Stamp duty holiday: Top London areas for potential property tax savings July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is today expected to announce a stamp duty holiday in a bid to reinvigorate the UK housing market following the coronavirus lockdown. The announcement is expected to raise the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £500,000, according to reports. Experts have said that buyers searching for properties in more expensive areas could [...]
Stamp duty holiday ‘could be implemented immediately’ July 8, 2020 The chancellor is expected to announce this afternoon that a stamp duty holiday will come into force immediately, rather than delaying the change until autumn. Rishi Sunak is expected to raise the threshold for paying stamp duty from £125,000 to £500,000 as he outlines measures to help the UK economy recover from the coronavirus crisis. [...]
Rishi Sunak’s summer statement: What can we expect? July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will today give a “summer statement”, a sort of mini-Budget in which he will announce schemes to support the economy as it recovers from its coronavirus-induced collapse. Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced £5bn of infrastructure spending. He invoked US President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1930s New Deal, saying the UK will “build, [...]
Stamp duty holiday: What does it mean for the UK housing market? July 7, 2020 In a “mini-budget” spring statement tomorrow chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a range of measures to boost the economy which has been ravaged by the coronavirus crisis. As part of the package the chancellor is reportedly planning to cut stamp duty for properties worth up to £500,000 in a bid to reinvigorate the [...]
Halifax: UK house prices suffer longest fall since 2010 July 7, 2020 UK house prices fell for the fourth month in a row in June for the first time since 2010, according to Halifax data released today. Unlike rival Nationwide, which found the value of homes shrank for the first time on an annual basis in June, Halifax recorded a 2.5 per cent-year-on-year rise. But as the [...]
JD Sports calls for ‘rental realism’ as coronavirus impacts footfall July 7, 2020 JD Sports this morning warned landlords that it will seek “rental realism”, including greater flexibility in property leases, due to a reduction in footfall during the UK coronavirus pandemic. The retailer said it is “inevitable” that it will require more flexibility in order to maintain a large physical store estate in the UK and Ireland. [...]
Magnitsky Act: Dominic Raab unveils first foreign citizens facing visa restrictions July 6, 2020 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has unveiled the first 49 foreign citizens facing sanctions for alleged human rights abuses under the UK’s new Magnitsky Act. Speaking in the Commons today, the foreign secretary said the UK was taking action against the “thugs of despots and henchmen of dictators” and those trying to launder their “blood-stained ill-gotten [...]
Nearly half of European banks hold a negative profit outlook July 6, 2020 The number of European banks reporting a negative outlook for 2020 has risen significantly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, as the global economy struggles to survive its impact. Data from ratings giant S&P Global revealed 46 per cent of Europe’s banks in its portfolio now hold a negative outlook, up from just 14 [...]
Intu boss quits after landlord falls into administration July 3, 2020 The boss of Intu has stepped down a week after the UK’s biggest shopping centre owner went into administration having failed to agree a last minute deal with lenders. Administrator KPMG told staff that Matthew Roberts, who took over the top job last year after nine years as the firm’s finance chief, had quit, Sky [...]
Coty hires former L’Oreal boss as its third chief executive this year July 2, 2020 Beauty firm Coty has hired former L’Oreal boss Sue Nabi to become its third chief executive in just six months, sending shares up almost four per cent in pre-market trading. Nabi will take over the reins from Peter Harf, who was appointed chief executive of Coty just last month. Harf will step down front the [...]