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From one-man start-up to digital marketing agency – how ClickDo Ltd. grew in the UK

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From one-man start-up to digital marketing agency – how ClickDo Ltd. grew in the UK

Everyone has to start somewhere and Fernando, the CEO of ClickDo Ltd., came to the realisation, after graduating from university, that he wanted to do his own thing. But how? He delved into books about business and technology and found an article in Forbes magazine that gave him the light-bulb moment: “Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the future”!

You need to find a skill and have a passion for it

There and then he sat down and taught himself all he needed to know about SEO. He started his first blog, fernandobiz, and shared his thoughts and knowledge about how to help small business owners. He fell in love with it and soon had his first clients, paying him a monthly fee for his SEO services. ClickDo Ltd. was born and it was run by Fernando all alone in its humble beginnings. Fernando describes “So I started my first blog with a self-hosted shared hosting plan on that he bought after so much thinking.  Then later I collected money to host ClickDo and here I’m today owning multiple companies, including SeekaHost”. After his agency gained momentum he received more and more requests from local business owners in London and together with his friend Kasun, a self-taught web designer, he was able to build a business website and add services. To meet the ever-growing demand of his SEO services he hired more staff. Step by step Fernando built his own company and is a proud entrepreneur today, working on several projects and digital products simultaneously. If you want to learn more about Fernando’s personal journey to entrepreneurship read his first blog fernandobiz.com

What is ClickDo Ltd. today?

Fernando has established an SEO and digital agency that now does so much more! Look at case studies on ClickDo website to see everything Fernando and his team do for their clients. But it doesn’t stop there. Fernando’s wider vision is to share all the knowledge and skills he has acquired so that others can also lead the digital nomad lifestyle and be their own boss. Therefore, he has built the ClickDo Academy where you’ll find online courses teaching you everything Fernando knows about SEO and digital marketing. He’s also been busy developing an SEO Blueprint and Facebook Remarketing courses and to make sure you apply everything you’ve learned, Fernando helps you getting started with your own blog or website by offering free webhosting for start-ups. See Fernando’s guide on how to start your own blog here and get to work! For the next step, creating your own SEO start-up, read this detailed article https://www.clickdo.co.uk/blog/how-to-start-seo-business/. You think that’s it? Oh no, Fernando has another ace up his sleeve: if you think you got what it takes to become the next no. 1 SEO consultant, you have the opportunity to become a franchisee of ClickDo Ltd. You could establish your own set of clients with Fernando’s help and run your own SEO and digital agency under the ClickDo umbrella, which would give you the benefit of using a trusted and successful brand to market your services. To learn more about the ClickDo franchise model check out https://www.clickdo.co.uk/blog/seo-franchise-opportunities/

Why start a business in the digital economy?

The statistics in the UK speak for themselves: “There were a record 5.7 million private sector businesses at the start of 2017. There has been sustained growth in the total business population, with increases of 2.2m (+64%) since 2000 and 197,000 (+4%) since 2016.” 

Now, if you decide to help just a small percentage of these businesses with SEO and digital marketing you’ll certainly make a good living as, according to Fernando, most clients will pay you on average a fee between £500 to £1500 each, depending on the services you offer them. He claims that you can easily get 5 clients on board with the support of ClickDo, being a franchisee. And it’s a win-win situation as you can also support your own business by applying your skills to ranking and marketing it. Fernando claims: “The internet is the new frontier, it’s where both the big and small brands compete for the masses in the battle for profits.” Online is where it’s happening now and, in the future, and that’s why now is the time to invest in a career that enables you to be free while working remotely and helping others. The opportunities are endless as you can see by ClickDo’s example – you can move into so many niches and digital services as more and more are emerging. See how lots of other successful entrepreneurs used their digital skills to create a thriving online business: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244808. What stands out here is that most of them started with a blog and had some SEO knowledge. That’s why Fernando is reaching out to you – get started with your own business now!

