News in Review

“Our job is to get inflation down” At its meeting last week, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) narrowly voted to maintain Bank Rate at 5.25%, ending a run of 14 consecutive increases. Five members voted to keep the rate at 5.25%, while the four dissenting voices all favoured another 0.25% increase to […]

Residential Property Review – September 2023 

Economic uncertainty weighs on the residential market  The most recent UK Housing Market Update from Savills has highlighted that buyers’ budgets continue to be impacted by higher mortgage rates, and although inflation has begun to move lower, core inflation remains ‘unexpectedly sticky.’   During July, with completed sales reducing by 18% on the 2017-19 average, market […]

Commercial Property Review – September 2023

Private investors acquire £1.3bn of London office assets over 12 months  Knight Frank’s latest research report on the capital’s office market has highlighted that over the last year, family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals have purchased £1.3bn worth of London office assets.   Such high transaction volumes by wealthy private investors have been a by-product partly of […]

News in Review

“The broader picture looks more positive, with the economy growing across the services, production and construction sectors in the last three months” Latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate that the UK economy contracted by 0.5% in July. The reduction was higher than the 0.2% decline which had been forecast by […]

News in Review

“India is going to be one of the most significant countries geopolitically over the next years and decades, and it’s vitally important for the UK to deepen our ties” The G20 summit concluded in Delhi on Sunday with a joint declaration that denounced using force for territorial gain but fell short of explicitly condemning Russia. […]

Over 50s reconsidering life insurance

Continued high inflation is prompting over 50s to reconsider whether they really need their life insurance policies, research has suggested1, sparking fears of vulnerabilities.  Cutting costs  A survey of 1,000 people aged 50+ has shown that 22% of customers are thinking about cancelling their monthly payments as a result of the rising cost of living. […]

Your financial empowerment toolkit

Traditionally, people might have assessed their financial health by simply checking the balance on their bank account or totalling their amassed level of wealth. In recent years, however, a different measure has emerged which seeks to balance financial stability with emotional wellbeing.  Financial empowerment  This new concept places greater emphasis on goals and developing a […]