First-time buying pushes house prices up ahead of stamp duty deadline February 28, 2025 First-time buyers continued to drive the housing market in February as they rush to purchase homes before the end of the stamp duty holiday at the end of March. The annual rate of UK house price growth was 3.9 per cent in February, compared with 4.1 per cent in January. House prices rose by 0.4 [...]
Who is the Lifetime ISA for? February 28, 2025 Lifetime ISAs have been the focus of policymakers’ considerations as they consider how to reform and simplify the UK’s savings landscape. In January, the Treasury Committee called for evidence from industry on whether the Lifetime ISA remains fit for purpose nine years after its creation. It has asked how the product could be reformed or [...]
Taylor Wimpey: ‘The scene is set for recovery’ February 27, 2025 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has said government planning reforms are set to deliver a “step change” in the industry. The company made the comments alongside its 2024 results. Taylor built 10,593 homes in the year ended December 31, down slightly from 10,848 homes in 2023. Revenue fell 3.2 per cent, to £3.4bn, while operating profit fell [...]
Mark Kleinman: A reset BP might not have drilled deep enough for activists February 27, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. Today, he tackles activist investors drilling into BP, Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting and a big ticket auction A reset BP might not have drilled deep enough for activists Bernard’s Parable or Belated Pivot? These might be the most concise [...]
Shadow Chancellor slams inheritance tax changes as an “absurdity” February 26, 2025 Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has slammed proposed changes to business tax relief, saying that the policy will force many to “shut down or be forced to sell”. Stride’s comments echo those of prominent businesspeople and politicians who have been railing against the higher taxes announced in Labour’s budget for the last four months. “British institutions, [...]
Metro Bank sells personal loan book in switch to specialist lending February 26, 2025 Metro Bank is set to sell its £584m portfolio of unsecured personal loans as the lender switches prioritisation to specialist lending. The disposal, which was first flagged as a possibility at the end of January, will generate £11m in gains for the FTSE 250 bank. The deal – with an undisclosed buyer – comes ahead [...]
Skipton Building Society’s annual results boosted by first-time buyers February 26, 2025 Skipton Group, which includes the UK’s largest estate agency, Connells and Skipton Building Society, has announced a record return of value to its members after a bumper year at the group. The group’s pre-tax profit fell to £318.6m in 2024, down from £333.4m the year prior. The group cited downward pressure on net interest income [...]
Mythron Cars Healey: Reborn classic sports car is small and mighty February 26, 2025 With its cartoonish ‘Frogeye’ face, Lilliputian dimensions and 43hp engine, the Austin-Healey Sprite wasn’t the obvious starting point for a giant-killing race car. Yet this plucky roadster punched well above its sub-600kg weight, achieving a 1-2-3 finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1959, then a class win for Stirling Moss a year later. [...]
London house prices stagnant in 2024 February 19, 2025 This meant the average property in the capital remained stuck at £549,000. Factoring in inflation, London properties lost 2.7 per cent of their value.
TDR Capital looks to refinance education provider BPP after sale fails February 19, 2025 Private equity giant TDR Capital is looking to refinance BPP Holdings, the UK-based provider of professional and academic education, after failing to sell the educational training institution. TDR was reported to be preparing to sell the company last summer with a valuation in excess of £2.5bn, tasking bankers from Morgan Stanley and Houlihan Lokey with [...]