Global Great Hotels as an Investment

ABC Staff
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Global Great Hotels as an Investment

When you invest with Global Great Hotels, you are not only entitled to luxurious holidays every year, but also to a private reservation centre to take the hassle out of booking your holidays. You can also benefit from special programmes that help you make the most out of your investment. The benefits of becoming a client of this luxurious hotel chain and purchasing real estate periods are numerous, let’s explore some.

Hotels

When you become a customer of Global Great Hotels you are essentially purchasing accommodation for holidays every year with a minimum duration of 7 nights, plus an extra 7 additional nights. You own this real estate period for an unlimited duration. Investing in this way does not mean that you are tied into visiting the same hotel at the same time every year, with your periods you can travel to any hotel within the brand whenever you want. You can even divide up your 14-night entitlement, or more if you own several real estate periods, between two or more hotels during the same trip. With 11 stunning hotels within the chain, you’ll be able to explore and enjoy all the beauty and character that Spain, Balearics, Canary Islands and Andorra have to offer. You’ll also be able to take advantage of significant discounted rates with other hotel brands, airlines, cruise lines and car hire companies around the world.

Luxury

All the hotels within this chain are selected for their stunning locations. They offer all the services that you would expect from a luxury hotel club, including spas, golf courses, pools and numerous activities. The suites and apartments are comfortable and fully equipped, giving you a real home away from home feeling every time you stay. Apartments are available with 2-3 bedrooms so, you can holiday with friends or family whenever you use your real estate periods.

Private Travel Agency

Global GreatHotels clients can also enjoy the services of a private travel agency. Each client is assigned a member of the Customer Services team who will take care of the organisation of their holidays as well as all specific requests. This includes the reservation of their 14 nights (or more) or any other kind of holiday anywhere in the world. Services include accommodation, flights and car rental of course, but also cruises, safaris, villas, thalassotherapy centres and package holidays worldwide, all at significantly negotiated prices which appear to be extremely competitive.

Reassignment Programme

The reassignment programme  allows you to rent out your annual 14-night allowance without causing you extra work in advertising and managing the process. To take advantage of this service you need to inform the Customer Services team before 31st December, that during the next year you would like to put all or part of your allowance up for rent. The Group then acts as your representative to sell these rentals and will pass on the income minus 15%, which goes to the Tour Operators, back to you. Should you choose to do this, you do not necessarily have to forego your holidays, you are still free to use your membership benefits and enjoy the special rates offered by Global Great.

Referral Programme

Your investment in the hotel chain can also generate an income for you, through a referral programme that the company set up years ago. This programme allows you to earn 1.600 euros for every person that you invite to the club who subsequently goes on to become a fully paid-up member. This amount is net and is without conditions. Should you reach three referrals in one year you earn the right to be put into the competition to earn the ‘Sponsor of the Year’ title which comes with nothing less than a 5.000 euro bonus. Under this scheme, you are also permitted to rent out your own referral invitations, at a rent level determined by you. This means that you have the potential to earn the bonus for referral as well as income from your own holiday. There is lots of advice on the hotel’s website with regards to advertising your referral hotel rooms for rental, should this be something you are interested in.

Any other benefits?

Membership with this hotel club works for you, so much so that when you invest you are automatically assigned to a tourism professional who will work with you to plan your holidays with your best interests at heart. This professional will work very hard to get to know you and your requirements so that they can help you tailor your holidays to your exact specifications. You can speak to them at any time about different ways of using your holiday weeks, should you not be able to use them during a particular year. They will guide you through a range of options to help you build up a reserve for later years whilst not losing your membership benefits.

What about passing on the membership?

Unless you tell them otherwise the hotel brand will automatically pass down your rights to your legal heirs and estate fees will not be payable. You can also leave your rights to any other party you wish to, simply by setting out your request in a letter sent by recorded delivery to the Customer Services team. In this way, inheritance issues are dealt with sensitively and all complications are removed.

