Opinions & blogs

IPT – call it what it is, a tax on consumers

It came as no surprise to the insurance industry that the Chancellor George Osborne...

What was missing from the Budget

This article, as they say in the world of TV, is a two-parter. In...

20% annual rise in gross purchase advances

The Bank of England says the proportion of lending for house purchase in the...

Commercial finance, tax hikes and corporate structures

There has been much debate in the industry around whether or not setting up...

MCD – a new dawn for secured loan lenders

Equifinance has just funded our first fully MCD-compliant loan. To get to this point...

Using a bridge for an HMO investment

HMO developments can yield some fantastic returns upon investment and it is little surprise...

We’re fast approaching ‘squeaky bum time’

When it comes to housing transactions, each will have their own specific deadline when...

2016: Challenges, changes and opportunities for brokers

To quote a heavily used cliché from Alexander Graham Bell: “When one door closes,...

What will Osborne do on 16 March?

If it’s not in your diaries already then 16 March is certainly a day to...

Restaurants aren’t risky by nature

Nine out of 10 restaurants fail in their first year of trading. It’s a statistic...

Are lenders committed to the intermediary market?

It’s not often you get four of the biggest hitters from the lending industry...

Where are household insurance premiums heading?

The average cost of home insurance fell by 3% last year, according to the...

A better tomorrow

2015 was a positive year for the mortgage market in many respects and was...

Don’t neglect the conveyancing

There is a long tradition in politics, business and the economy to look at...

COMMENT

Rental barometer shows strength, but March changes the tone

Looking at our recently published Q1 2026 Rental Barometer data in isolation, there is clearly a strong and positive story to tell. Average rental...

Home and away: How appetite for UK property is rising

Conflicts in Ukraine and now the Middle East are a reminder that the catastrophic impact of war is not confined to war zones.   The...

Mutual strength and the broker partnership

The mutual sector has always been associated with community purpose, local branches and a member-first approach that feels a little different to the wider...

First-time, accidental or professional? How the landlord profile is shifting in 2026

One of the most common misconceptions that people have about the buy-to-let market is that landlords are a single, uniform group. The reality is...

Complexity is rising and broker enablement has never mattered more

 For many years, success in the mortgage market was built off efficiency. If a broker understood the mainstream lending landscape, packaged cases well and kept...

Latest news

CII says vulnerability management can help firms grow

The Chartered Insurance Institute has said firms can use stronger vulnerability management to expand...

Royal London wins approval to offer Targeted Support

Royal London has received regulatory approval to provide Targeted Support, becoming one of the...

Together expands second charge range into commercial sector

Together has launched a new suite of commercial and semi-commercial second charge products as...

HTB launches ‘Flow’ range with rates from 5.54%

Hampshire Trust Bank has introduced ‘Flow’ - a new buy-to-let tier with rates starting...

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