Housebuilding targets are one thing, but we need mortgage reform too July 16, 2025 Increasing the supply of new homes won’t make homeownership more affordable by itself – we need new kinds of mortgages too, says James Browne The government’s planning reforms that aim to increase the housing stock by 1.5m homes by the end of the parliament are a welcome step towards addressing Britain’s housing crisis. But supply [...]
Is it high time to buy in super-prime London? July 15, 2025 London’s super-prime market has been suffering from a glut of supply in the wake of damaging decision-making from successive governments. Ali Lyon asks, is the tide beginning to turn? To take a walk down Mayfair’s historic Upper Grosvenor Street is to be confronted by a quiet, but dramatic, changing-of-the-guard afoot in one of London’s most [...]
Barratt Redrow misses homebuilding target as affordability hits demand July 15, 2025 Housebuilder Barratt Redrow has built fewer homes than its target after affordability pressures continued to hit demand for new houses. The company, which was formed by a merger of Barratt and Redrow last year, said that total home completions for the 52 weeks ended June 29 reached 16,565. It had aimed for between 16,800 and [...]
First-time buyer demand for furniture and the ‘lipstick effect’ boost June sales July 15, 2025 Demand for furniture and beauty goods caused retail sales to rise in June, boosted by good weather and slowly-recovering consumer confidence. Sales in the UK rose 3.1 per cent year on year in June, against a decline of 0.2 per cent in June 2024, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). “Retailers will [...]
Scrapping cash ISAs is not the way to get Brits investing July 15, 2025 Mandates and abolishing alternatives won’t help British people benefit from investment opportunities in the private sector, says Mark Garnier Tonight’s Mansion House dinner, with the speech from the Chancellor, will, we hope, finally bring an end to speculation about the future of cash ISAs. With over £400bn invested into cash ISAs, they provide a nest [...]
Rachel Reeves eyes boost for first-time buyers with mortgage reforms July 15, 2025 Rachel Reeves will today unveil a fleet of reforms in a bid to boost home ownership as she plans to slash ‘financial red tape’. Speaking in Leeds ahead of her Mansion House address, the Chancellor will announce plans for the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to increase high loan-to-income mortgages (over 4.5 times a buyer’s income) [...]
Where have the music festival headliners gone? July 14, 2025 Yoga in the Healing Fields and communal sing-a-longs around the Stone Circle were more popular than ever at Glastonbury this year, after headline writers and audiences slammed the music line-up as the worst in history. Headliners are the most expensive part of the festival experience, with fees for booking the world’s biggest acts running into [...]
Which UK banks are next in line for a takeover? July 11, 2025 As the next wave of banking consolidation kicks off, specialist lenders are in the fray to be swallowed up. The industry has seen a flood of mergers and acquisitions in recent years, of which the latest was a landmark tie-up between Santander and TSB Bank. Santander snapped up 12-year old British high street lender TSB [...]
How M&A dealmakers can ride out geopolitical storms July 9, 2025 Periods of political upheaval – while disruptive – can offer major opportunities in M&A as long as bold dealmakers adapt their strategies, says Dr Valeriya Vitkova Was Trotsky right after all? Since the double whammy of Brexit and the first Trump election victory in 2016, much of the developed world and its politicians, businesses and [...]
Reeves warned ‘undermining cash ISAs a serious mistake’ July 9, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that “undermining” cash ISAs would be a “serious mistake” and could hike the cost of mortgages and make them harder to access. Skipton Building Society has joined the chorus of institutions voicing their concerns ahead of the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech next week where she is expected to announce a [...]