How to Achieve a Hygienic Workplace

ABC Staff
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How to Achieve a Hygienic Workplace

Creating and maintaining a hygienic workplace is vitally important for any business, what’s more, when you employ larger numbers of staff or increase your workforce germs will multiply and create even more hazards! Workers will be far happier in a hygienic workplace, as there are fewer risks needing to be faced. Even more importantly, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stipulates that a clean working environment with supplies of suitable waste containers is a legal requirement.

No matter whether you manage a retail space, bar or office, or your industry is in the hospitality, manufacturing or distribution sector, the same guidelines for creating a hygienic workplace apply to a number of basic elements of everyday work life. Some of these are highlighted below.

Creating a hygienic workplace

Some general standards for creating a healthy and hygienic workplace are ensuring you supply essentials for all toilets and washrooms. These include:

– The provision of hot and cold water to all washing areas

– Soap and flour sack towels for hand washing and toilet paper for all toilets

– All toilets and washrooms should be regularly cleaned and maintained

– Where cold water supplies are unsuitable for drinking purposes, adequate signage should be in place to notify employees

Kitchens and canteens are other areas where bugs and bacteria can quickly multiply, so it’s important workers have easy access to cleaning products at all times. Any spills or crumbs are easy to wipe up and surfaces can be maintained in a clean, hygienic manner this way. Kitchens and food and drink preparation areas can be a real risk to health when the highest standards are not maintained at all times. Whether you serve members of the public or just your in-house team, it’s important to keep areas where drinks and food are prepared regularly in a scrupulously clean state, and any appliances should be cleaned regularly. Considerations include:

– Maintaining the cleanliness of all work surfaces used for the preparation of food; particular attention should be given to utensils and chopping boards (which are colour coded for the use of different foodstuffs).

– All appliances should be cleaned on a regular basis

– Cupboards used for the storage of food and eating utensils or crockery should be regularly cleaned inside and out

– All floors, windows and doors should be cleaned regularly

Remember that employees and customers alike are entitled to complain if they believe lack of maintenance and poor cleaning of the kitchen area has created a health risk. Once again, it’s best to encourage employees to take some responsibility to protect them and to practise good hygiene.

So, you’ve provided all the above, but it doesn’t stop there. Notices to remind all workers about the importance of personal hygiene are one way to help prevent the spread of germs and illnesses. Dotting hand sanitisers around your workplace is another useful reminder of hygiene for workers in any area of your business, and encouraging staff to use sanitisers on a regular basis also helps prevent the build-up of bacteria and germs.

Providing industrial strength hand cleaners is important within industrial workplaces, like engineering units or vehicle service stations, and this makes it quick and easy for employees to maintain clean hands after every dirty job.

In the office, your workers should ensure all clutter is binned on a regular basis and keep their workstations tidy. Cleaning wipes and sprays located at strategic points in the office can help workers maintain the healthy, hygienic status of their work areas.

Finally, although many aspects of maintaining a hygienic workplace are down to employees, they are entitled to complain if your shoddy cleaning and lack of maintenance creates health risks. Take responsibility for managing the health and hygiene of your workplace from today by ensuring adequate supplies of all the essentials needed to maintain a clean environment.

Get the Most Money for Your Personal Injury Settlement or Reward

ABC Staff
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Get the Most Money for Your Personal Injury Settlement or Reward

You’ve been so badly injured in an accident that you’re unable to enjoy your life the way you used to. The injuries you’ve sustained are significant and they have cost you a lot both financially and emotionally. Though it can be hard to put a price tag on the quality of someone’s life, when you’ve been wrongfully hurt, seeking financial compensation can make getting through the other changes a lot easier. If you’ve recently filed a personal injury claim or have been injured in an accident and want to be compensated heavily for it, you should take heed to this advice.

