Santander UK profits slump 14 per cent in “uncertain” environment for banks January 30, 2019 Santander UK profits slumped 14 per cent last year as the bank struggled with cost pressures and an “uncertain operating environment.” The UK arm of the Spanish-owned bank cited competitive incomes pressures and higher regulatory costs for the year-on-year downturn. Profits fell by £247m to £1.57bn in 2018 and the bank’s “loyal retail customers” stood [...]
London house prices dip over 2018 January 30, 2019 London house prices dipped in 2018, with uncertainty looming large over the capital in spite of double-digit growth across many of the UK’s other major cities. Property prices in London tumbled 0.2 per cent last year, according to new data which underlines fears of a slowdown in activity across parts of the capital’s housing market [...]
DEBATE: Are falling house prices in London a good thing? January 18, 2019 Are falling house prices in London a good thing? Daniel Hegarty, founder and chief executive of digital mortgage broker Habito, says YES. Provided it stops at a pricing correction and doesn’t go further, the drop in house prices is good news. London’s sky-high prices have left the average 34-year-old first-time buyer needing to borrow 13 times [...]
Trump has gone to war with the US model of government January 11, 2019 There’s an ancient Greek fable about some frogs who ask Zeus for a king. The god gives them a log to be their ruler, which proceeds to do exactly what you’d expect: nothing. Disappointed, the frogs complain that their king isn’t getting anything done, and ask for a more active one. Zeus gives them a hydra, [...]
Mark Kleinman’s big predictions for the Square Mile in 2019 January 11, 2019 Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP exit, Unilever’s HQ U-turn, Melrose’s swoop for GKN: 2018 was a year full of surprises in the City. And while forecasting might be a fool’s errand, here are 10 predictions for the year ahead. •Theresa May will decisively lose next week’s “meaningful vote” on Brexit: that’s not a punt that will [...]
Just Group soars on favourable new Bank capital rules December 10, 2018 Shares in pensions provider Just Group rose as much as 27 per cent this morning, following the release of the Bank of England’s final decision on equity release mortgages (ERMs), which the company welcomed as offering “greater clarity” for its future operations. Both Just and Barclays analysts said new rules released by the Bank’s Prudential [...]
UK house price growth recovers from five-year low in November, Nationwide figures show November 30, 2018 UK house prices grew by an average of 1.9 per cent in November, up 0.3 per cent month on month to recover from a five-year low in October, Nationwide announced this morning. The figure is expected to improve if economic and political uncertainty surrounding Brexit lifts over the coming months and employment continues to rise, the [...]
Entrepreneurs should be selective with their investors November 27, 2018 It’s not a secret that London is the fintech capital of Europe. Startups and tech entrepreneurs can flourish here because of the concentration of world-class financial services, and the access available to funding from a variety of key players. However, the nature of investment in tech startups is undergoing a process of significant and positive [...]
Nationwide profits fall as technology investment cuts into bottom line November 22, 2018 Profits fell by a fifth at Nationwide in its half-year results today, with the building society’s technology investment weighing down earnings. The figures Profit before tax tumbled 17.8 per cent to £516m for the six months to the end of September, compared to the same period in 2017, as it took a £135m charge for asset [...]
First time buyer mortgage approvals dropped in September November 13, 2018 The number of new first-time buyer mortgages dropped by 4.5 per cent in September, driven by a slump in consumer demand due to affordability constraints in London and the south east. New home mover mortgages fell by 8.6 per cent compared to last year, with a decline in value of 5.8 per cent year-on-year, according [...]