A recent advisory mandate left us scratching our heads as the judge ruled that a divorcing client moving out of the family home wouldn’t receive any specific help with SDLT. You can make a case for a new set of teaspoons it would seem but when it comes to finding the huge slug of SDLT payable on the purchase of a relatively modest new home in London with room for the kids to stay, you’re on your own! On top of this, the November Budget’s...

In the wake of the Conservatives’ general election victory, we cautioned against the hyperbole of much of the London property market. At the time we wrote “transaction costs remain high, capital gains tax is now a factor for everyone and, most importantly of all, much of the current stock is relatively poor (over-priced, recycled, compromised and/or illiquid)”, warning also of the upcoming challenge posed by the “inevitable in/out European...