Hire an Attorney

No need in sugar coating things, if you’re going to get a fair shake with your insurance claim, settlement, or lawsuit you’re going to need the backing of a legal professional. Experts like Steve Schwartzapfel are well-versed in personal injury law and work around the clock to help their clients get compensated. They can talk with insurance adjusters, other attorneys, and the negligent parties on your behalf to ensure you get what is rightfully yours.

Write Down Everything

With each passing day, the details of the accident can become a bit blurrier for you. In order to get compensated adequately, you must report every detail as it happens. When you’re able, it is important to record everything. Whether it’s what was said at the scene of the accident, witness information, how you felt, names of authorities, camera sightings, etc., no detail is too small in terms of its potential significance later down the line.

Keep a Journal

Outside of recording information, you remember about the accident, it is also important to keep a journal. One of the things you could get paid for in a settlement or lawsuit is pain and suffering. As you’re feeling uncomfortable and unable to enjoy life the same, this can all equate to a payout. Keeping a journal of how you’re feeling when you’re in pain, and how your life has changed, can help increase the offer and can also be very therapeutic.

Inform Your Doctor of All Problems

Immediately following the accident, seeking medical treatment is a must. However, not all accident injuries or complications will manifest in a few hours. Some can take days to realize. Other complications could also come as a result of medications or treatments you’re receiving. Therefore, it is important to inform your doctor of everything that’s going on with you. If you reported back pain but a week later your neck is hurting, report this. If you’re taking medication and it causes you to throw up, tell your doctor.

Listen to Your Doctor

Medical records are a huge factor in determining offer amounts in personal injury claims. If you want to get the most money possible, you’ll need to follow your doctor’s orders to the letter. If they advise you to take physical therapy, for example, don’t argue, just go. If you have to take medications that you don’t particularly like, suck it up and take them. The point is, you don’t want your doctor to report that you’re not following their orders. This could be perceived that you’re doing better, not in as much pain as you claim, or that you’re prolonging your need for medical care which can ruin your claim.

Keep Records of Employment Excuses

Another thing you could be compensated for during a personal injury case is lost wages. You’ll need to prove that your injuries have resulted in your inability to work. This will include turning over medical records and letters from your doctor to your employer explaining your injuries and length of time you’ll be out of work.

Take Photos

Pictures tell things that people won’t or don’t remember. Immediately following the accident, get as many pictures of the scene and your injuries as possible. This can help both parties to see the extent of your injuries and determine what you should be compensated for. It can also work to counteract any false claims against you.

Your life was forever changed by this accident and you deserve justice. Filing a personal injury claim is the first step in getting restitution. Keep in mind, however, this process can be long and getting your offer can take awhile. With the help of a legal expert on your side, however, you’re sure to get the highest payout the law allows.

Saving Money and the Environment – Eco Driving Tips for the Modern Age

ABC Staff
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Saving Money and the Environment – Eco Driving Tips for the Modern Age

In the future, it’s increasingly likely that cars will boast incredibly Eco-friendly attributes. This is because the leading automotive brands will take the lead in this respect, while the UK government has also pledged to outlaw the sale of petrol and diesel cars by the year 2040.

In the meantime, however, there’s an onus on individual drivers and motorists to reduce their carbon footprint while out on the road, both in terms of the vehicles that they invest in and the way in which they operate them.

We’ll explore this in further detail below, while offering some specific tips on how to become an Eco-friendly driver.

Choose the Right Type of Car

Not all cars are created equal, with each one offering a variable fuel source and capable of producing a fixed number of miles to the gallon. In this respect, you choice of car is crucial, particularly if you’re serious about having a more positive impact on the environment.

With this in mind, we’d recommend choosing a hybrid or electric vehicle in the current climate, prioritising models based on their advertised fuel economy. In excess of two million electric vehicles have already been sold across the globe, and this number will increase markedly in the near-term.

