Exclusive: Merton leads London house prices higher as buyers seek space September 8, 2020 House prices in the south-western boroughs of Merton and Sutton rose at the fastest pace in London in the year to July as buyers looked for more space during the coronavirus pandemic, according to exclusive analysis by property website Zoopla for City A.M. Prices barely budged in the borough of Hillingdon on the western edge [...]
FTSE 100 jumps after global sell-off as pound slides September 7, 2020 The FTSE 100 and European stocks rose sharply as investors recovered their poise after a sharp sell-off in global stocks last week, with a falling pound boosting London’s blue-chip index. The FTSE 100 extended its morning rebound and was trading 2.46 per cent higher in afternoon trading. London’s FTSE 250 index of smaller firms also [...]
Thomas Cook tipped for relaunch as online-only travel agent September 7, 2020 Iconic travel agent Thomas Cook could be relaunched as early as this month, a year after the firm went bust in dramatic circumstances. Sky News reported that Chinese conglomerate Fosun, which bought the company’s name and intellectual property assets for just £11m, is drawing up plans to reinvent the 178-year-old firm as an online travel [...]
UK house prices hit record high as stamp duty cut powers market September 7, 2020 UK house prices hit a record high in August after pent-up demand and the stamp duty holiday combined to power the market upwards, according to lender Halifax. However, Halifax cautioned that prices were “unlikely” to continue on their current path, with rising unemployment set to catch up with the market. Prices rose 1.6 per cent [...]
First Group shares jump as buyers circle US bus operations September 7, 2020 Shares in transport operator First Group popped this morning after reports that a number of buyers were circling its US operations, which were put up for sale in March. By the mid morning, shares in First Group, which runs bus and rail businesses in the UK and US, were up over 15 per cent at [...]
UK house prices: Growth to remain ‘muted’ after coronavirus lockdown September 7, 2020 UK house price growth is expected to remain muted this year while transactions could plunge despite a bounce back in demand following the lifting of coronavirus lockdown restrictions. The latest research by estate agent Knight Frank forecasts that UK house prices will grow two per cent this year. However both prime central London and prime [...]
FTSE 100 rises but Wall Street falls again on job data September 4, 2020 The FTSE 100 reversed yesterday’s losses, closing in on the 5,900 point level this morning despite last night’s ferocious sell-off of US tech stocks dragging markets down overnight. By the early afternoon London’s premier index was 0.7 per cent up at 5,888.96. The FTSE 250 index of mid caps also rose 0.2 per cent. However, [...]
Watchdog opens probe into major homebuilders over leasehold practices September 4, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today said it was opening enforcement cases against four of the UK’s biggest housebuilders over suspicions they may have broken consumer protection law in relation to leasehold homes. The CMA today said it was opening enforcement actions focusing on the practices of Barratt Developments, Countryside Properties, Persimmon Homes and [...]
Berkeley Group holds guidance on robust trading despite Covid-19 hit September 4, 2020 Property developer Berkeley Group today maintained its guidance for the full year after reporting better-than-expected trading during the coronavirus outbreak. The FTSE 100 housebuilder held its forecast for pre-tax profit of £500m and confirmed its plan to return £280m to shareholders per year. Berkeley said it now expected a more even split in profit between [...]
FTSE 100 rally cools as Wall Street slips from overnight highs September 3, 2020 The FTSE 100’s rally slowed this afternoon, with London’s premier index trading 0.3 per cent up at 5,957.69 points as of the early afternoon. Optimism that the economy could be in line for further stimulus measures kept the market in the black even as Wall Street slipped from last night’s record highs. The FTSE 250 [...]