New car market misfires as confusion over government policy and incentives dents demand June 5, 2019 Rule changes to government policy and automotive grants caused hybrid and diesel car sales to plummet in May. Overall new car sales fell 4.6 per cent year-on-year to just 183,724 units. The figures come from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Read more: Car sales fall as removal of subsidies takes its toll [...]
Stevenage FC launch share offering as they seek £1.2m boost to promotion ambitions June 3, 2019 For clubs scrambling to scale the ultra-competitive English football pyramid it can pay to go against the grain. Ambitious Stevenage FC are doing just that with an innovative equity offering designed to give them a leg up into League One and, later, the Championship. Chairman and majority owner Phil Wallace hopes to raise £1.2m by [...]
UK house price growth slows in May amid Brexit uncertainty May 31, 2019 Annual growth of UK house prices remained below one per cent for the sixth consecutive month in May, as political uncertainty continued to weigh on the property market. Prices fell 0.2 per cent month-on month, while annual house price growth slowed to 0.6 per cent, falling from 0.9 per cent in April and below the [...]
First Group to sell off Greyhound arm amid activist pressure as losses narrow May 30, 2019 First Group has announced plans to sell parts of its operations including its US Greyhound buses. Shares in the FTSE 250 company, which has been facing pressure from an activist investor to split up the business, jumped 13 per cent per cent in early morning trading after it also announced plans to separate its First Bus operations [...]
Solarcentury rules out IPO as search continues for buyer of £250m firm May 29, 2019 The UK’s largest solar company Solarcentury has ruled out a public float as it looks for a new owner in a deal which could reportedly reach around £250m. The firm, which builds solar projects across several continents, has seen interest from oil and gas utilities, large financial firms and other global players. Read more: Ofgem [...]
Taking the higher ground rent: How homeowners can stop themselves falling victim to dubious leasehold contracts May 28, 2019 Finally able to buy your first home, you skip away from the rat race that is the rental system, proudly boasting the much-revered title of “homeowner”. And yet, if you’ve bought a leasehold property, it might not be the picket-fenced dream that you’d bargained for. Millions of UK properties, typically flats, are sold as leasehold. This [...]
ii Winter Portfolio doubles after fifth market-beating year May 22, 2019 After an amazing fifth winter, our portfolio almost doubles in value and beats all the global indices, proving that international investors are wrong to ignore UK stocks. It also proves it is possible to time the market. Five years ago, our interest was piqued by a stock market phenomenon that promised consistent market-beating returns year [...]
London house prices: How Brexit uncertainty has hit house prices in every borough May 20, 2019 London is “acting as a drag” on the rest of the UK housing market, with prices across the capital falling in the last year, according to new figures from property giant Rightmove. Read more: UK house prices suffer fifth month of Brexit-hit growth While some regions in the UK such as the midlands and the [...]
How a relationship break-up spurred this founder to build ‘Ebay for travel’ to help flog unwanted holidays May 20, 2019 When you think of unwanted items, holidays don’t tend to spring to mind. But according to Simon Powell, founder of TransferTravel, billions of dollars are wasted globally on unwanted travel every year, while an estimated 220,000 hotel rooms are paid for and never used every day in the US alone, wasting $8.6bn annually. And with [...]
Hopping to the front: Jeff Koons breaks sale record for living artist with $91m Rabbit sculpture May 16, 2019 It has bunny ears, chubby legs and a carrot in its hand. This is the stainless steel rabbit which has just smashed records for the most expensive artwork to be sold by a living artist. Read more: Sotheby's annual wine sales hit $100m The 1986 “Rabbit” sculpture was sold by US pop artist Jeff Koons [...]