UK News

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has today launched a guide to help small businesses take better control of their finances through managing their property assets differently.

Property costs – such as business rates and rent – are one of the most significant expenses incurred by SMEs and failure to take professional advice as to how to manage them could costs businesses thousands of pounds.

The guide, which is free of charge for business owners, is available from today and covers all aspects of the property process. It has been endorsed by the Federation of...

Research by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) proposes cap on price growth

The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee should consider limiting annual house price inflation to 5% in order to prevent another housing bubble, reckless bank lending and a dangerous build up in household debt, according to new RICS research launched on Friday 13 September.

RiCs argues that with excessive price growth and high mortgage lending having led to a vulnerable banking sector, specific policy on limiting growth is needed. The surveyors' group says that such a policy...

The government has given notice of its intention to proceed with the privatisation of what it has indicated will be the majority part of the Royal Mail.

Notice has been given to the London Stock Exchange with the plans set to begin in the coming weeks.

10% of the shares will be given to UK Royal Mail employees - 150,000 given free with a priority offer for additional shares, subject to a minimum £500 investment.

The remaining shares will be offered to institutional investors and members of the public who will be required to apply at a minimum investment of £750....

The 12 shortlisted titles for the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Album of the Year were announced on Wednesday (11 September).

Among the long players from the last 12 months nominated for the "music Booker", were debut albums, titles by previous nominees and established artists and one by a legend, David Bowie.

Bowie's excitedly received comeback album - his first in a decade - The Next Day , finds itself nestling among the hip young things of the more critic-friendly end of the musical spectrum.

The Mercury Prize seems to have finally expelled the rather tokenistic...