“America can breathe a sigh of relief” Last Thursday, the US Congress approved a deal to lift the country’s borrowing limit, thereby averting a crisis mere days before the country was due to default on $31.4tn of debt. The bipartisan deal passed through the Senate by 63-36, after navigating the Republican-controlled House of Representatives by […]
Author archives: charlie
News in review
“The return to single digit inflation suggests the UK has turned a corner” Official data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week revealed that inflation returned to single digits in April, following seven consecutive months residing above 10%. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) increased by 8.7% in the 12-month period to April, […]
News in review
“The sky’s the limit for British and Japanese businesses and entrepreneurs” Rishi Sunak attended the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on Thursday, stopping off in Tokyo to agree new defence and economic deals; a UK business summit for Japanese corporations in the capital has resulted in a reported £18bn investment in UK property, windfarms and other […]
News in Review
“We have to stay the course” As widely expected, the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to increase Bank Rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5%, at its meeting last week. Seven members of the committee voted to raise the rate, while two members favoured maintaining Bank Rate at […]
On the trail of unpaid IHT
HMRC has set up a new specialist team to target estates of wealthy deceased individuals in order to check whether a greater Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability may have been due than originally calculated by estate executors. This clampdown has seen record amounts of unpaid tax being clawed back by HMRC with levels expected to rise […]
News in Review
“May has the potential to be a historic month for the hospitality sector, which is set for one of its busiest times in recent memory” The Coronation of King Charles III was expected to bring an additional £180m to UK hospitality and leisure businesses over the long weekend, according to recent estimates from Barclays. The […]
News in Review
“People shortages are a massive issue and employers can see little sign of improvement” The latest quarterly Recruitment Outlook from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has highlighted that challenges remain for businesses surrounding the hiring of new staff. The survey of over 5,000 UK companies of differing sizes, from various sectors, who are attempting […]
Economic Review – April 2023
Recent signs of economic resilience While the latest gross domestic product (GDP) statistics revealed that the UK economy stagnated in February, recent survey evidence paints a more positive picture with signs of ‘encouraging resilience’ and ‘growth momentum.’ Official data released last month by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the economy saw no […]
Residential Property Review – April 2023
Residential market update Demand, sales and new listings all remain in negative territory, according to the latest UK Residential Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), with agreed sales dropping to -31% this month, below the -25% recorded in February. New buyer enquiries, meanwhile, were down by a headline net balance of -29% […]
Commercial Property Market Review – April 2023
Investor confidence returns as pricing plateaus UK commercial investment volumes totalled £5.6bn in Q1 2023, according to a report from Savills, the second lowest quarterly volume since 2009. Amidst a volatile and unpredictable economic backdrop, investment volumes were lower than any quarter except Q2 2020. The average Savills prime yield now stands at 5.57% after […]