Middle class run on equity release: Cash-hungry home owners squeeze nearly £5bn out of their properties April 9, 2022 Equity release payments in the UK increased by almost £1bn in 2021, as more and more people look for alternative ways of ensuring healthy and happy retirements. Between 2020 – 2021, the amount of money released in the UK rose from £3.9bn to £4.8bn, an annual increase of £940 million, or 24.4 per cent, according [...]
Garden products manufacturer Marshalls to buy roof tile maker Marley in deal worth £535m April 6, 2022 FTSE 250 paving stone manufacturer Marshalls is set to acquire roof tile manufacturer Marley Group in a deal worth £535m. The garden materials maker struck a conditional deal to acquire Marley, in line with its plans to “become the UK’s leading manufacturer of products for the built environment.” The West Yorkshire headquartered firm said Marley [...]
Londoners more worried about housing and work situation than those in any other region of the UK April 1, 2022 Those living in London are more worried about what their work and housing situation will look like when they’re older, than those living in any other region of the UK. Although Londoners are confident in their health and believe they have enough savings to last them into old age, those living in London have significant [...]
City of London ranked number one for planning application approvals nationally March 22, 2022 The City of London has topped the charts for approved planning applications in the country with almost 99 per cent. Research based on eight years of data from the government’s housing ministry looked at hundreds of districts across the UK, with the heart of the capital emerging as the best place to do up your [...]
Dame Julie Andrews: Sound of Music star’s former mansion being sold for £16.5m March 21, 2022 Sound of Music star Dame Julie Andrews former mansion in Wimbledon is being sold for £16.5m . The musical legend’s ex home, West Lodge, is a Grade II-listed building on Wimbledon Common, with 12 bedrooms; and when she inhabited it in the 1960s, she only lived in a portion of it. Would-be buyers can pick [...]
London is back: Office occupancy reaches pre-pandemic levels March 15, 2022 London office occupancy peaked at 42 per cent on Thursday 10 March, the highest single daily rate in the capital since before the pandemic in 2020. The weekly average prior to the pandemic was 63 per cent. Furthermore, last week was the highest weekly average for the UK and London, with both averaging 31 per [...]
Foreign home ownership in London swells by £6bn but oligarch exodus to slow cash influx from abroad March 14, 2022 Internationally-registered homes in London increased by £6bn last year, but the impact of Russian sanctions is expected to slow the rate of growth in the market. Despite the pandemic, there was a four per cent increase in the number of houses registered to buyers overseas, up to 84, 451, according to new numbers released by [...]
Furlough scheme pushed back age of first-time buyer to 34 March 14, 2022 Despite a property market boom during the pandemic, the furlough scheme pushed back the average age of first time buyers by up to two years. The government’s initiative may have given a lifeline to millions as Covid restrictions plunged society into chaos, but its long term impact has reportedly been to stall many people’s ability [...]
Rental market now ‘in full swing’ after strong recovery from pandemic low March 11, 2022 The rental market has returned to “full swing” from the pandemic low as stock levels fell dramatically from this time last year. With all Covid restrictions lifted, tenants are once again looking for a place to call home, with just 64,839 rental properties listed across these 21 major UK cities, according to numbers shared by [...]
House completions for properties outside London up by staggering 667 per cent March 11, 2022 There has been a significant spike in house completions for properties outside of London and Manchester with some areas having up to a 667 per cent rise. Apart from England’s two main population centres, the top 10 growth areas were in outlying towns, new figures from Paragon Bank shows. Milton Keynes led the way, experiencing [...]