Dearth of international super-prime buyers opens market up for young Brits July 29, 2025 The non-dom exodus and a dearth of super-prime buyers has pushed the price of London’s super-prime property down, shifting the buyer profile to younger domestic buyers. Prices are at a 10-year low, nominally below where they were even in 2014. ““Prices across the capital’s prime markets are offering significant value… Those taking advantage [of this] [...]
Paragon maintains pace as stamp duty changes slow mortgage lending July 29, 2025 Paragon has weathered a shakeup in stamp duty as analysts hailed the FTSE 250 bank’s “excellent momentum” in the first nine months of the financial year. The London-listed business recorded £1.1bn mortgage lending for the first three quarters, but estimated full-year volumes at the lower end of targets at £1.6bn. The firm said subdued activity [...]
NBA Europe: Basketball chiefs meeting investors in London July 29, 2025 NBA chiefs are in town this week to hold talks with potential investors in its planned European league and a potential London franchise, according to reports. Commissioner Adam Silver and deputy Mark Tatum are set to meet with private equity firms, investment banks, sovereign wealth funds, government officials and basketball clubs during a European roadshow, [...]
Uber rivals handed major VAT boost by Supreme Court July 29, 2025 Rival taxi operators to Uber will not have to pay 20 per cent VAT on their profits outside London following a landmark Supreme Court ruling. The court has decided that private-hire operators do not enter into a contract with passengers and therefore are except from the tax. The ruling comes after US giant Uber brought [...]
Metlen confirms £5.5bn London listing date July 29, 2025 Greek industrial giant Metlen Energy and Metals has confirmed it will list on the London Stock Exchange next week, in a much-needed boost to the UK’s listing-starved public markets. The mining and energy firm confirmed on Tuesday it had completed its voluntary Share Exchange Offer (SEO) with an acceptance rate of over 90 per cent, [...]
Barclays joins FTSE 100 peers in warning against bank tax hike July 29, 2025 Barclays has become the latest banking giant to send a firm warning to Rachel Reeves to avoid bank tax hike as the Chancellor scrambles to maintain her wafer-thin fiscal headroom. The FTSE 100 giant’s boss CS Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, said the government’s mission for growth would not align with slapping a tax increase on [...]
Halfords: Departing CEO gets golden goodbye July 29, 2025 The departing chief executive of Halfords saw his pay more than double as the company clocked a statutory £30m loss in the year before he stepped down. Graham Stapleton took home a pay packet of £1.5m for the firm’s latest financial year, up from the £650,440 he received in the prior 12 months. Stapleton had [...]
Greggs shuts 56 stores amid ‘challenging start’ to the year July 29, 2025 Greggs has shut more than 50 stores in the first half of 2025 after reporting a “challenging start” to the year. The number of closures without relocation is up 61 per cent compared to the same period last year, while the number of net new shops opening is down 40 per cent to 31, in [...]
Astrazeneca: Demand for cancer drugs boosts pharmaceutical giant July 29, 2025 Astrazeneca has revealed a jump in revenue from cancer drugs amid rumours its boos is eyeing a listing across the pond. Total revenue rose 11 per cent to $28bn (£12.98bn) in the first half of the year, driven by double-digit growth in Oncology and BioPharmaceuticals, the company told markets this morning. Revenue from oncology products [...]
Soaring stamp duty costs dampen house price growth July 29, 2025 Housing market activity has surged but price growth has slowed as high costs bite into buyers’ budgets. Buyer demand rose 11 per cent and agreed sales rose eight per cent year on year but house prices grew by just 1.3 per cent, according to Zoopla’s latest house price index. Higher stamp duty costs now impact [...]