Bond traders brace for Budget borrowing bonanza October 30, 2024 City investors and bond traders are bracing for the fallout of Labour’s first Budget in 14 years tomorrow as the new government looks set to hike taxes and ramp up borrowing. Ahead of the Budget, the interest rate on government debt has crept up while investors and entrepreneurs have warned of the damaging impacts of [...]
What will happen to wealth taxes? October 30, 2024 The Chancellor is considering a range of tax hikes on wealth, but questions remain over how much revenue she can raise, says Nick Pheasey The taxation of an individual’s wealth can be an emotive subject. Broadly, the UK imposes tax on wealth on two occasions. First, as it is generated, by income tax or capital gains [...]
Housing market continues to strengthen as mortgage rates fall October 29, 2024 New figures from the Bank of England showed that 65,600 new mortgages were approved in September, the highest figure since August 2022.
Foxtons acquires commuter town estate agents in expansion drive October 29, 2024 Estate agents Foxtons has acquired two smaller companies in commuter towns as it looks to expand its presence in the lettings market. Haslams, in Reading, and Imagine, in Watford, will be bought by Foxtons for £7.6m and £5m respectively. The acquisitions will increase Foxtons’ footprint to 64 branches, as well as delivering an extra 2,900 [...]
First-time buyers could see huge tax hit under rumored Budget change October 28, 2024 First-time buyers could see huge tax hit under changes rumored to be included in the Autumn budget. It has been rumoured that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will rule out any changes to stamp duty land tax in the Budget. Stamp duty land tax currently applies to homes costing over £250,000, but in March [...]
Why businesses are nervous ahead of the Budget October 28, 2024 Businesses are wary as Chancellor Rachel Reeves puts the final touches to her first Budget.
Avison Young loses over £100m as it cuts more than 200 jobs October 28, 2024 The UK arm of global commercial real estate services firm Avison Young shed over 200 jobs as its pre-tax loss almost doubled to more than £100m during 2023, it has been revealed. The Birmingham-headquartered division has reported a pre-tax loss of £101.8m for 2023, having previously posted a loss of £55.6m in 2022. Newly-filed accounts [...]
Chancellor to cut back Right to Buy discounts in Budget October 26, 2024 The Chancellor will cut back Right to Buy discounts as part of next week’s Budget to boost council housing supply. Rachel Reeves will announce plans to consult on a new five-year social housing rent settlement and to reduce Right to Buy, which allows tenants renting local authority-owned homes to buy them at a discounted rate, [...]
The five REITs primed to be bought next October 26, 2024 Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been dropping like flies this year, as competitors increasingly pursue mergers to grow their size, and many have begun to speculate about which one might be next to go. The largest merger of the year was LXI REIT, which was bought out by Londonmetric Property at the start of [...]
Inside UK non-doms’ battle for survival October 26, 2024 Had a passer-by inadvertently walked into Foreign Investors for Britain’s inaugural press conference earlier this month, they would have been forgiven for thinking they’d encountered an incongruous group therapy session. At one stage, an eastern European property tycoon asked the room: “Why am I suddenly being treated like a tax cheater? I’m being painted out [...]