Esure and Directline founder Sir Peter Wood leads insurance start-up funding round May 28, 2019 Esure and Directline founder Sir Peter Wood has led a £2.5m funding round in insurance start-up Pikl. Wood received £360m when he sold his stake in Esure to private equity firm Bain Capital last year. The serial entrepreneur also founded Directline in the 1980s, allowing customers to buy insurance over the phone, later selling his [...]
UK peer-to-peer finance company Lendy collapses amid investigation May 25, 2019 UK property finance firm Lendy has collapsed and administrators from RSM have been appointed following a court order on Friday afternoon. The lender is under investigation by financial regulators, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the appointment was made "following action taken by the FCA". Read more: Treasury launches probe into FCA's review of London Capital & Finance "There is [...]
Gaps between tenancies can be a real money sink. Here’s how to avoid them May 24, 2019 Most experienced landlords will know that the biggest real losses come from long periods between tenancies, where they can end up haemorrhaging money if the presentation and marketing of their property isn’t well managed. The areas that are often the cause of these voids are: Difficulty in access for viewings Poor presentation Too high a [...]
Theresa May’s legacy? Contortions of logic and tin-eared obstinacy May 24, 2019 It’s the EU exit, stupid. This, to paraphrase Bill Clinton, is what Theresa May’s tenure as Prime Minister has been all about. The tempestuous journey to try to get Britain out of the EU will undoubtedly be her legacy, whether she is remembered in the history books as the architect of a national disaster, or as a [...]
Mothercare shares fall as it delays full-year results due to their ‘complexity’ May 23, 2019 Global retailer Mothercare’s shares have fallen this morning after it delayed the publishing of its full-year financial results results due to their “complexity”. Read more: Mothercare suffers another drop in UK like-for-like sales The company, a global retailer for parents and young children which has struggled amid a declining high street, released a statement today [...]
London house prices suffer UK’s steepest annual fall ahead of original Brexit deadline May 22, 2019 House prices in London plunged 1.9 per cent in the year to March, the largest annual fall in the country, ahead of the UK’s original Brexit date. UK-wide house prices jumped 1.4 per cent over the twelve months, but in London the average property price fell almost two per cent to £463,000, according to HM [...]
The extremist Green party is trying to overthrow capitalism May 22, 2019 The Green Party is doing well. It gained nearly 200 council seats in the recent local elections and is hoping for a strong showing in the European ones this week. Publicity over school children going “on strike” to protest about climate change has helped. With politicians competing to fawn over the truants, the Green Party [...]
Property Legal Q&A: I am buying a flat and have been advised that the landlord of the building is missing. Should I be worried? May 21, 2019 Often, where the owner of a flat has not heard from the landlord in a while, they will consider the landlord as “missing” but that may not necessarily be the case. Your solicitor should check what enquiries have been made to try and locate the landlord. For example, the landlord may have died and his [...]
London house prices: How Brexit uncertainty has hit house prices in every borough May 20, 2019 London is “acting as a drag” on the rest of the UK housing market, with prices across the capital falling in the last year, according to new figures from property giant Rightmove. Read more: UK house prices suffer fifth month of Brexit-hit growth While some regions in the UK such as the midlands and the [...]
Loopholes in anti-money laundering law could be exploited by criminals, MPs and Lords say May 20, 2019 A joint parliamentary Committee today raised concerns that criminals could exploit loopholes in a new bill aimed at clamping down on laundering money through UK property. The joint Committee on the draft Registration of Overseas Entities Bill welcomed the legislation, but said in its current state it could be circumvented by criminals. Read more: EU [...]