Barratt Redrow: Builder outlines growth plans after merger October 23, 2024 Barratt Redrow outlined its growth plans today in its first trading update as a combined group. Created by the merger of homebuilders Barrett and Redrow, the combined group has laid out plans to build 22,000 homes a year in the medium term. That would make it one of the UK’s largest house builders. In its [...]
Number of UK house sales jumped by a third after rates cut, before Budget October 21, 2024 Despite uncertainty about the coming Autumn budget, buyers continued to pile into the property market after the Bank of England cut interest rates, with the number of homes sold up by a third year on year. The number of sales agreed rose by 29 per cent, while the number of potential buyers contacting estate agents [...]
Lendinvest taps Barclays, HSBC and BNP for £300m financing October 21, 2024 Lendinvest has renewed a £300m financing deal with Barclays, HSBC and France’s BNP Paribas as the property fintech looks to return to profitability. The AIM-listed firm said the revolving warehouse financing agreement, shared equally between the three banks, had been extended for an additional three years on what it called improved terms. LendInvest said the [...]
UK banks to post first results since interest rate cut October 20, 2024 Major UK banks are to reveal whether borrowers are benefiting from lower interest rates as they report third-quarter results over the next two weeks.
Longer-term mortgages are on the rise amid financial stability risk concerns October 17, 2024 In the first quarter of 2024, half of new mortgages had terms of 30 years or longer, up from just 12 per cent in the final quarter of 2005.
UK house prices surge as cooling inflation gives rise to lower borrowing costs October 16, 2024 House prices in the UK rose by 2.8 per cent against the backdrop of the lowest inflation for three years and prospect of interest rates coming down further. The UK average according to the Office for National Statistics sat at £293,000 in the year to August 2024, though London prices are typically higher. This marked [...]
Fenwick: John Lewis rival slumps into the red and cuts jobs October 15, 2024 Department store chain Fenwick slumped back into the red and cut jobs as it battled the cost-of-living crisis and a “changing retail environment”. The Newcastle-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax loss of £28.3m for the year to 26 January, 2024, having previously made a pre-tax profit of £57.1m in the prior 12 months. Newly-filed accounts [...]
Bellway profit craters but shares jump on strong look-ahead October 15, 2024 Despite a significant drop in completions and profit, housebuilder Bellway has said it is well-positioned to deliver growth going forward and supports the Government’s plan to unlock housing construction. Shares surged by more than eight per cent in early trades. Bellway told markets this morning that profit fell by 44.6 per cent in the year [...]
Stamp duty: TSB and Shawbrook join mortgage lender call for reform before Budget October 15, 2024 A group of mortgage lenders and brokers have called on the government to refund stamp duty for homeowners in a bid to accelerate energy efficiency improvements in UK housing and reduce national emissions. TSB, along with Shawbrook, the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) and Leeds Building Society, have called on the government to provide more support [...]
Hospitality needs a magic spark of confidence to boom, brewery boss says October 10, 2024 The boss of Britain’s oldest brewer, Faversham-based Shepherd Neame, has suggested that the hospitality industry is nearly ready for a return to a boom period, but only is we serve up a spark of confidence. Neame suggested that if fundamentals remain strong and mortgages continue to fall, consumer spending on hospitality would follow a similar [...]