topnews

High street banks line up in £2.5bn contest for Evelyn Partners

Barclays and NatWest Group have progressed to the second round of an auction for...

Rising house prices ‘pay for Christmas’ for most homeowners

Most UK homeowners have seen their property rise in value by more than the...

IMLA backs FCA roadmap on mortgage rule review

The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) has described the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) Feedback...

Borrowers moved early as rate cut expectations built, Twenty7tec data shows

Mortgage search activity reached its highest level of the month on 9 December, nine...

Rising inheritance tax receipts sharpen focus on later life planning

Inheritance tax receipts have climbed to £5.8 billion in the first eight months of...

First-time buyers spark busiest housing market for three years

First-time buyers are fuelling the busiest year for the housing market since 2022 with...

INDUSTRY REACTION: Bank rate cut passes by narrow margin

At its meeting ending on 17 December 2025, the Monetary Policy Committee voted by...

Phoebus applies agile thinking to build people-first culture

Software specialist Phoebus is applying principles more commonly associated with software development to its...

Rightmove forecasts modest house price rise in 2026

House prices are expected to rise modestly in 2026, with asking prices forecast to...

Landlord exits set to continue as private rental pressures mount

Approximately 93,000 buy-to-let landlords exited the market during 2025, according to estimates from property...

Chetwood Bank names George Gee as mortgages chief

Chetwood Bank has appointed George Gee as managing director of its mortgages division, bringing...

House prices edge higher in third quarter as buyer and seller expectations align

House prices continued to rise modestly in the third quarter, extending a run of...

Quantum Mortgages set to expand into specialist residential lending

Quantum Mortgages is preparing to enter the specialist residential mortgage market, extending its lending...

Big restructure at Afin Bank as leaders head for pastures new

Afin Bank is restructuring its senior management team after key players James Briggs and...

COMMENT

We must not accept our snail’s pace home buying system

Buying a house in this country can be ridiculously slow, as a handful of recent studies have highlighted. Research from the House Buyer Bureau...

Deferment and capitalisation rates: small percentages, large consequences

The Government is currently consulting on Leasehold enfranchisement valuation rates to determine what deferment and capitalisation rates should be prescribed under the Leasehold and...

Your clients can’t tell which firm they’re dealing with

Two clients walk into your firm in the same week. One of them is a referral from a mate of yours. Complicated case, self-employed, bit...

It’s time to look at retention

As the summer winds down and the back-to-school routine kicks back in, I urge the industry to turn its attention to something just as...

Landlords are buying – and advisers should take note

There has been no shortage of commentary over recent years suggesting landlords are heading for the exit, buy-to-let apparently no longer works and the...

Latest news

Gilt turmoil puts fresh pressure on mortgage rates

Rising government borrowing costs are putting renewed upward pressure on UK mortgage rates as...

UK needs first primary surplus in 25 years, warns NIESR

The UK needs to run its first primary budget surplus in 25 years if...

Gatehouse launches fee-free refinance products

Gatehouse Bank has launched a range of limited-edition refinance products for UK residents with...

Bank of England turns to AI and real-time mortgage data

The Bank of England is using artificial intelligence and real-time financial data, including information...

PROFILES