Defined benefit pension scheme deficits break £300bn mark, as uncertainty surrounding a potential Brexit grows June 1, 2016 The level of funding across defined benefit (DB) schemes has worsened over the last year, figures out today show. According to the analysis by JLT Employee Benefits, the total deficit across all private sector DB schemes has increased to £310bn at end of last month, up from £255bn the same time the year before. "Pension [...]
UK mortgage lending dropped to its lowest level since the height of the eurozone crisis in April June 1, 2016 Mortgage approvals have hit their lowest level since the height of the Eurozone crisis, according to the Bank of England. Mortgage loans totaled just £281m in April, their lowest level since August 2012, after the hike in stamp duty came into effect at the beginning of the month and buy to let landlords fled the [...]
UK steel: Tata Steel sells European business to Greybull Capital June 1, 2016 Tata Steel has sold part of its European steel business to Greybull Capital, a private equity company. Greybull, which specialises in taking on struggling companies, has become the owner of Tata Steel's long products business, including the plants in Scunthorpe and mills on Teesside. Bimlendra Jha, executive chairman of the Long Products Europe business and [...]
Looking for your first home? Find a partner first; nearly two out of three first-time buyers are couples May 31, 2016 If you're looking to buy your first home in the UK, think about looking for love first; new research out today shows most people aren't trying to go it alone in the current housing market. First-time buyers are on the up, but almost two out of three of them are buying as part of a couple, underscoring [...]
Rents are up 2.6 per cent in the year to April – and the market could be heating up a lot more this summer May 27, 2016 Private rents in Great Britain were up 2.6 per cent in the year to April, according to data released today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) – and the rental market could get a lot more heating over the summer months. Unsurprisingly, London was burdened with the largest rent inflation, with rents rising at a [...]
EU referendum: Here’s the “positive case” for staying in the EU, according to David Cameron May 27, 2016 When David Cameron set the date for the EU referendum back in February, he told the world you’d never catch him talking down Britain. A few months, some close opinion polls and a two slightly dodgy dossiers of Treasury analysis later, and that “positive case” for staying in the EU seems a distant memory. “Project Fear” [...]
It’ll take young Londoners more than a decade to save for one of David Cameron’s starter homes May 27, 2016 The government's new starter homes initiative has come in for a lot of flack – but this may be its most damning criticism yet. Yep: new figures by property services giant JLL show if the average young couple in the capital started saving now, they wouldn't get their hands on a starter home until 2028. That's more than [...]
Home sales to first-time buyers hit a two-year high in April as landlords fled from stamp duty charges May 27, 2016 Sales of properties to first-time buyers hit a two-year high in April after buy to let stamp duty changes scared off landlords looking to purchase a second home. There were 32,300 first-time buyer home sales in April, up from 28,100 in March – a rise of 14.9 per cent. The increase year-on-year was 37.4 per cent. The [...]
Focus On Deptford: First time buyers flock to SE8 in search of affordable homes, but is it the new Shoreditch? May 26, 2016 In Tudor times, Deptford was the centre of the naval world. Operated by the Royal Navy from the mid-16th to the late 19th century, the Deptford Docks maintained warships for 350 years and attracted the greatest mariners of the time to its shores, from Sir Water Raleigh to Sir Francis Drake. But once the navy [...]
Fast forward: What will pensions be like in 20 years? Experts say taking a loan and easy access are on the cards, while inheritance may mean losing the state pension May 26, 2016 The nation's plans for old age have been subject to change lately as the chancellor has announced a range of reforms to how pensions work. There have been radical changes, and everyone believes more are heading our way. So what will pensions saving be like in 20 years’ time? Read more: The planned second-hand annuities [...]