a first-time buyer scheme to revive Britain’s flagging housing industry. The FTSE 250 firm said on Tuesday that housing demand has been hammered by last year’s pre-Budget speculation and the recent rising mortgage rates triggered by the Iran war. Jason [...]
Vistry shares slide after Allianz ‘cuts insurance cover’ August 10, 2026 Shares in Vistry fell on Monday morning after speculation over its insurance cover prompted fresh fears that the housebuilder is facing cash struggles. The FTSE 250 housebuilder saw its stock slide by nearly eight per cent to 261p in early trading, meaning the firm has shed more than half of its market value in the [...]
‘Grinding it out’: Ibstock swings to loss and cuts dividend amid building slump August 5, 2026 One of the UK’s biggest brickmakers has bemoaned a ‘challenging’ housebuilding market as it slashed its dividend and swung to a loss. Leicestershire-based Ibstock, which is London’s second most shorted stock with a reported short interest of 12.9 per cent, posted a loss of £27m for the first six months of the year, down from [...]
Housebuilder shares rally on Iran war peace hopes and help-to-buy revival August 3, 2026 Shares in leading London’s listed housebuilders jumped on Monday as investors bet a potential Iran war peace deal and a mooted new help-to-buy scheme would provide a boon to Britain’s flagging property market. FTSE-100-listed Persimmon jumped more than four per cent to 1,152 while mid-cap Vistry gained six per cent to 310p on Monday. Analysts [...]
Rightmove: Housebuilders face worst conditions since financial crisis July 31, 2026 The boss of property portal Rightmove has warned that UK housebuilders are facing the worst conditions since the 2008 financial crash. Johan Svanstrom, the FTSE 250 firm’s chief executive, said on Friday that new home developments are at “historically low levels due to continued softer build rates”. The property platform said growth in its new [...]
High interest rates and low confidence put construction firms under pressure, Lords warns July 30, 2026 Construction firms have been hit by a barrage of reduced market confidence, high interest rates and rising national insurance costs, builders’ merchant Lords has warned, after it suffered its biggest-ever single-day stock fall. The London-based firm released a challenging market update on Thursday, which saw its shares plunge 20.61 per cent to an all-time low [...]
Housebuilder hits a wall: How did Vistry become the UK’s most shorted stock? July 24, 2026 Vistry, the “nation’s favourite housebuilder,” has become the UK’s most shorted stock. From a shift to a bold new model to hopes that it can fuel Burnham’s housing vision, Felix Armstrong unpicks the firm’s recent history Back in 2024, Vistry boss Greg Fitzgerald was brimming with optimism. The housebuilder’s ambitious switch from a private market [...]
Housebuilders urge Rayner to ‘hit the ground running’ and rip up planning red tape July 22, 2026 Housebuilders have called on Angela Rayner to “hit the ground running” and rip up planning red tape after her surprise comeback as housing secretary. Rayner resigned as housing secretary in September over an investigation into her tax affairs but was cleared of wrongdoing in March this year. Leading housebuilding figures told City AM they welcomed [...]
Iran war woes cause jump in London-listed profit warnings July 20, 2026 The rising energy costs and fragile consumer confidence caused by the Iran war have driven a jump in the number of profit warnings issued by London-listed firms. UK-listed companies issued 59 profit warnings in the first half of this year, up from 55 last year, with more than half of these being blamed on policy [...]
Crest Nicholson shares slump as lender talks drag on July 16, 2026 Crest Nicholson shares dropped after the housebuilder posted a £35m loss and told investors it is still locked in talks with its lenders. The London-listed firm had delayed the publication of its results in the hopes of seeking emergency permission from its creditors to loosen the terms of its debt, but said on Thursday that [...]