Exclusive: Small business owners on what is happening in the real economy March 24, 2021 The City was hit with some sobering figures earlier this month, as official data showed UK GDP shrank by a staggering 9.9 per cent in 2020, the largest drop on record. The figures were less bad than expected, which led PwC to conclude that British businesses are becoming more adaptable to lockdowns from an economic [...]
UK house price growth slowed in January as buyers paused due to new lockdown March 24, 2021 UK house price growth slowed in January compared to the previous month as buyers paused due to the introduction of new lockdown measures and uncertainty over the length of the stamp duty holiday, according to the latest official data. Average house prices increased by 7.5 per cent over the year to January, down from eight [...]
London house prices: First-time buyers now need average deposit of £132,685 March 24, 2021 The average deposit size being put down by people taking their first step on the property ladder in London has increased by more than £20,000 since last year, according to new research published today. Halifax found that, in the 12 months to February 2020, the average deposit put down by first-time buyers in the capital [...]
Almost two in three adults fear mortgage holiday will hit credit score as deadline nears March 23, 2021 Nearly two in three adults fear a mortgage holiday could impact their credit score, according to the latest research published as the deadline for a payment break approaches. A survey of UK homeowners found that 73 per cent are worried that a mortgage holiday will impact their credit rating, with 10 per cent believing it [...]
UK borrowers impacted by pandemic face rising mortgage payments, L&G warns March 17, 2021 UK borrowers who have suffered a drop in income during the pandemic could soon be paying thousands of pounds more in monthly mortgage repayments, according to the latest research. The survey by Legal & General Mortgage Club found that one in three borrowers are considering staying on their current lender’s Standard Variable Rate (SVR) once [...]
House price boom continues in March as buyer demand hits record levels March 15, 2021 Record levels of buyer demand pushed the average price of new properties coming to market up 0.8 per cent last month, new research shows. According to Rightmove, the current excess of demand is the highest it has been for a decade, pushing prices up £2,484 in March. The number of potential buyers enquiring about each [...]
Atom Bank valuation set to halve after latest fundraising round March 11, 2021 The valuation of digital lender Atom Bank could halve as it closes its latest fundraising round. Atom announced its £40m fundraising last month claiming it would put it “on the path to profitability in the near term”. But the challenger bank is now close to concluding a round at 60p-a-share, just under half the price [...]
Finance need an overhaul to price in climate change risk and push green agenda forward March 6, 2021 Why did the credit and wider financial system only take off in the last 400 years? Despite money and lending being around for millennia, financial services only truly got going alongside the Enlightenment. According to the writer Yuval Noah Harari, the fundamental shift was to be found in humanity’s belief about the future. In previous [...]
Budget 2021: Government to guarantee five per cent mortgages on homes up to £600,000 March 3, 2021 The government will introduce a new scheme that will allow individuals to put down just a five per cent deposit on homes valued up to £600,000. From April, the government will introduce a the scheme that will provide a guarantee to lenders across the UK that offer mortgages to people with a deposit of five [...]
UK consumer credit slumped in January as lockdown took hold March 1, 2021 Consumer borrowing in January fell at its fastest pace since May last year as the country returned to lockdown, Bank of England data showed on Monday. Unsecured lending to consumers tumbled by £2.4bn, the biggest drop since last May’s £4.5bn hit. This takes the year-on-year fall to 8.9 per cent, the biggest decline since monthly [...]