If you do choose a hybrid model, we’d also recommend that you purchase an automatic car rather than one with a manual transmission. This negates the needs for manual gear shifts, minimising fuel consumption and creating a more efficient drive in the process.

Affordable, automatic models such as the Ford Focus are available through resources such as Motor Point, and these represent an excellent choice in 2018.

Adopt an Eco-friendly Driving Technique

While investing in automatic cars helps you to create an Eco-friendly driving technique, there are other steps that you can take to achieve this aim.

Accelerating and breaking gently represents a relevant case in point, as does maintaining a steady speed wherever possible. This requires to anticipate traffic and avoid delays where you can, as well as adapting the timing your journeys to capitalise on less-busy periods.

This also means refraining from travelling at high speeds, even when you have a stretch of open road in front of you. Sure, this requires a sense of discipline, but there are tangible rewards in terms of cost and fuel savings.

Refrain from Driving Where Possible

Sometimes, the most simplistic solutions offer the best possible value when looking to tackle complex issues.

The same principle can be applied here, as Eco-friendly drivers are often motorists who spend as little time as possible out on the open road.

This requires commitment and a significant shift in mindset, as you strive to walk where possible and take public transport where circumstances allow. The latter method can be extremely beneficial when commuting to work, for example, reducing your individual carbon footprint without necessarily compromising on your productivity.

Walking during warmer weather periods and over short distances are also extremely achievable measures, while they have a cumulative impact on your costs and the impact that your decisions have on the natural environment.

Getting Covered – Understanding the Vagaries of Professional Car Insurance

ABC Staff
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Getting Covered – Understanding the Vagaries of Professional Car Insurance

Few businesses or commercial models have come under as much fire as Uber in recent times, with nations from Bulgaria to Australia having moved to restrict the company’s operations.

Much of this has to do with Uber’s vague categorisation as a business, as it’s hard to determine whether it’s a tech venture or a private hire taxi firm. This leads onto other issues concerning the payment of its drivers, while representatives have also suffered at the hands of vague insurance coverage.

In the post below, we’ll explore this in further detail, while asking how businesses and drivers alike can avoid the pitfalls of commercial and professional car insurance.

Learning Lessons from Uber – Why Clarity is Key

While Uber and Lyft drivers may well think that they’re covered if they get into an accident, recent evidence suggests that this may not be entirely true.

The issue here is confusion surrounding the extent of coverage, as while representatives claim that coverage begins when the app is turned on, further investigating reveals that the effectiveness of insurance depends on what phase of the ride you’re in.

If there is a passenger in your car, for example, the full company policy will apply and provide coverage in excess of £1 million. If you’re searching for your customer or have just dropped off a passenger, you find that you’re only covered by a limited policy.

This means that you’ll need commercial insurance to plug this gap, and ensure that you’re comprehensively covered at all times while out on the open road.

Gap Insurance – Protecting your Company Vehicles at all Times

This issue underlines the importance of clarity when dealing with insurance, as employers and their drivers must collaborate to ensure the most comprehensive level of coverage possible.

This will involve a number of variable insurance products, including so-called GAP insurance. This refers to the actual difference between the value of an individual car and the balance owed on any financing repayments, and it will financially plug this void in the event of an accident or collision.

On a similar note, commercial firms may also want to take out extended warranties on their vehicles. This works particularly well with high value vehicles, as an advanced BMW warranty could help to protect against various faults that are rarely covered as part of standard policies.

This may be particularly effective when dealing with second hand cars, as this type of vehicle will typically be more likely to experience electrical or mechanical failings on a more frequent basis.

The Last Word

With these types of insurance product and a willingness to work closely with your employees, you can create comprehensive coverage across a diverse range of policies.

This removes the vagaries surrounding commercial vehicle insurance, while also protecting any investment that you’ve made in your cars, products or drivers.

