Wickes has ‘record sales’ despite softening in DIY market after pandemic September 15, 2022 Home improvement specialists Wickes maintained strong revenue and profits for the first half of the year, bolstered by younger people who turned to DIY during the pandemic. The businesses had a 1.3 per cent rise in revenue up until July this year, with profit before tax up 6.2 per cent. Its like-for-like sales were up [...]
Forget tech, hospitality or transport: These are Britain’s most profitable sectors September 13, 2022 At the beginning of this year, the UK counted around 5.6 million private sector businesses. Described as the backbone of the UK’s economy, SMEs account for 99.9 per cent of all businesses in Britain. With house prices currently at a record high, it’s no surprise that business and property services are amongst the sectors making the most profit in the [...]
Art dealers and letting agents drive uptick in anti-money laundering registrations September 1, 2022 Art dealers, letting agents, and estate agents are driving an uptick in the number of UK businesses registering for anti-money laundering (AML) supervision with HMRC. The total number of businesses signing up to HMRC’s AML register increased 0.9 per cent from the financial year 2020-21 to 2021-22, analysis of public available data by AML verification [...]
Exclusive: Britain needs to keep building says Marshalls boss August 18, 2022 The Government must continue its plans to boost domestic infrastructure, argued the boss of building giant Marshalls.
House prices continue to climb in nightmare scenario for first-time buyers even though buyer interest is slowing August 15, 2022 House prices continue to move firmly upwards and are still expected to be higher in a year’s time, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) this afternoon. The numbers are somewhat surprising given that surveyors have seen the longest stretch of shrinking buyer demand in the housing market since the early stages of [...]
Property buyers invest in full portfolios over single purchases August 12, 2022 Property buyers are seeking value for money as they spend an average of £1.2m to buy property in bulk rather than as a single investment. Such property packages come with an average of 6.4 bedrooms, at £196,000 per bedroom. This offers an average yield of 2.9% on these ready-made portfolios, research by specialist property lender Octane Capital, [...]
Shelter warns that Londoners are faced with ‘increasingly unaffordable’ rents August 9, 2022 Campaigners at Shelter have warned that Londoners are faced with “increasingly unaffordable” rents. “We are hearing from people every day who are battling increasingly unaffordable private rents, who are struggling to find somewhere to live,” the charity’s policy manager Ruth Ehrlich told the Financial Times’ personal finance podcast, Money Clinic, today. “And when they do, [...]
Homeowners on edge as inflation and interest rates rise: What is next for UK mortgage rates? July 26, 2022 Many people up and down the country will be feeling the financial strain of the cost-of-living crisis, and this’ll only add more pressure on the monthly budgets of millions of UK mortgage homeowners and of those currently looking to buy. With the Bank of England’s base rates having risen to 1.25 per cent in June [...]
Exclusive: Pensioners should get stamp duty break if they downsize home, house-buyers’ group says July 25, 2022 To ease the housing crisis, pensioners may be pushed into downsizing their homes and getting a tax break on stamp duty in return. The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) said the incentive would free up supply of housing and cool house prices, while also redoing the need for equity release. This comes after the [...]
Investment in London’s commercial property market drags as economic woes deepen July 25, 2022 London’s commercial property market took a hit in the second quarter of 2022 as investment declined amid a weakening economic outlook, according to data by BNP Paribas. Central London properties experienced an eight per cent investment drop at £4.5bn compared to Q2 last year, with the number of office deals transacting at less than half [...]