Starling Bank moves into mortgages: Digital challenger snaps up buy-to-let lender Fleet for £50m as part of expansion drive Starling Bank has made its first corporate acquisition, buying Fleet Mortgages It is part of the bank’s expansion drive as it targets IPO by 2023 Starling has reassured existing Fleet customers that it won’t change the … Read more
Punitive tax changes have meant that landlords have bought a quarter of a million fewer homes in the past five years. Since April 2016, landlords have bought around 700,000 homes across Britain. This is 250,000 – or 26 per cent – fewer than they would have if the tax regime had stayed the same, according … Read more
A property firm is now allowing tenants to pay their rent using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Lettings management platform Mashroom will allow tenants to pay via cryptocurrency, and then convert it to pounds sterling before it is sent on to their landlord. Mashroom claims it is ‘moving with the times,’ and says the … Read more
London is the only UK region where rents are lower today than they were five years ago, according to Rightmove figures. Rents across almost two thirds of the capital’s districts are lower now than they were in March 2016, meaning that the average London rent has fallen by 2.3 per cent. The most significant fall … Read more
After half a year largely spent indoors, many of us are likely to be desperate to get away for a few days. But with a question mark still lingering over foreign holidays, many will see a UK break as the safer option this summer. With demand for staycations at an all-time high, a holiday let … Read more
Three in five landlords are now interested in a ‘green’ mortgage – but only four lenders are offering them, and only one on new purchases. A total of 62 per cent of landlords described themselves as ‘interested’ in the loans, which reward them for making their properties more energy efficient, according to research by mortgage … Read more
Overseas buyers purchasing property in England and Northern Ireland are now subject to a 2 per cent stamp duty surcharge. The new tax introduced from 1 April will mean international buyers will pay an additional amount equivalent to 2 per cent of the purchase price. The new surcharge will work alongside the 3 per cent … Read more
My partner and I are finally buying a new home with more space and a garden, having struggled in our one-bedroom flat during lockdown. We are in the fortunate position of being able to buy without having to sell and we have therefore decided to keep our flat as an investment and rent it out. … Read more
Buy-to-let investors have been hit by a series of tax raids in recent years, but property investing still remains popular with those who like the familiarity of bricks and mortar. There’s no question that buy-to-let incurs a far bigger tax drag than in its glory years and record high house prices make raising a chunky … Read more
UK outsourcer Equinti sold to US private equity firm Siris Capital in £624m deal By Matt Oliver For The Daily Mail Published: 21:50 BST, 19 April 2021 | Updated: 21:50 BST, 19 April 2021 An American private equity firm has announced a £624million takeover bid for British outsourcing firm Equiniti. Siris Capital said it was … Read more