The Biggest Challenges for Start-ups – And how to Overcome Them

ABC Staff
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The Biggest Challenges for Start-ups – And how to Overcome Them

It’s incredible to think that 96% of businesses will have ceased to trade after 10 years, but there’s no doubt that this highlights the challenges facing firms in the modern age.

While many of these challenges will be specific to certain industries and businesses, however, there are others that are universally applicable across all markets and models.

We’ll focus on some of these below, while asking how your business should strive to overcome them. For example:

A Lack of Working Capital and Inflated Operational Costs

Let’s start with the basics, as businesses in almost any sector can struggle to optimise their level of working capital. This can make it hard for them to fulfil their operational costs, particularly during their formative stages of development when they’re striving to establishing themselves.

For product-oriented firms, this usually manifests itself in two ways. They may struggle to open lines of credit that enable them to procure the requisite goods or materials from suppliers, for example, or they find it difficult to package and ship their goods cost-effectively. Both may be true in some instances, of course, and these issues can undermine even the best business ideas.

While the former can be countered through trade finance (which requires you to secure funds against the value of a purchase order), you can reduce potential shipment costs by working with established couriers. This can help to streamline your delivery networks and make shipments more efficient, while targeting a larger audience.

Either way, the key is to create a lean and agile business model that can respond to such challenges, while seeking out new and innovative solutions to age-old issues.

Extended Payment Terms for Clients

For businesses that deliver professional services, similar issues can occur in the form of invoice payments.

More specifically, once clients have been invoiced for completed work, they may be required to pay according to 30, 60 or 90-day payment terms, depending on the precise terms of your arrangement. his can create significant challenges, particularly in terms of cash-flow and the completion of future work.

One potential solution to this is invoice financing, which enables your business to effectively sell its accounts receivable to third party investors. This means that you’ll receive the value of your invoice immediately, before simply repaying the amount once the client has settled their bill.

This is a flexible and fluid way of funding your businesses growth, while it’s one that can make a significant difference to small and medium-sized firms.

Attracting and Retaining Top Talent

Both of these factors can be a challenge for new businesses, as firms without an establish reputation can find it hard to recruit new talent while also struggling to keep ambitious employees happy without the requisite growth.

To ensure that you attract the top talent in the first place, you’ll need to create an attractive package that balances a competitive salary with additional benefits. In the current economic climate, we’d recommend offering practical benefits that reduce your employees’ cost of living, such as discounted gym memberships and generous pension contributions.

Beyond this, you should also create a defined business culture, which can be leveraged to successfully engage specific personality types.

On a final note, you must be sure to offer the potential for career growth to your employees, so that they are incentivised to work diligently and commit to a relatively long period of employment.

3 Stockbroking Stats and What you Can Learn from Them

ABC Staff
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3 Stockbroking Stats and What you Can Learn from Them

While some may suggest that the practice of stockbroking has been devalued in the digital age, this is largely a misconception.

After all, the demand for brokering services remains largely today than ever before, with stockbroking firms having simply diversified and shifted their focus increasingly online in recent times. Not only this, but reputable wealth management firms like WH Ireland have also moved to completely restructure their bonus pools to improve efficiencies and industry perception, paying brokers out of record profits rather than turnover.

With a fascinating history and an even more intriguing future, stockbroking is also responsible for some truly staggering facts and stories. Here are some of the most striking and a look at what we can learn from them.

Attention to Detail is Critical

WH Ireland and firms of this type offer clients access to a huge range of assets in the modern age, and this is reflective of the fact that we’ve seen a significant rise in the number of derivatives available to investors in recent times.

Not all of these assets have been created equal, of course, which is why attention to detail and understanding are such key attributes when trading the modern financial markets.

This was borne out by an infamous incident in 2005, when an inexperienced trader at a Japanese bank tried to sell 1 share of high profile J-Com stock for 640,000 yen. However, he accidentally sold 640,000 shares for 1 Yen each, which represented the equivalent of selling $3 billion worth of stock for the price of $5,000.

