Index Ventures backs Daniel Gandesha’s tech start-up Property Partner March 23, 2015 Index Ventures, the venture capital firm behind Just Eat and Candy Crush Saga-maker King Digital, has given £5.2m backing to a crowdfunding platform that allows retail investors to tap into the UK’s residential market. Property Partner, founded by the ex-head of startup investment at BSkyB Daniel Gandesha, gives smaller backers the chance to invest sums [...]
British shares and houses drive up investor confidence again March 23, 2015 INVESTOR confidence hit a nine-month high in March, as healthy UK stocks and house prices combined with a receding threat from the Eurozone. The sentiment index from Lloyds Bank’s private bank rose to a net balance of 16 per cent, as those investors reporting growing confidence outweighed those who are downbeat. The index rose from [...]
Britain likely to reach a record low for inflation – London Report March 23, 2015 CONSUMER price inflation is likely to have fallen to a new record low of 0.2 per cent in February, moving Britain closer to deflation. Official figures out tomorrow look set to show the fall in the index, which comes after the previous low of 0.3 per cent in January. Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, [...]
Short supply of homes fuels rocketing UK rents and house prices March 19, 2015 A short supply of housing and a recovery in economic fortunes is pushing up rents and house prices. Average monthly rates stood at £766 in February, up 3.1 per cent on last year, according to figures released today by estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains. London saw the second greatest annual rise in the [...]
Europe’s recovery and stamp duty reform lifts Savills March 19, 2015 LONDON-listed property adviser Savills said revenues jumped 19 per cent to £1.1bn last year thanks to record sales in the UK and recovering market conditions in continental Europe. The government’s overhaul of stamp duty thresholds triggered a surge in the sale of expensive homes at the end of last year and prompting Savills to hike [...]
Is the ECB speaking too soon in saying that QE is already helping the Eurozone economy? March 19, 2015 Danae Kyriakopoulou, an economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes Central bankers in Frankfurt have been patting each other on the back as the euro has continued to slide. At first glance, why shouldn’t they? Their QE has sent the euro tumbling, making Eurozone exports more competitive and raising prospects for [...]
Record results for Savills as market conditions improve across Europe and the US March 19, 2015 Savills has reported “record results” for 2014, with better market conditions aiding a return to profitability. The figures International expansion helped drive Savills' pre-tax profit up by 34 per cent to £104.3m in 2014, compared with £75.2m the year before. During the 12 months to 31 December, revenue for the London-listed property firm revenue [...]
Budget 2015: A quick guide to all the key measures March 18, 2015 Chancellor delivers good news for savers and first-time buyers as he turns up heat on banks in play for votes ahead of election. UK ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ● The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year. However, the economy grew by just 0.5 per cent in the final three months of 2014, [...]
Budget 2015: Young first-time home buyers given a helping hand with Help to Buy Isa March 18, 2015 With fewer young people able to afford to buy a home, the Budget aims to help them out. Tim Wallace asks: Will it work? Can you imagine paying £22,000 for a flat? It sounds like a joke now, but it was the average price of a first-time buyer’s home in Britain in 1984. It was [...]
On life, taxes and Osborne’s chance to beat a £20bn target March 18, 2015 If taxes are one of life’s few certainties, then taxes on banks are becoming just as predictable. Just when HSBC thought its lot could not get any tougher, up pops George Osborne with his bi-annual hike to the rate of the charge on lenders’ balance sheets. The chancellor’s final pre-General Election Budget included a commitment [...]