‘Urgent and consistent’ policies needed to revive SME housebuilding November 4, 2025 The government must fix the ‘overly complex, costly, and slow’ operating environment for small and medium construction companies to unlock housebuilding, according to a new report. Delivery of new homes could be increased by up to 56 per cent – 100,000 properties a year – if barriers to building are removed, according to the State [...]
Rachel Reeves’ banking reforms ‘unlikely to be transformative’ November 3, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ financial services growth mission faces a major blow with top City voices warning her regulatory reforms won’t be transformative. The Chancellor unveiled her Leeds Reform package intended to “rewire the financial services industry” in July this year. Whilst the moves were cheered by industry bigwigs, analysts have raised concerns the changes will fail [...]
Experian to include rent payments in credit scores November 3, 2025 FTSE 100 giant Experian has announced plans to include rental payments in a major revamp of the formation of credit scores. The agency said it was overhauling its scoring system to better reflect “more of the everyday financial behaviours that matter” which included things “like paying rent or reducing overdraft use”. It follows a warning [...]
Abolish regressive, outdated stamp duty November 3, 2025 Stamp duty abolition isn’t just desirable it’s an economic necessity, says Alex Michelin Ask any first-time buyer, young family or downsizing pensioner what’s stopping them from moving home and you’ll hear the same answer: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). This once marginal transaction cost has evolved into a structural impediment to the UK housing market, [...]
Reeves urged to fix Britain’s ‘broken credit system’ that’s failing millions of renters November 3, 2025 A coalition of MPs, lenders, fintechs and charities have urged Rachel Reeves to fix the UK’s “broken credit system”, warning that millions of renters are being locked out of home ownership. The Financial Freedom for Everyone campaign, which includes The Money Charity and Clear Score, sent an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’, calling on [...]
Super-rich ditch London mansions for flats, developer says October 30, 2025 London’s super-rich are swapping mansions for pieds-à-terre as they seek to wind down their presence in the UK or exit altogether, one of the top developers in the capital has said. Alex Michelin, co-founder of Valouran, said many high net worth individuals (HNWIs) remained attracted to London but were scaling down their property investment to [...]
New 1,200-home neighbourhood unveiled in Elizabeth Line-linked Southall October 30, 2025 A new 1,200-home neighbourhood has been unveiled in Southall as the city continues to expand out along the Elizabeth line. Quarter Yards will deliver 1,273 new homes and over 105,000 sq ft of commercial space. Marcus Blake, managing director at one of the developers, St George, said he has seen “strong demand” for housing in [...]
How London’s luxury property market ground to a halt October 30, 2025 On Bishops Avenue, it is quiet. On a recent weekend walk down the mile-long parade of luxury mansions, not a single other person could be spotted strolling along the pavement. The property market for Hampstead-based The Bishops Avenue, known locally as Billionaire’s Row, is equally quiet. Aside from one high-end house snapped up by a [...]
Cocreate Europe: Join Alibaba.com’s flagship B2B event to supercharge your business in 2026! October 28, 2025 SMEs from across Europe are expected to convene in London later this Autumn for CoCreate Europe, the flagship SME-focused trade event by Alibaba.com. Bringing together millions of buyers with millions of global sellers, Alibaba.com is a leading platform for global business-to-business e-commerce. Alibaba.com is revolutionising how SMEs are accessing global supply chains, enabling British buyers [...]
Labour are choosing to let London’s housing crisis get worse October 28, 2025 The Chancellor and the Mayor can choose to scrap affordable housing targets, abolish stamp duty, fast-track homes on state-owned land and reform the mortgage market. Or it can choose to let the housing crisis get worse, says Lord Bailey Housing and getting more homes built has been my passion from the moment I entered politics. [...]