London house prices suffer worst plunge in 10 years July 17, 2019 London house prices suffered a staggering 4.4 per cent annual drop in May, their worst annual drop since the financial crisis, public data revealed today. While UK house prices rose 1.2 per cent compared to May 2018, London house prices sank, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed. Read more: UK house prices slip for [...]
A share in a housing nightmare? The problems with leasehold contracts and shared ownership July 10, 2019 The saga around leasehold contracts gets more complicated for buyers using the shared ownership scheme
City Moves for 9 July – Who’s switching jobs? July 9, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Baird, Glenhawk and Astarte Capital Partners. Baird Baird has announced that Simon Pearson and Justin Prichard (pictured) have joined its European investment banking group as managing directors, continuing the expansion of Baird’s global technology & services practice. The duo will focus on the technology, media and telecoms space, and will be [...]
UK house prices surge 5.7 per cent in June July 5, 2019 UK house prices shrank by 0.3 per cent in June compared to the previous month, according to data released today. But the growth rate rocketed 5.7 per cent on an annual basis last month, according to Halifax’s latest house price index, to take the average UK house price to £237,110. Read more: UK house price [...]
Mortgage lending grows in solid start to the year June 11, 2019 The UK mortgage market enjoyed a solid start to the year as residential lending and new mortgage commitments both rose. The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans rose to £1.45bn in the first quarter, a 3.4 per cent rise on a year earlier. Read more: Mortgage approvals rebound after delay on Brexit deadline The [...]
Competition watchdog to probe £1.6bn One Savings Bank and Charter Court merger June 5, 2019 The competition watchdog has announced it is investigating the potential £1.6bn merger between One Savings Bank and Charter Court. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would assess whether the deal would lead to a “substantial lessening of competition” in the market. Read more: One Savings Bank and Charter Court announce terms of £1.6bn [...]
Crisis-era ‘bad bank’ repays last of government loan June 5, 2019 The so-called bad bank created to take on the debts of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley (B&B) after the financial crisis has paid back the last of the almost £50bn used to fund the bailouts. Read more: Rothesay life buys £860m of UK ‘bad bank’ mortgage loans Treasury-owned UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) today said [...]
FCA pushes ahead with P2P lender investment cap June 4, 2019 The City watchdog will implement a cap for first time peer-to-peer (P2P) investors as it clamps down on the sector. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed today that it will introduce a 10 per cent investment cap. Read more: Top business leaders back UK-based P2P property lender Investors must pass a test to prove they [...]
UK banks: What to make of Lloyds, RBS and Barclays? May 29, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Having underperformed since April's stock market peak, here's what to expect from the domestic lenders. With UK banks making heavy weather of Q1 results and the Brexit shackles still in place, there's a clear lack of momentum behind shares of Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY), Barclays (LSE:BARC) and The Royal [...]
UK mortgage approvals hit two-year high following Brexit extension May 28, 2019 The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases in the UK reached a two-year high in April, a survey showed today, suggesting the country’s housing market may be recovering from a recent slowdown. Read more: Mortgage approvals fall as lending to businesses also drops UK banks approved 42,989 mortgages in April, the highest figure since [...]