Crossrail boosts property values by 57pc near London stations March 18, 2015 HOUSE prices within a 10-minute walk of Bond Street station have soared by 82 per cent since Crossrail was first announced in 2008, a report released yesterday showed. That’s almost twice the 43 per cent rise recorded in the wider area. Crossrail, which is due to open in 2018, has spurred new developments from Reading [...]
Lakehouse hits £140m on stock market flotation March 18, 2015 BUILDING maintenance and service group Lakehouse priced its shares yesterday as the firm pulled off a successful stock market flotation. The shares priced at 89p each, giving the firm an estimated market capitalisation of £140.2m. Stock in the float amount was £60m, with roughly half of that sum coming from newly issued shares. “We are [...]
Budget 2015: Government to create its own property management company March 18, 2015 The government aims to copy the commercial sector by creating a property management body to oversee its estate and help meet its target of selling £5bn of land and property by 2020. Budget documents released alongside the chancellor’s speech said the government will take a more “commercially driven approach” in managing its estate. As part [...]
What does the chancellor’s Budget mean for you? From the single parent to the startup founder March 18, 2015 THE SINGLE PARENT Catherine Gannon, 51Managing partner at law firm Gannons Gannons Commercial Law continues to do well, with profits and earnings up on last year. Catherine is commercially savvy and has restructured the business from an LLP to a limited company, illustrating that she is a smart operator in a segmented legal market. [...]
Let’s get ethical: Abundance’s Bruce Davis on what crowdfunding is offering investors with a conscience March 18, 2015 Are we becoming more ethically aware when making investments? According to recent research conducted for Triodos Bank, more than one in 10 Brits say that they plan to remove any investments they hold involving fossil fuels over the next 12 months. And among 18 to 34-year olds, the proportion rises to 40 per cent. But [...]
Small beer Budget: George Osborne deserves credit for holding back on the bribery March 18, 2015 We should “choose the future” George Osborne insisted yesterday, in what may yet turn out to be his final Budget. But in truth, he spent much of his time focusing on the recent past. Employment has been buoyant and now stands at a record high. Those who predicted that spending constraint would lead to an [...]
Budget 2015: Here’s why the Help to Buy Isa is a terrible idea March 18, 2015 One of the more eye-catching announcements in George Osborne's Budget was the unveiling of a "Help to Buy" Isa. Not leaked beforehand, Osborne said first-time buyers will receive a helping hand from the government to get on the property ladder. For every £200 saved by first-time buyers, the taxpayer will chip in another £50. Those who [...]
Who is Nigel Farage’s political soulmate? Meet senator Rand Paul March 18, 2015 Nigel Farage's new book – The Purple Revolution – gives the definitive inside account as to how a party once on the fringes of British politics came to be a major player on the national stage, told by the man who arguably made it all happen. Among the revelations of how Ukip managed to snag [...]
Liquidity problems are the hot topic in Greece March 17, 2015 The crisis in Greece is deepening. What a difference a few months can make. Last year the country was able to tap the capital markets borrowing for three and five years paying interest of under five per cent. Its four main banks had received a cleanish bill of health in the European Central Bank’s Asset [...]
Buy-to-let: It’s not all about capital growth March 17, 2015 The stability of rents against average incomes makes for an attractive proposition. The UK – and London in particular – has been the beneficiary of large inflows of global capital into property in the last few years. While most of these funds have flowed into commercial real estate, a growing proportion is being directed into [...]