Volatile sterling can’t stop FTSE set for second week of records January 13, 2017 The FTSE 100 looked set to round out a second week of record gains at lunchtime on Friday, as sterling performance wobbled in volatile trading. Sterling rose as high as $1.2233, but cable has since retreated to trade almost flat at the time of publication. Performance against the euro has fallen more steeply, with losses [...]
Now the London party is over, housebuilders must help tidy up January 13, 2017 Barratt Homes said yesterday it is struggling in London – an admission that came as no surprise. The housebuilder is one of several to have jumped on the London bandwagon in the first half of this decade, merrily buying up land all over the capital as house prices whooshed upwards. But its first half results, [...]
Barratt Developments reports sales struggles in London January 12, 2017 Barratt Developments is feeling the heat in London as it reported today that completions in the capital were down more than 56 per cent. The housebuilder completed on 367 homes in London in the six months to the end of December, down from 842 in the same period the year before. Barratt said it was lowering prices and offering [...]
Construction firms hit brick wall as depreciation in sterling pushes up costs of building materials January 9, 2017 Building projects could be about to shoot up in price, as figures out today show more than seven in 10 UK builders have seen an increase in the cost of materials. Thousands of smaller building firms are now grappling with rising material prices caused by the depreciation of the pound since the EU referendum in [...]
Happy housebuilders push FTSE 100 to yet another high January 5, 2017 The FTSE 100 hit yet another record high today, after it was pushed up by housebuilders following encouraging results from Persimmon. It's the second time this week the index has set an intraday record, having jumped to 7,205 points on Tuesday. However, sluggish trading caused it to slip back, and it finished just below 7,200 points, [...]
Retailers will need to brave fierce headwinds in 2017 January 2, 2017 The high street's cold snap over Christmas and the New Year is not just seasonal. Several chills running through the sector could finally be felt with their full force in 2017. Rising inflation, falling wage growth, escalating costs and sterling's depreciation are all expected to weigh on retailers in the coming months. If inflation takes [...]
Bad Christmas: Housebuilder share prices are falling December 28, 2016 Shares in the UK's largest housebuilders fell today, after a profit warning from one, as well as disappointing mortgage figures. Bovis was the biggest faller on the FTSE 250, with shares falling 4.8 per cent to 815.5p in lunchtime trading after it warned on profits, saying it expected to complete on fewer homes than anticipated [...]
The housing crisis must be tackled by both government and industry or shareholders in the housebuilding sector will continue to suffer November 29, 2016 The UK is facing a chronic housing shortage, but housebuilders’ shares have taken a hammering in recent months. On the surface it is a conundrum. However, there are many forces at play. This year's changes to stamp duty have been inflationary at the bottom end of the London market and deflationary at the top. As [...]
Housebuilder shares fall on a quiet day on the markets November 25, 2016 It's so quiet on the markets today you can hear a pin drop – but that didn't stop housebuilders from being hit after this week's Autumn Statement. On the FTSE 100, Persimmon and Barratt were among the biggest fallers – they were both 0.8 per cent lower, at 1,715p and 469.6p respectively. Tayler Wimpey, the other [...]
New Builds: On the market this week from a Roman site in the City to a £400m piazza in Islington November 21, 2016 Landmark Place, City of London From £810,000 A rare chance to live in the City of London has arisen with the opening of a new show apartment. The three bedroom duplex was unveiled by Barratt London on the 23rd floor of its Aldgate Place development last week. The new homes will be on Water Lane, [...]