UK house prices remain stagnant as no-deal Brexit looms August 30, 2019 UK house prices grew at less than one per cent for the ninth month in a row in August, Nationwide figures revealed today, prompting calls for Boris Johnson to slash stamp duty. The value of homes did not grow between July and August, Nationwide’s House Price Index found. Read more: London commuter belt house prices [...]
First payout to London Capital & Finance investors pushed back August 28, 2019 Investors in mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance will have to wait longer to receive their first dividend since its collapse, according to an administrators’ report published today. Administrators Smith & Williamson estimate a return to the bondholders of as little as 25 per cent of their investment in the firm, which failed in January [...]
UK mortgage approvals hit highest level in two years August 27, 2019 British high street banks approved the highest number of mortgages for house purchases in over two years in July, according to financial services body UK Finance, in a sign of life in a housing market which has struggled under the weight of Brexit. Read more: London house prices continue to slide under Brexit pressure There [...]
Lane Clark and Peacock plots takeover of KPMG pensions arm August 26, 2019 Lane Clark and Peacock (LCP), one of the UK’s largest independent financial consultancy firms, is preparing a £200m takeover of KPMG’s pensions advisory arm. The company, which is backed by buyout firm Inflexion, is among a small group of bidders that have made it through to the second round of the auction, Sky News reported. [...]
Sales plunge at fastest rate since financial crisis as UK retailers forecast trouble ahead August 22, 2019 Retail sales and orders have plummeted at their fastest since the financial crisis, according to a new survey that suggests optimism in the industry has plunged to a 10-year low. Read more: Laura Ashley drops into the red A report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has found that retail sales volumes and orders [...]
UK government spending surplus shrinks in July August 21, 2019 The UK government earned £1.3bn more in taxes than it spent in July 2019, official figures showed today, a smaller surplus than economists had expected. Read more: Chancellor Javid to simplify’ the tax system in Autumn budget Analysts predicted a £2.7bn surplus in public borrowing in the first figures under new chancellor Sajid Javid, but [...]
ECB tells banks in Britain to speed up Brexit preparations August 14, 2019 Banks have been urged to speed up their Brexit preparations by the European Central Bank (ECB), which warned yesterday that London-based firms are falling behind on potential plans to move jobs. The Eurozone’s top banking watchdog has called on firms to step up their contingency plans as the UK nears Downing Street’s 31 October deadline [...]
Sports Direct left looking like giant mugs as auditor Grant Thornton quits August 14, 2019 Sports Direct shares have tumbled to their lowest level since 2011 after it emerged that Mike Ashley’s retail empire could be left without an auditor, breaching stock market rules. The company is understood to have sought government advice over what would happen if it is unable to find an auditor after its current auditor Grant [...]
Grant Thornton quits as Sports Direct auditor August 14, 2019 Sports Direct faces being left without an auditor after Grant Thornton told the retailer it would not apply for reappointment. The decision threatens to leave Sports Direct high and dry as all of the Big Four firms have indicated they are reluctant to take on the role. The Financial Times reported that Sports Direct has [...]
London house prices continue to slide under Brexit pressure August 14, 2019 London house prices have continued their slide with a year-on-year fall of 2.7 per cent in June, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed today. Read more: London house prices suffer worst plunge in 10 years The figure marked a slowdown from the 3.1 per cent drop seen in May, however, which was [...]