London homes now more expensive that two thirds of world’s private islands, says Labour’s London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan April 6, 2016 Wouldn't it be nice to live on your own private island. Nice – nice and cheap. London homes are now more expensive than two thirds of the world's private islands, says Labour's London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan. He's looked at data from global property consultancy Knight Frank, which shows 65 per cent of private islands currently [...]
The EU is adding fuel to the Brexit fire through new burdens on technology startups April 6, 2016 You might think, given Europe’s anaemic rate of growth and enduringly high levels of unemployment, that Brussels would be doing all it can to encourage small tech businesses to grow. After all, the evidence shows that SMEs are the motors of job creation and technology companies provide the best chance of new high-value, high-wage employment. [...]
East London is propping up slowing central London housing market, JLL report shows April 6, 2016 East London residential property prices jumped by seven per cent in the year to March, helping to shore up a slowdown in other parts of the capital hit by uncertainty in the market, new research from JLL today shows. The property firm's latest central London development report shows a slowdown in sales activity in the first quarter of the [...]
Steel unions to hand Javid Port Talbot demands at key meeting tomorrow April 4, 2016 Community, the union which represents British steelworkers, will meet with business secretary Sajid Javid tomorrow to discuss the steel crisis and present Javid with a list of demands for the industry. The demands, which include the government preventing Tata and potential buyers from cherry-picking assets, were formulated at a meeting in London today. “There needs to [...]
Lack of homes is stopping older Londoners downsizing, according to YouGov and McCarthy & Stone poll April 4, 2016 More than one in four older Londoners feel there is a lack of homes to downsize to despite more than a third considering a move, a new study released yesterday has found. The poll, which was conducted by YouGov on behalf of retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone, showed that 32 per cent of adults aged [...]
FTSE 100 traders catch breath, but oil prices still raising temperatures on steady day for markets April 4, 2016 It was easy-going on the stock markets today as investors caught a rare breather after a 2016 which has already had more than its fair share of twists and turns. The FTSE 100 closed the day up a modest 0.27 per cent at 6,164, though it was a day of up-and-down as an unconvincing mid-morning assault on last week's summit [...]
The three most important things Sajid Javid said about steel on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show April 3, 2016 Business minister Sajid Javid has appeared on the BBC's Andrew Marr show on Sunday morning to defend the government's handling of the steel crisis. Here are the three most important things he said during the interview. 1. A private buyer is best, but privatisation not ruled out Javid insisted a private buyer for Port Talbot and the rest of Tata's UK [...]
Area guide: Woolwich – why it’s tomorrow’s town April 1, 2016 It’s an unfortunate consequence of over-enthusiastic estate agents that an area described as “up-and-coming” is often, well, getting there but taking its sweet time about it. Woolwich was one such place for a long time, but 2016 is the year SE18 arrives on the property scene. “Woolwich has been touted as up-and-coming for the last [...]
Stamp duty charges: The UK housing market needs more homes not more taxes April 1, 2016 Anyone waking up today who is planning or close to purchasing a second home may well feel as if an April fool's trick has been played on them. Whether helping a son or daughter get onto the housing ladder, investing in a buy-to-let property or buying a holiday residence, from today an additional three per [...]
Landlords make last minute dash to beat buy-to-let stamp duty hike deadline March 31, 2016 Landlords and agents were scrambling to complete last-minute purchases of second home and buy-to-let properties today ahead of stamp duty hike which comes into effect at midnight. George Osborne's clampdown on buy-to-let properties was announced in November's Autumn Statement as part of a raft measures designed to tackle the housing crisis and help more first-time buyers on the property [...]