Tata’s UK steelworkers face a “make or break” vote on pensions as union leaders back reforms January 26, 2017 UK steelworkers are set for a "make or break" vote on reforms that could determine the fate of Port Talbot. Today unions united behind proposals that will see Tata Steel pump £1bn into the sprawling Port Talbot steelworks in exchange for workers accepting changes to their pension schemes. The ballot on the changes will run from Monday to mid-February. [...]
I can’t help but worry about the potential for the mother of all house price crashes January 26, 2017 The year opened with alarming newspaper headlines in The Daily Telegraph on the risk of a global property price crash. How worried should we be in the UK? The ratio of house prices to incomes in the UK is close to the all-time high it reached before the financial crisis. If that ratio mean reverts over [...]
US giant Ford criticised after Mustang sports car scores just two stars in crash tests January 25, 2017 US car giant Ford has been criticised by industry body Thatcham Research after its Mustang sports car achieved just two stars in official European crash tests. The Euro New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) puts all new cars through thorough crash tests and awards them a star rating out of five. Recent changes have made it [...]
Focus On Catford: A ‘ripple effect’ from Lewisham’s regeneration has caused price rises in nearby Catford, say agents January 24, 2017 With each great regeneration comes an even greater ripple effect, so sayeth London’s estate agents. And so it is in Lewisham, where new developments and major infrastructure investment have already made the surrounding areas of Deptford and New Cross appealing to first time buyers. But now it’s the turn of Catford, where the Borough Council’s [...]
Property transactions were resilient throughout 2016 January 24, 2017 The number of property transactions fell 8.5 per cent year-on-year in December 2016 – but over the year as a whole, the market was resilient. Data from HM Revenue and Customs shows that there were 1,231,120 residential transactions last year, ahead of the number of transactions in both 2014 (1,225,120) and 2015 (1,225,970). However, the [...]
Macquarie’s rival SDCL lays out its plans for Green Investment Bank as talk grows of ham-fisted privatisation and possible flotation January 23, 2017 The Green Investment Bank (GIB) needs to be built up before it can be floated in several years' time according to a UK-based international consortium which wants to be reconsidered as a buyer for the government-owned bank. The consortium, SDCL, is backed by the UK's Pension Protection Fund, Hancock of the US and Mitsui of Japan. It [...]
Five things you should know before you buy a leasehold property January 21, 2017 In its effort to turn Generation Rent into Generation Buy, the Government has announced a £1.4bn fund to build 40,000 new ‘affordable homes’. Typically, these tend to be leasehold flats, especially for first-time buyers wanting to live in city centres. But how many buyers taking their first step on to the property ladder understand fully [...]
New Builds: New homes on the market this weekend in London from Help to Buy in Chiswick to luxury flats in Holborn January 20, 2017 500 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick From £420,000 Twenty-five apartments are going on sale tomorrow as part of the Government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme for first time buyers. With private outdoor space, a concierge and underground parking, it’s a relatively affordable opportunity to buy into Chiswick, a smart west riverside area that’s popular with [...]
How blockchain technology could revolutionise global trade January 20, 2017 Blockchain technology could revolutionise trade – making it cheaper, quicker and simpler for businesses to trade internationally. From “letters of credit” to “bills of lading”, merchandise trade today is heavily reliant on paper documents. In our digital, connected world, there is a growing need to modernise trade’s many paper-based processes. Digitisation would reduce bureaucracy, improve [...]
Dimitri Payet has given West Ham a custard pie – and the biggest problem is in the timing January 17, 2017 Long before he told the club he no longer wanted to play for them earlier this month, Dimitri Payet had already given West Ham supporters good reason to be disgruntled with his behaviour. Payet, an instant fan favourite in his dazzling first season in east London, has failed to live up to those standards this [...]