Housebuilder Bovis Homes has today issued a positive trading statement after saying it expects profits to be ahead of expectations for the 2010 year. The company, which is one of the smaller listed housebuilders, said it will also start paying dividends again to shareholders. Many housebuilders took a battering during the housing market slump and [...]
Bovis has reported a steady half year in terms of sales, although the new homes market remained “subdued” with first-time buyers limited by “liquidity issues”. However, the house builder delivered “solid” weekly private sales rates in the six months to the end of June 2010, and achieved prices that were ahead of expectations. During the [...]
Housebuilder Bovis has joined forces with Barclays to offer a mortgage aimed at first-time buyers, through the bank’s Woolwich lending arm. However, the 90% loan-to-value (LTV) deal, which comes with unemployment protection for three years from exchange of contracts, is only available to those purchasing a Bovis home. For the maximum 90% LTV, the rate [...]
Bovis Homes achieved 1,488 private reservations in the year to 13th November 2009, an 83% rise on the comparative figure for the same period in 2008. The group also says it anticipates legally completing around 1,800 sales in 2009, of which 1,500 are expected to be private homes (compared with 1,223 a year earlier) and [...]
In a trading update, Bovis Homes reported that in the 17 weeks to 1st May the group secured 638 reservations for private house sales, compared with 373 in the same period of 2008. Despite the 71% increase, trading remains around 25% lower than during the comparable period of 2007. The housebuilder also says it has [...]
Housebuilder Persimmon has reported that it completed the sale of 10,202 units in 2008, down from 15,905 in 2007. The developer described the short-term outlook for the UK housing market as challenging and expects to record a 42% fall in revenues in 2008, compared with the previous year. Last year, the average selling price of [...]
Housebuilder, Bovis, has announced that it expects to complete 1,800 homes during 2008, compared with 2,930 last year. The group’s stock of unsold homes stands at over 900, despite price reductions and an incentive scheme aimed at attracting buyers. The slowdown in the private housing market is forcing the builder to focus more on the [...]
Yesterday’s announcement that housebuilder Persimmon has cut around 2,000 jobs since the start of the year has been followed by further gloomy news from Bovis Homes and Redrow, which are also reducing staff numbers. The firms expect to cut 400 and 550 jobs respectively, blaming the losses on the credit crisis and high mortgage costs. [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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