Kwarteng stung: Mini budget chancellor offered to set up meeting between fake firm and Boris Johnson for ‘£10k’ March 27, 2023 Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng offered to facilitate setting up a meeting between a fake foreign firm and former prime minister Boris Johnson during a sting interview. Mr Kwarteng was caught up in a hoax organised by campaign group Led By Donkeys in which he was approached about providing political advice to a bogus company it [...]
Mini budget continues to wreak havoc on the UK housing market as annual sales dive 18 per cent March 21, 2023 UK property transactions fell four per cent in February as the fall out from last September’s mini budget continued to drive down the UK’s housing market. Sales of residential property fell 18 per cent during the year with just 76,920 transaction across the UK, as buyers were forced to deal with higher borrowing costs as [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on why it’s not all doom and gloom for the economy March 8, 2023 The Notebook is where interesting people say interesting things. Today, it’s Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, on why it’s not the time to be gloomy about the UK’s prospects, the battle for your coffee pound and a new podcast. You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that the UK economy is in a [...]
Why housebuilders’ share prices are sinking – despite healthy industry profits March 5, 2023 If you quickly skim over the financial results of any major residential home builder you would presume that business, for the most part, is doing quite well. Just last week a flurry of housebuilding companies revealed their earnings for 2022 with major players in the market such as Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey seeing profits of [...]
‘Google of the property market’ Rightmove shrugs off housing fears to post £241m profit March 3, 2023 Rightmove, the UK’s largest property portal, saw its operating profits rise seven per cent to £241m as the group revealed it was “not materially affected” by the difficult property market. The London-listed company, which lists homes for rent and sale, also saw revenues increase 9 per cent to £332.6m up from £304.9m the prior year. [...]
ULEZ expansion ‘not the answer’: Rebel boroughs Harrow and Bromley warn Khan of impact on ‘poorest and vulnerable’ February 7, 2023 Harrow and Bromley councils have responded to a letter from Sadiq Khan over the expansion of ULEZ, warning of its impact on the poorest. Harrow councillor Paul Osborn wrote to Khan earlier this week, reiterating that the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) to include the whole of Greater London was “not the answer” [...]
Retail experts warn of ‘challenging’ months ahead as sales growth slows February 7, 2023 Senior retail figures have warned that the coming months will be “challenging” for the sector, after sales slowed over January, falling below the three-month average growth of 5.2 per cent to 4.2 per cent Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive at British Retail Consortium (BRC), said consumer confidence remains “stubbornly low” and looming rises in household [...]
House builder Crest Nicholson reports mixed fortunes with completions up but post-tax profits dented by uncertainty January 17, 2023 British housebuilding firm Crest Nicholson reported an uptick in revenue and completed homes last year despite continued disruption and pressure to supply chains. The firm’s revenue up until October 2022 was up 16 per cent to £913.6m, up from £786m in the pandemic-affected 2021 report. Home completions also increased by 13.6 per cent to 2,734, [...]
Londoners face unprecedented rent increases in 2023 as mortgage rates for landlords skyrocket January 13, 2023 Tenants are struggling this January. Along with the rest of the nation, they’re dealing with a cost of living crisis, driven by rising energy prices, and adding to this pressure is the rising price of rent. Moreover, landlords face unprecedented increases in mortgage rates, forcing them to up the rent. Tenants in London have endured [...]
Taylor Wimpey: Average selling price hits £350,000 as firm shrugs off mini budget housing chaos January 13, 2023 The average selling price for private completions increased six per cent to more than £350,000 according to one of the UK’s largest construction companies. Taylor Wimpey released its 2022 overview today, saying total completions were a shade under last year’s at 13,154, compared to 14, 302. It said of the completions, more than a fifth [...]