UK property equity surges to new record as house prices recover with falling rates September 4, 2024 The value of the UK’s property equity is higher than ever before having surged to almost £6 trillion, new research has revealed. The study by the Equity Release Council calculated that recovering house prices helped to increase the figure to an “unprecedented” £5.7 trillion in the three months ending June 30, 2024. This was up [...]
John Lewis: £80m plans create new homes at site in Elizabeth Line-linked Reading September 4, 2024 The John Lewis Partnership has submitted plans to transform one of its disused warehouses in Reading into an £80m residential complex featuring more than 200 rental units. The plans, which were submitted to Reading Borough Council this week, lay out the company’s vision to demolish the current structure and replace it with 215 homes, plus 6,000 [...]
Airspace reform is being ‘shackled by needless bureaucracy,’ Easyjet chief warns September 4, 2024 UK and European airspace reforms that would reduce flight times and emissions are being “shackled by needless bureaucracy,” according to the chief executive of Easyjet. Speaking at a Net Zero conference in Bedford, Johan Lundgren said airspace modernisation was the “quickest way to reduce carbon emissions” but warned it couldn’t be “kicked down the road [...]
CMA clears Microsoft and Inflection AI partnership after merger ruling September 4, 2024 Britain’s competition regulator has today cleared Microsoft’s arrangements with Inflection AI, which included a licensing deal and the hiring of former Inflection employees. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced in April it was looking at three separate deals that potentially fall under UK merger law and, if so, whether they could have a harmful [...]
UK regulator set to cut fraud refund limit but sticks by deadline for controversial rules September 4, 2024 The UK’s payments regulator is poised to lower the maximum amount banks and fintechs would have to reimburse fraud victims under a new regime, but stuck by its October implementation date despite mounting pressure. In their current form, new rules from the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) are due to force banks and fintechs to reimburse [...]
Banks could do more to support debanking victims, FCA finds September 4, 2024 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said banks could do more to support those who want an account, after finding that several providers could make it easier to apply for one. A new FCA report has urged banks to increase awareness of basic accounts that allow people to make and receive payments but do not [...]
UK set to be the ‘standout performer’ among major economies September 4, 2024 Analysts at Panmure Liberum think the UK will be the “standout performer” among major economies in the months to come with firms set to benefit from strengthening domestic demand. In a note published this morning, the City brokerage discussed its early cycle indicator (ECI), a tool for predicting how economies are likely to perform over [...]
Grenfell Tower fire: ‘Systematic dishonesty’ by construction firms, report reveals September 4, 2024 The 72 deaths in the Grenfell Tower fire were avoidable, and the blaze was a result of “decades of failure” by government and the construction industry, a report into the disaster has concluded. Scores of people who lost their lives in the blaze which engulfed the 24-storey tower block in north Kensington, on June 14, [...]
Services firms benefit from post-election stability and rosy economic outlook September 4, 2024 The survey put activity in the services sector at its fastest pace since April, extending the current period of growth to ten months.
Revolut to ‘aggressively’ double down on business accounts after surge in revenue September 4, 2024 The head of Revolut's business-to-business offering has said it is "aggressively doubling down" on the market, after the unit's global revenues exceeded $500m (£380m) this summer.