While the sheer magnitude of this error is unusual, it underlines the importance of focus as a stockbroker and the need for investors to comprehend the detail of each market that they choose to operate in.

Small, Future Changes can have a Big Impact on Stock Value

Stocks can experience peaks and troughs, and this is why spread betting (which enables investors to trade shares without assuming ownership and potentially profit in a depreciating market) has become so popular in recent times.

However you choose to invest in company shares, it’s important that you understand the performance of the businesses that they belong to and recognise their potential for future growth. This will may enable you to capture stocks that have fallen in value but are capable of significant growth in the future.

Take Domino’s Pizza, for example, who saw their stock plummet to record lows in 2009. By revitalising the brand and making progressive changes to its pizza recipes, however, the firm rebounded and saw its stock grow by an incredible 233% in just 12 months.

Stockbroking Remains a Potentially Lucrative Career Option

History is full of people who’ve made considerable sums of money through stockbroking and financial trading, but few embody the potential in this market quite like Japanese day trader Takashi Kotegawa.

Having started out as a raw, 21-year old, Kotegawa entered the stock market with $13,600 to his name, before commencing a high volume trading strategy that sought to profit from volatility in the market.

Incredibly, he turned his starting capital into a staggering $156 million in just eight years, while reportedly consuming a diet of ramen noodles in order to avoid hefty meals and remain alert!

This highlights just how lucrative a career in stockbroking can be, particularly if you’re dedicated, knowledgeable and capable of applying determinism when implementing your strategy.

Housing Market Review

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Housing Market Review

The housing market had a difficult start to the year, with the first quarter showing price declines across the UK of 0.7% according to data from Halifax the UK’s largest mortgage lender. This is not surprising since data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed that new buyer enquiries fell again in March, continuing a trend that has been going on for 11 straight months now.

The disappointing first-quarter performance comes despite Chancellor Philip Hammond’s best efforts to breathe new life into the housing market by slashing stamp duty to zero for first-time buyers on homes that cost less than £300,000 and reducing rates for those that cost up to £500,000.

Not all regions suffer declines

Not all regions suffered declines however, and there was some regional divergence across the UK with parts of Wales, Northern Ireland, the North West and the Midlands all seeing property prices increase. It was London and the South East that took the brunt of the pain with property prices in parts of East Anglia and the North East also seeing prices fall as the effects of the Bank of England’s November interest rate rise start to take hold.

Affordability is the deciding factor here, and areas where house prices are more affordable, such as parts of Wales and the North West are seeing the market hold up pretty well, while areas such as the South East, where house price earnings are stretched, are seeing weakness across the board.

£1m-plus homes toughest to sell

Price also plays a factor. Homes priced above £1 million remained the most difficult to sell in the first half of the year. Agents surveyed by the RICS said that 67% of homes priced in this bracket achieved a sale price less than the asking price, with the figure falling to 56% for homes priced in the £500,000 to £1 million bracket.

The problem is more acute in homes that cost more than £2 million, with agents reporting that asking prices have been reduced by an average of £260,000 for homes in the £2 million-plus bracket. This is partly due to stamp duty changes which increased to 12% for properties costing more than £1.5 million for a first home and 15% for a second home.


New builds provide a welcome respite

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however. The number of new homes registered to be built during the 2017/18 financial year reached 154,698, the second highest number in more than a decade. The number is a slight decrease on the 157,805 new starts registered during 2016/17, but the decline is largely down to adverse weather conditions which struck most of the UK during the early part of 2018.

The increase in new housing developments will be welcomed by the government which has ambitious plans to build 300,000 new homes across the country by 2021. Government initiatives to stimulate new builds include simplifying the planning process, the creation of a £3 billion home building fund and an extra £1.4 billion for affordable housing. These initiatives alone should help keep the new build market buoyant for the foreseeable future.

