Put your ISA on the agenda in Q1
With the end of the tax year fast approaching (Monday 5 April), if you have cash that you don’t need to access in the short term and would like to use some or all of this year’s ISA allowance, don’t leave it too late and risk missing out on this opportunity to save tax-efficiently; remember […]
Looking forward to a better year
Last January, as a new decade dawned, little did we know how the next 12 months would unfold. Now, as another year begins, there are growing shoots of optimism but, whatever the year does bring, a crucial lesson from 2020 is undoubtedly the need to prioritise financial wellbeing in order to ensure we can cope […]
Economic Review – December 2020
Brexit trade talks Following a gruelling nine-month negotiation process, the UK and EU finally agreed and signed a post-Brexit trade deal just a day before the transition period ended. Although the UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020, trade had continued on the same basis during the 11-month transition period. The two entities […]
Commercial Property Market Review – December 2020
Record uptake for industrial & logistics sector in 2020 By the end of 2020, according to Savills, take-up of industrial warehouse units is on course to exceed 50 million sq ft, far exceeding the previous record of 37 million sq ft, set in 2018. Rounding off a record year for the sector, this growth can […]
Brits spend £40.6bn on lockdown entertainment
According to Barclaycard Payments1, the UK population spent £40.6bn, or a staggering £771.34 each, on dispensable items to alleviate lockdown boredom. The ordinary… Popular purchases included takeaways (24%), summer clothes (19%) and garden plants and flowers (16%) – but not everybody was so conventional. And the bizarre Topping the list of the weirdest items purchased […]
Commercial Property Market Review – November 2020
Overseas investors return to the market A recent ‘UK Commercial Market in Minutes‘ from Savills reveals that investment volumes totalled £7.2bn in the third quarter of the year, this represents a 55% increase on the previous quarter. Despite this uptick in Q3, these volumes were around half the normal level seen in this period previously. […]
In the news
Are you on the ball? ScamSmart campaign targets football fans In the last three years, over £30m has been lost to pension scammers, with losses ranging from under £1,000 to £500,000, with some rare cases topping the £1m marker. A new ScamSmart campaign is aimed at football fans, after discovering they are highly likely to […]
Have you saved during lockdown?
If so, you’re part of 37% of the UK population who managed to put away more money during lockdown, as daily expenditure on commuting and leisure activities dramatically decreased. What’s more, it looks like Britain’s growing army of savers are here to stay, with 36% stating they aim to keep cutting costs post-lockdown1. Could savings […]
ISA – 21 not out
When the Individual Savings Account (ISA) was launched in 1999, the allowance was £3,000 for a cash ISA or £7,000 for a stocks and shares ISA each tax year. Now at the grand old age of 21, the overall allowance has risen to a generous £20,000. In the early days, choice was limited to either […]
Small island living – rediscovering what we already have
In recent weeks, there has been an 800% rise in Brits searching for ‘Staycation UK’, as the uncertainty surrounding international travel during the pandemic continues to prevail1. Appreciating what you already have… Destinations such as Plymouth, the Isle of Wight and Exeter are expected to recover quickly due to the staycation tourism boost, according to […]