http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/ Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors - News RSS feed en-gb reception@wilson-nesbitt.co.uk info@flamegreen.com 30 http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1748/08022010/81%25_q4_capital_growth_seen_in_commercial_property_sector.html A substantial capital growth was witnessed in the UK's commercial property sector during the closing quarter of 2009, new figures have suggested.Growth of 8.1 per cent was seen during the three-month period in question, IPD has reported.Ian Cullen, the organisation's co-founding... Mon, 8 Feb 2010 12:55:07 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1750/08022010/bskyb_to_sell_104_percent_itv_stake_to_end_long-running_legal_battle.html U.K. Pay-TV group British Sky Broadcasting PLC (BSkyB) has confirmed that it is bowing out of its long-running attempt to keep a 17.9% stake in broadcaster ITV PLC (ITV.LN) which it had bought in 2006 for £940million. Since 2007 BSkyB has been involved in a legal challenge to a... Mon, 8 Feb 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1749/08022010/debt_charities_unable_to_cope_with_consumer_enquiries.html The National Audit Office (NAO) research showed the Government’s free debt counselling agencies struggled to cope with the number of consumers from Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK requesting advice during the year to July 2009. There was an estimated 28% increase in consumer... Mon, 8 Feb 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1747/05022010/northern_irish_employers_must_maintain_skill_base.html Businesses in Northern Ireland have been encouraged to continue their focus on employee skills and training.The Northern Ireland Executive's minister for employment Sir Reg Empey believes that, by doing this, firms could help to strengthen the country's economy.He commented:... Fri, 5 Feb 2010 14:44:28 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1745/05022010/ni_housing_market_sees_price_reductions_ease.html The rate of house price reductions in Northern Ireland eased over the course of 2009, new figures have shown.University of Ulster's latest House Price Index reveals that between the beginning of last year and its final quarter, the price reduction rate went down from 35 per cent to reach a... Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:57:59 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1746/05022010/record_number_of_people_declared_insolvent_in_2009.html Figures released by the Insolvency Service show that a record number of people in England and Wales were declared insolvent during 2009. 134,142 people went bankrupt, sought debt relief, or took out an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) compared to only 107,288 which was the previous record... Fri, 5 Feb 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1744/04022010/prs_could_help_meet_uk_housing_demand.html The high demand for housing in the UK could be addressed with the support of the private-rented sector (PRS), according to one political figure.It has been announced that a government-backed consultation is to look at the ways in which rental properties might improve the supply of affordable... Thu, 4 Feb 2010 15:09:10 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1742/04022010/companies_should_think_carefully_before_reducing_staff_perks.html Northern Ireland businesses looking to cut back on employee perks such as the provision of free tea and coffee may want to think twice before taking any action, it has been suggested.According to uSwitchforbusiness.com's expert in small business Jake Ridge, the morale of a firm's... Thu, 4 Feb 2010 12:43:09 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1743/04022010/interest_rates_remain_frozen_for_11th_consecutive_month.html The Bank of England has voted to maintain the base rate at the record low of 0.5% for the 11th month in a row. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cited the poor retail market and a generally "sluggish" economy as the factors behind the decision. Increased inflation had led... Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1741/03022010/broadband_services_have_helped_uks_e-commerce_sector.html The UK's e-commerce sector has benefited from increased broadband use among consumers, it has been highlighted.According to the Interactive Media in Retail Group's director of operations David Smith, broadband has enabled a number of online shoppers to interact more effectively with... Wed, 3 Feb 2010 18:40:37 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1738/03022010/equality_bill_needed_to_improve_wages_of_female_workers.html The government's Equality Bill offers an important opportunity to improve the standards of pay among the UK's female workers, according to one expert.Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), believes that the wages of female members of staff should match the... Wed, 3 Feb 2010 12:45:03 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1740/03022010/kraft_takes_control_of_cadbury.html The American food group Kraft were finally able to confirm yesterday that they had secured 71.73% of Cadbury shares, giving it control over the 189 year old British chocolate making company, and making it the largest chocolate and confectionery company and the second-largest food company in the... Wed, 3 Feb 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1739/02022010/apprenticeships_offer_an_alternative_to_uni_study.html Young people in Northern Ireland and other regions of the UK might benefit from taking part in an apprenticeship scheme, which may prove to be a useful alternative to university study, an expert suggests.According to NotGoingtoUni.co.uk's Craig Abrahart, apprenticeships offer people the... Tue, 2 Feb 2010 14:43:59 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1737/02022010/firms_may_use_social_networking_to_assess_job_candidates.html Some businesses might opt to make use of social networking sites in the future, in order to assess potential employees during their recruitment process, according to one expert.People looking for work opportunities in Northern Ireland and across other UK regions may be keen to note the view of... Tue, 2 Feb 2010 12:47:21 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1735/02022010/health_of_the_housing_market_may_have_been_overstated.html A monthly survey produced by Hometrack based on information gathered from 1,800 estate agents provides some perspective to the current confusion on the health of the property market. Just last month the general media carried the news of a 0.1% rise in house