Outlook going forward

While the start of the year was challenging, the performance of the market stabilised during the second quarter with Halifax reporting that house prices were up by around 0.2% across the UK. But once again there were regional variations with parts of London and the South East still seeing prices fall due to weak demand.

New buyer enquiries also stabilised during the three months to June, with data from RICS showing that the number of new buyer enquiries in April remained steady, arresting four straight months of decline. This is a sure sign that the worst is over and prices should start to strengthen going forward.

With employment at record levels and real earnings starting to rise, there is reason to believe that the second half of the year will provide more sustainable growth. The Bank of England has also promised to keep interest rates low, despite the recent rise, which should see mortgages remain at manageable levels giving buyers the confidence to go out and buy.

Why it’s easier than ever to eat well on a tight budget

ABC Staff
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Why it’s easier than ever to eat well on a tight budget

We are constantly inundated with warnings about the importance of eating healthily, and rightly so. As well as reducing our risk of chronic diseases and helping us control our weight, eating the right foods also improves our mental wellbeing.

Yet despite these facts, over three quarters of young people are put off by the perceived cost of eating healthily, according to a study by insurers Aviva. The common perception is that people who eat healthily (or follow plant-based diets) have an expensive lifestyle, which worryingly discourages many from adopting a healthy diet themselves. Despite the figures, this view is somewhat unfounded. It’s actually easier than ever to consume healthier food without breaking the bank. Here is why eating well on a budget keeps getting easier.

There are more budget healthy options than ever

The last decade has been characterised by the rise of budget supermarkets, and discount stores such as Aldi and Lidl now have a larger market share than Waitrose. It’s therefore easier than ever to buy reasonably-priced food. Those unwilling to do their food shopping at these stores have no excuse though, particularly if they are looking for healthy ingredients, as nearly every supermarket has own-brand budget products that are substantially cheaper than branded alternatives.

The food retail landscape has changed considerably in recent years, and it’s not just supermarkets that are offering real value on healthy food. A marked rise in the number of independent retailers across the country is giving consumers even more choice. The OFM Awards 2017 for Best Independent Retailer featured stores from all corners of the country, so there is almost definitely somewhere near most people, and many sell their produce online anyway. Look at the winner of the award for a shining example. Rafi’s Spicebox was launched in 1989 and specialises in selling Indian food boxes consumers can order to their front door. Substantially cheaper and healthier than most Indian takeaways, this type of retailer shows just how much choice consumers have.

The diversification of the food scene has led to some truly unique and innovative companies. Take the Aylesbury-based startup Huel, who sell nutritionally-complete powdered food. Making £14 million a year, the company have seen stunning success since their launch in 2014. Huel produce a product perfect for those who need a healthy meal on the go. All you need to do is add water to their powder. Those who eat Huel get the best of both worlds, with meals all-in-all working out at just £1.33 each.

There is more guidance than ever before

The internet is now flooded with publications outlining ways you can eat healthily and affordably. Thrifty Lesley, for example, specialises in £1 meals, like Beef Ragu, Green Tomato Curry and Salted Cashew Couscous. As well as providing recipes, the site gives great money-saving culinary advice. This includes what you can do with leftovers and 7-day meal plans. The site is frequently listed as one of the best budget eating blogs to follow and deservedly boasts a huge online following.

Frugal Feeding is another healthy eating blog that has gained mass support. Launched by Nick Livermore whilst he was at university, Frugal Feeding is “a food blog about eating good, well-sourced food as economically as possible.” The blog has outlined an array of healthy but low-cost recipes, such as One-Pot Mushroom Stew, Brown Butter Cod and Chickpea Fritters, and Garlic Prawns with Chilli. With recipes indexed into different categories, like World Cuisine, Broths, and Italian, the blog is easy to navigate, and it is no surprise the site is so popular.

Considering there are more healthy budget food options and greater help to eat healthily and cheaply, it is easier than ever to eat well on a shoestring. Nobody should be put off trying a healthy diet for financial reasons.  

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