Invest & Fund Blog

Volatility

It's important to preface this week's blog with the adage that it's always best to be aware of people offering simple answers to complex problems. This week's volatility in global markets has been triggered by a vast array of different factors, all acting in tandem to create a set of

Predictions

At the point of writing this week's musings, we are on the cusp of two major announcements: firstly, the Bank of England's August interest rate decision and, secondly, and perhaps as important to this sector, the Planning Reform Package, due to be announced in Westminster in the coming days. As

Overseas

This week's blog attempts to answer one simple question: why isn't the level of foreign investment in the UK housing market declining, and how is it bucking the global trend? We are currently seeing foreign buyers and investors pull back from the US, Canadian, and Central European markets, with the

Build

In this week's blog, it would be remiss not to take a closer look at the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, designed to "unlock our country's economic growth" after Wednesday's King's Speech. As the new Parliament comes together, it becomes quickly apparent how much of the legwork has already been done

Melt Up?

In this week's post-election blog, as the dust settles on a remarkable transfer of political power, we look at the immediate changes implemented for housing, discuss rates, and the impact falling rates have as an indicator of where we may be in the business cycle, and the impact that may

New Dawn

If there is one thing we have all learned over the last decade or so, it is that elections are notoriously difficult to predict, and at the time of writing, the ballots are still yet to be cast. On that note, if you are sitting here reading this blog in

The Italian Farmers of Kirk Deighton

As we approach July 4th, a pivotal debate in the post-election landscape is gaining momentum. This debate, highlighted by the Federation of Master Builders in this week's blog, is critical for our sector and all industries intricately linked to property development: the reform of the UK planning system. People looking

Sheer Indestructibility

At the point of writing, sterling has made a significant upward move against the euro and dollar, a development that has caught the attention of many looking for good news to hawk to constituents. This rise comes on the heels of a major pre-election inflation reveal, coupled with a market

War of words

In this week's blog, as the election draws closer and continues to dominate the headlines, and maintaining our completely non-partisan stance as always, we have chosen to have a closer look at three of the running parties' commitments on housing, both in terms of their manifesto promises and their prioritisation

River of Rent

In this week's blog, we delve into the latest housing market headlines, focusing on two key topics: the supply crunch and the increasing role of Private Equity in our sector. These are not just trends but potential game-changers that could significantly impact the housing market. To see if our previous

Market Poker

In this week's blog, we step away from the political furore on either side of the pond and delve back into the data to try and make sense of asset pricing in relation to housing. The surface-level takeaway is that, as predicted, house prices are rising again, further displaying the

Election Fever

In this week's blog, we find ourselves in the midst of election fever, a time of uncertainty and potential change. As the electorate prepares to vote on July 4th, we will strive to maintain our non-partisan stance. However, we cannot ignore the implications of Labour’s deputy leader's speech at

NACFB Commercial Broker Magazine: April/May 2024

As a lending platform, having our content published in an award-winning industry magazine like Commercial Finance Broker, spearheaded by the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), is a fantastic opportunity for us to communicate with our intermediary partners, the lifeblood of our business. The NACFB is a leading trade

Basel

In this week's blog, we are delving into the House of Commons Treasury Committee report on the state of UK SME finance. Despite being published on May 1st, a date that may have slipped under the media radar, this report is of significant importance. In a world saturated with news,

Revival

In this week's blog, we tackle the growing media narrative around the performance of British businesses and capital inflows, looking ahead to what could be a European real estate revival as we approach what could be the top of the market for rates. The FTSE-100 underperforming has been a topic

Growth v Value

In this week's blog, we are examining rates in relation to our proposition and the broader market. We operate under the assumption that central rates may have plateaued but could persist at high levels for an extended period. This shift in the global financial landscape could reshape investors' perspectives on

Right to Build

In this week's blog, we move back to the topic of UK housing supply, but this time, coming at the situation from a problem-solution perspective, taking an honest look at some of the problems the country faces with delivering housing supply, the types of supply we require, and some speculation

North v South

In this week's blog, we look at the latest round of Nationwide house price data and look more closely at how our asset class uses diversification to benefit from the regional disparities in growth and decline rates. In realisation, the "UK housing market" is a multitude of independent markets subject

Emphasis on Quality

As we return from the Easter break, one story that slipped through the net at the end of quarter one was the report from the Resolution Foundation think tank, outlining how UK housing is now the "worst value for money of any advanced economy." This isn't a particularly noteworthy achievement

Inflation

As a reader of this blog, by the point of publication, you will be aware of the Bank of England's decision on base rate, ergo somewhat better positioned than we were at the point of writing to make judgements on what comes next. Given this is more of an observational

IFISA

In this week's blog, we want to pause the news headlines for a week and refocus on one of our core products, the IFISA. Now, if you are reading this, you are aware of the 'ISA season' and the April deadline that is now looming, as well as the obvious

Noble Endeavours

By the time you read this blog, everyone in the industry will have had their say on the intricacies of the Spring budget, so rather than adding to that prolonged media highlight reel, we will sweep through the headlines in this week's blog touching only on what's important to our

Super Eight

At the point of writing this week's blog, we are now a week after the published Competition and Markets Authority report on the housebuilding market, the dust has settled a bit, and most industry voices have had their say on the findings. So, rather than this blog being a news

Solution(s) Orientated

In this week's blog, being a solution-orientated business, we are looking at the broader problematic elements our solution seeks to address. These elements are coincidentally the very opportunity that underpins the value in our asset class, the expansion of the UK housing supply. Interestingly, this week's blog concept was primarily

Getting Technical

In this week's blog, we have a whole assembly of fascinating housing and lending-related glad tidings to choose from that have been lost in all this technical recession talk, so without further ado, let's extract those from the myriad of digital conjecture and have a closer look. At the time