prices, yet estate agents,... Tue, 2 Feb 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1734/01022010/ni_minister_aiming_to_support_recently_unemployed.html People in Northern Ireland who have recently been made redundant will be offered support from the country's executive, giving them the opportunity to find more work.That is according to Sir Reg Empey, the Northern Ireland Executive's minister for employment, who says that jobless people... Mon, 1 Feb 2010 15:12:11 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1733/01022010/demand_for_gb_coastal_properties_will_stay_strong.html The large demand that exists for coastal properties across the British Isles has been emphasised by one expert.According to iammoving.com's partner relationship manager Jon Brown, it is likely that such properties will continue to be sought after in the near future."These properties... Mon, 1 Feb 2010 12:33:29 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1731/29012010/ni_saw_fewer_divorces_in_2008.html The number of divorces that occurred in Northern Ireland dropped to a lower level in 2008, new figures reveal.According to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, there was a 4.8 per cent reduction in the divorces that took place in the country, when compared to the previous year.The... Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:16:22 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1730/29012010/uk_house_prices_rise_12%25_during_january.html The property market continues to recover at a faster pace than the rest of the economy with yet another month of house price increases recorded in January. The strong 1.2% increase is more than double the 0.5% rise of December. The figures produced by Nationwide Building Society show that... Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1732/29012010/30%25_of_people_left_an_inheritance_face_legal_battle_due_to_lack_of_will.html Nearly a third of people in the UK who have been left an inheritance are forced to go to court to fight  for it due to a Will not being in place. The research from Unbiased.co.uk also showed that such inheritance battles cost an average of £2,150 in legal fees. When... Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1728/28012010/considerable_house_price_rises_seen_in_last_decade.html The houses prices seen across the UK in the past decade grew by a substantial amount, new research has shown.Between the final three months of 1999 and the same period last year, a 105 per cent improvement was witnessed, according to Halifax figures.When it comes to Northern Ireland in... Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:41:14 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1727/28012010/millions_could_pay_too_much_tax_this_year_as_result_of_incorrect_hmrc_tax_codes.html According to the Chartered Institute of Taxation, a significant proportion of the 25 million PAYE tax codes issued by HM Revenue & Customs for 2010/2011, double the amount in 2009/2010 are wrong. Millions of workers and pensioners are thought to be effected, and could pay too much... Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1729/28012010/bskyb_wins_%A3200million_damages_in_largest_commercial_case_of_decade.html BSkyB has won a landmark court ruling in what has become one of the largest commercial cases of the last decade, involving legal costs estimated at £70million. The satellite broadcaster had made the claim against an information technology supplier, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), in... Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1726/27012010/renting_can_complement_modern_working_life.html Renting can provide a useful solution to many people in the UK thanks to the flexibility it offers, according to one expert.People seeking properties in Northern Ireland and other areas of the UK may be interested to hear the view of James Davis of upad.co.uk.Mr Davis, chief executive officer at... Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:45:34 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1725/27012010/more_protection_promised_for_borrowers_in_arrears.html The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced that it will offer greater protection for borrowers who have fallen into difficulties keeping up their monthly mortgage payments. The financial watchdog has carried out a review of the mortgage market over the last six months, looking in... Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1722/26012010/e-commerce_sector_likely_to_perform_well_this_year.html The UK's e-commerce sector should continue to perform well over the course of this year, according to one expert.IMRG's chief executive James Roper believes that enhancements that are being made to existing online shopping provisions are likely to play a part in this.Among the improved... Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:11:15 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1724/26012010/house_build_applications_in_northern_ireland_on_the_increase.html The National House Building Council (HHBC) has released new figures showing an increase in applications to build new houses in Northern Ireland. They received 906 applications to build new houses in the last quarter of 2009, a staggering 102% increase compared to the same period in 2008 when... Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1723/26012010/uk_economy_officially_out_of_recession.html Despite a weaker than expected growth in the UK economy over the last quarter of 2009, the 0.1% increase was sufficient to lift the economy out of recession after 6 consecutive quarters of contraction. The UK's had been the last of the major economies to lift out of recession with its... Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1719/25012010/demand_for_uk_rental_property_has_increased.html Increasing numbers of people are now looking to rent properties in the UK, research has found.Figures published by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) have shown that as many as 54 per cent of the landlords polled in a recent survey believe that renting is proving a necessity for... Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:27:58 UTC http://www.wilson-nesbitt.com/articles/1721/25012010/new_ni_transport_law_to_stop_discrimination_against_disabled_passengers.html New "Disability Transport Regulations" came in to force today making it illegal for transport operators to discriminate against disabled customers. The new covers customers of trains, buses, coaches, taxis, vehicle rental and breakdown services, and makes it unlawful for a... Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 UTC