The UK’s biggest building society is increasing the sums it is willing to lend first-time buyers in a move it said would enable homeownership for many people who have been frozen out of the market. Nationwide will allow new buyers to take
The property group British Land is looking to acquire more out-of-town retail parks, as it expects consumers will still want to shop at open-air locations that are accessible by car even after pandemic lockdown measures are eased. The company, which owns shopping malls including
Britain’s construction sector has had its sharpest pick-up in activity since 2014 amid signs that the domestic economy is recovering more quickly than Brexit- and pandemic-affected trade flows, new figures have shown. The latest snapshot of the construction sector, which accounts for
It’s time to switch to a renewable energy tariff. This is the well-meaning advice given to eco-conscious households across the country that are eager to play their part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. About 40% of the UK’s CO2 emissions are created in
High street shops are preparing for a continued period of working from home with the production of “work from home” suits. Marks & Spencer,which has seen a 42% increase in searches for formal clothes since February, has produced a smart-casual suit made
Camera retailer Jessops is to appoint administrators for the second time in little more than a year, in a move that puts 120 jobs at risk. The business, controlled by Dragons’ Den panellist Peter Jones, said it had filed a notice to appoint administrators
To the dates 4 August 1914 and 3 September 1939 can now be added a third: 23 March 23 2020, the day the government declared war on Covid-19 and announced a lockdown to combat the virus. It’s strange how history repeats itself. The same
Britain’s biggest car manufacturers lobbied the government to delay a ban on petrol and diesel cars by warning that sales would plunge and jobs would be at risk from accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, the Guardian can reveal. The government announced in
Aldi will launch its first flat-bottomed Easter egg next month. Its bottom is square instead of round so that less plastic can be used in its packaging. The discount retailer’s non-round egg is called the Geometric Egg. Made of blonde chocolate, it has
Barclays has paid its chief executive, Jes Staley, £4m and handed larger bonuses to its bankers despite a 30% drop in annual profits during the Covid crisis. Pre-tax profits fell to £3.1bn for 2020 from £4.4bn a year earlier, with earnings hit