News in Review
“The underlying pace of housing market activity is likely to continue to strengthen gradually as affordability constraints ease” House prices increased by 4.7% over the year to December 2024, to finish only slightly below an all-time high, according to new data released last week by Nationwide Building Society. Having accelerated by 0.7% month-on-month, the average […]
Economic Review December 2024
Headline inflation at eight-month high Release of the latest inflation statistics showed consumer prices are now rising at their fastest rate since March 2024, while last month also saw Bank of England (BoE) policymakers become more divided over the need to cut interest rates. Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the […]
Commercial Property Market Review – December 2024
Robust demand for Scottish hotels The Scottish hotels market continued to show resilience in Q3 according to Colliers. Hotel investment in Scotland hit £110m in quarter three – £40m more than Q2 and 150% higher than the five-year quarterly average of £44m. The year-to-date investment total is £200m – up 18% when compared with the […]
Year in Review – 2024
A whistlestop tour of the last 12 months, some key events in 2024 impacting the global economy, and looking ahead to 2025 “Global challenges” As we reflect on 2024, the global economy faced a year of shifting dynamics. Key themes such as AI, climate, energy, elections, ongoing conflict and global security dominated. Global fragmentation was […]
News in Review
“The economy contracted slightly in October, with services showing no growth overall and production and construction both falling” Key takeaways The UK economy contracted again in October, according to official figures released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The unexpected fall of 0.1% marked two consecutive months of negative growth for the […]
It’s all happening…
There was much speculation about what last month’s Budget would bring, leading to a rush of market activity to get SME M&A transactions over the line beforehand. While we have all now had a chance to digest the Chancellor’s statement, you may want to refer to the article on our (new) website which covers the […]
News in Review
“Mark my words: with this Plan for Change, we will stick to it. Country first, party second” Key takeaways Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivered a speech last Thursday at Pinewood Studios on the government’s ‘Plan for Change.’ In it, he set out “six milestones” to be completed before the next general election, with new […]
News in Review
“Housing affordability has improved over the past year, thanks to stabilising property prices, strong wage growth, and easing interest rates” Buying a home is becoming more affordable relative to income, according to the latest Halifax Affordability Review released last Thursday, as the house price to income ratio continues to fall. Strong wage growth combined with […]
Economic Review November 2024
Interest rates set to fall more gradually Last month, the Bank of England (BoE) cut interest rates for only the second time since 2020 but also warned future reductions were likely to be more gradual due to the prospect of inflation creeping higher next year. Following its latest meeting, which concluded on 6 November, the […]
News in Review
“We know that families across Britain are still struggling with the cost of living” UK inflation was 2.3% in October, according to figures released last week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the first rise in the UK’s consumer prices index (CPI) for three months. As well as faring worse than economists had expected, […]