Phoebus Software has revealed that it intends to raise £10,000 for FareShare, the UK’s largest charity fighting hunger and food waste.
Last year, the lender’s chosen charity was Acorn Children’s Hospice, which a total of £8,062 was raised for.
The money raised equated to over 230 hours of nurse-led palliative care for children with tailored care plans.
According to PSL, it has raised over £1,000 so far for FareShare through internal fundraising events such as an online disco event, a charity raffle, a Super Six football predictor and a rugby Six Nations predictor league.
All money raised will help frontline charities and community groups supported by FareShare, including homeless shelters, school breakfast clubs and community cafes.
House purchase approval number highest since 2007: BoE
By Gary Adams 1
st February 2021 10:29 am
The number of house purchase approvals made in 2020 came to 818,500 in 2020, describes data from the Bank of England.
This, it says, is the highest number seen in a single year since 2007 and comes off a record low of 9,400 approvals recorded in May 2020.
“Recent strength in approvals has more than offset the significant weakness earlier in the year,” says the bank.
In December 2020, there were 103,400 house purchases approved with a value of £22.3bn compared to 105,300 approved in November 2020 with a value of £22.1bn.
Remortgage approval figures also dipped on a monthly basis in December 2020: there were 33,800 approved at a value of £6.4bn compared to 34,900 approved at a value of £6.7bn the month previous.
Mortgage approvals for house purchase in 2020 were higher than the figure recorded in 2019, according to the Bank of England’s Money and Credit statistics for December 2020.
The total number of approvals for house purchases in 2020 was 818,500, while the figure was noted at 789,100 in 2019.
This is despite the record low of 9,400 house purchase approvals in May 2020.
Net mortgage borrowing remained strong at £5.6bn in December and effective interest rates on new mortgages rose to 1.9%, its highest level since October 2019.
David Whittaker, chief executive of Keystone Property Finance, said: “Today’s statistics show that the housing market remained buoyant through December, with demand for property continuing to rise at the end of the year.
Richard Pike
(pictured), sales and marketing director at Phoebus Software Limited, added: “We have worked in the equity release market since 2007 and our proven experience in the sector is second to none.
“Our relationship with Pure continues to go from strength to strength. We are hugely proud to have assisted in the launch of such a great business in 2014, assisting it grow into a market leader in its specialist area of lending, and now to be consolidating the relationship with the renewal of our contract.
“We look forward to continued success for both parties through the relationship over the coming years.”
Welsh government raises tax on second homes
By Gary Adams 21
st December 2020 3:41 pm
Second homeowners in Wales face a 1 per cent increase in land transaction tax in the government’s draft budget for 2021 to 2022.
This means a 4 per cent surcharge for second homes worth up to £180,000, increasing to 16 per cent for properties worth £1.6m.
The Welsh government is also planning to raise the threshold at which businesses purchasing non-residential properties are exempt from LTT by 50 per cent to £225,000.
It is hoped that these actions will raise £13m, which the government says it plans to invest in social housing priorities.
Finance Minister Rebecca Evans says: “This budget is designed to protect health and our economy, build a greener future and create change for a more prosperous, more equal, and a greener Wales.