Finance

"We have to move Britain from a low-wage, high-tax, high-welfare society to a higher-wage, lower-tax, lower-welfare economy," said Chancellor George (four times) as he delivered a very Conservative Budget;

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has promised to hand out £100m to small builders (who deliver 10-100 units a year) to "recognise and support their important role in keeping the country building."

There's a palpable sense of positivity in the high-value property industry about this week's "Blue Budget." Well, more so than usual for a Budget week.

The high net worth mortgage market can be a tricksy place, difficult to navigate and often frustrating for would-be borrowers who can clearly afford the sums, but struggle to fit into neat boxes.

“The rich are making the biggest contribution” is the default Tory position on wealth taxes, oft repeated in and around Budget times.

Investec Structured Property Finance and Linden Homes have teamed up on a £42.5m resi-led scheme in Hammersmith.

"Investors in prime central London have reason to be positive this year," says London Central Portfolio, bucking today's trend for gloom-mongery.

Gross bridging lending has shot up by over a third in a year, according to the latest stats from West One. Annual bridging lending now exceeds £2.7bn, while the volume of loans is also up by 13%.

Regis Group is hosting an invitation-only breakfast event on 1st July at Claridge's to explore "Innovation in Residential Investment."

The housing market is "as expected showing signs of a modest recovery" says the Council of Mortgage Lenders, as the latest gross lending estimates show a fairly static picture through May.

A £400m portfolio of student digs across 12 UK University cities is being offloaded by The International Mutual Fund.

Knight Frank Finance has made two key hires as it looks to boost the range of funding offered to developers. Kate Schofield