UK house prices fall in sharpest drop since 2008 crash December 7, 2022 House price growth has continued to cool in the UK, with last month representing the sharpest decline in value since 2008. The average cost of a home now stands at £285,579, after falling by 2.3 per cent in November, according to Halifax today – which began tracking house prices in 1983. Growth rates have slowed [...]
The fate of John Lewis vs Debenhams is a parable in how to adapt to the future December 7, 2022 Emerging technologies, from AI and machine learning to edge computing and the metaverse, are fundamentally revolutionising how data is captured and used by businesses in the UK. The effective application of this data can have a transformational effect on the performance of an organisation. In the UK, we’ve had clear examples of this working to [...]
Buy-to-let landlords in shock as mortgages skyrocket by record 286 per cent December 6, 2022 Buy-to-let landlords are facing a tougher time securing finance due to a significant reduction in product choice and rising mortgage rates, it has emerged. The debate around rising mortgage rates has so far been centred around the strife facing homeowners and families, but it’s also had an impact on buy-to-let landlords, to the detriment of [...]
Weekend Spotlight: £82bn in rental properties across UK are occupied by fraudsters and criminals December 3, 2022 Almost 280,000 UK rental properties, with a combined market value of £82bn, are thought to be occupied by fraudsters, City A.M. was told today. The rental market has long been a leading target for fraudsters, criminals, and money launderers. Research estimates that 5 per cent of all rental stock is being let to criminals and the [...]
Exclusive: Zooming in on the billions of pounds in criminal cash flowing through the City December 3, 2022 Going back more than a decade, in the summer of 2012, HSBC was fined $1.9bn for inadequate compliance and anti-money laundering control processes. The banking giant was found guilty of providing money laundering services to drug cartels as well as terrorist groups in the Middle East. Ten years on, money laundering is still a serious problem. Less [...]
John Lewis seals £500m deal with Abrdn to enter rental property market December 2, 2022 John Lewis has signed a £500m deal with investment giant Abrdn to enter the rental property market. The agreement announced today will see the High Street titan deliver a thousands new homes a year, with a view to having built 10,000 in the next decade. In a bid to diversify and move away from dependency [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? December 2, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Heathrow Express Heathrow Express has appointed a new director and business lead, who rejoins after a three-year hiatus. Daniel Edwards previously led the Heathrow VIP commercial team before becoming head of retail categories. Edwards, who launched its [...]
UK house prices fall by £4.5k since October amid ‘sharply’ slowing growth December 1, 2022 House price growth in the UK slowed “sharply” last month, representing the biggest monthly drop in value since June 2020, according to the latest data. The average cost of a home has fallen by 1.4 per cent since October – the equivalent of around £4,500, to £263,788, Nationwide’s house price index has revealed. Across the [...]
House prices coming home this World Cup? How Gareth Southgate keeps properties afloat November 30, 2022 Following England’s 3-0 victory against Wales, last night in Qatar, property watchers are getting increasingly excited about the prospect of a good performance by the England squad at the World Cup as a major success could result in a house price boost. That is, if historical market trends are anything to go by. Focussing on [...]
Truss budget fallout will drag on growth, LendInvest warns November 30, 2022 Property fintech LendInvest has warned that the fallout of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget in September will drag on growth in the second half of the year, as borrowing slows amid sharp interest rate hikes.