Bank of England interest rate rise threat sends first-time buyer sales to a pre-recession high August 28, 2015 The threat of a rise in borrowing costs led first-time buyers to look through increased deposit costs and indulge in a "summer of white-hot activity" with completed transactions hitting a pre-recession high. Monthly first-time buyer sales rose 4.9 per cent to 29,700 in the month to July, according to an index by estate agents Your Move and [...]
Jurassic World boosts first-half profit at Odeon and UCI Cinemas August 28, 2015 Odeon and UCI Cinemas yesterday unveiled a blockbuster rise in first-half revenue and earnings, thanks to box-office smashes such as Jurassic World. The cinema chain, owned by the Terra Firma private equity firm, saw its core earnings more than double to £37.3m, while revenue increased by 17.1 per cent to £348.7m. Attendance rose 13.8 per [...]
Maximum excitement with sporting index August 27, 2015 THERE’S eight Premier League games for sports spread bettors to get stuck into tomorrow and Sporting Index have a number of markets that revolve around all the matches. Aggregate total goals is a prediction on how many goals in total will be scored across the eight fixtures. It’s pitched at 22.5-23.3. If you were expecting [...]
Government’s starter homes programme won’t help London’s first-time buyers August 27, 2015 Londoners hoping to buy their first home will not get much help from the government, according to a new report out today. In the report, Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, takes issue with the government’s affordable house building policies, saying its flagship “starter homes” programme will fail to help most first-time buyers. Prime Minister [...]
Home purchase lending drops in London as buyers are priced out August 27, 2015 LONDON’S rising housing costs are pricing people out of the market with fewer mortgages being granted. There were 18,800 home purchase loans granted from April to June, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said yesterday, marking an 11.3 per cent drop on the same period last year. The amount lent out for house purchases in London [...]
Perfect timing August 23, 2015 Harriet Green talks pub food, capitalism and the importance of shiny things with Watchfinder’s Lloyd Amsdon When I ask Lloyd Amsdon’s seven year-old step-daughter if she knows what an entrepreneur is, she draws a blank. It may be age-related, but there’s no reason why she would have heard the word. “I’m only an entrepreneur when I’m [...]
Have we hit peak smartphone? Global growth hits two-year low as China’s sales decline for first time ever August 20, 2015 Is Peak Smartphone upon us? Drooping sales in China have caused smartphone sales to hit the brakes with the slowest growth rate since 2013, according to Gartner’s latest report, released today. In China, the world’s largest market, sales have fallen for the first time ever, with a four per cent decline year on year. Anshul [...]
The super-rich paying a £50,000 deposit to RENT in London August 20, 2015 With rising house prices placing home ownership out of reach for many and overseas investment rife, London’s lettings market is booming. But the commonly-painted picture of young professionals struggling to pay for their grotty house share in Dalston only tells one side of this increasingly complex story. For competition isn’t only fierce at the affordable [...]
Persimmon bucks summer slowdown with profit jump August 19, 2015 PERSIMMON yesterday became the latest housebuilder to boast an impressive jump in first-half profits as would-be homeowners regained confidence following the outcome of the General Election. The York-based housebuilder said profit before tax rose 31 per cent to £272.8m in the six months to 30 June, compared with £208.9m last year on revenues up 11 [...]
London drives frenzy of global property deals August 18, 2015 INVESTMENT activity in commercial property rose sharply in the first half of the year, new figures show, with cities, including London, New York and San Francisco, continuing to steal the spotlight. Global investment in commercial real estate reached $318bn (£204bn) at the end of June, 15 per cent higher than the same time last year, [...]