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12 NEWS WEDNESDAY 8 JUNE 2016 CITYAM.COM THECAPITALIST Got A Story? Email thecapitalist@cityam.com A buffet with Buffett? Bidding begins here THE SQUARE mile boasts more than its fair share of well-seasoned lunchers. But post-crisis corporate cost-cutting may have dented even the Sage of Omaha’s chances of getting City-types to fork out for a three-hour sit down over steak. Bidding may have opened for the annual charitable lunch with the world’s most famous investor Warren Buffet over the weekend, but it is failing to come close to last year’s record $2.3m (£1.6m) shelled out by Chinese businessman Zhu Ye. At $210,000 for you plus seven selected diners to meet the Berkshire Hathaway founder at his favourite Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan, the lunch is still a pricey way of getting some face time and stock tips from the self-made billionaire worth $66.6bn. Previous winners – some of whom choose to remain anonymous – clearly think it’s good value. Fund manager Ted Weschler spent $2.6m on the lunch in 2010, then another $2.6m just one year later. A few months after that, Buffett offered him a job. In the 17 years Buffett has been offering a few hours of his time to anyone rich enough to buy it, none of the named winners have been from the UK. Could this be our year? Veteran investor Warren Buffett auctions off lunch spaces to keen diners ROYAL ASCOT COMES EARLY The Square Mile hosts warm up race THE INAUGURAL “Ascot in the City” competition starts at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon in front of the horse statue at The Royal Exchange. City execs from financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Barclays Capital and BNP Paribas will vie for the Yardsmen Frontrunner Trophy. Yes, they’ll be riding toy horses. NUDE DINING IS IN TOWN Jamie Oliver introduced the idea of a Naked Chef, but a London pop-up restaurant has gone a lot further: it welcomes nude customers. The Bunyadi bills itself as “free from the trappings of modern life”. There are also no mobile phones and no food preparation that requires electrical appliances. Just don’t spill the soup. QUOTE OF THE DAY The price of ice cream will go up Unilever boss Paul Polman ramps up Brexit fears to new levels, as he predicts there will be import levies on diary products. Billing errors set energy customers back £270m JESSICA MORRIS @jssmorris MISTAKES by energy suppliers led to nearly four million customers being overcharged by a total £270m last year. The blunders cost energy consumers £72 each, according to new research from independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com. The mistakes also cost customers their time, with nearly a fifth waiting between one to two months for an issue to be resolved, and 12 per cent waiting two months. Worse still, nearly one in 10 of those overcharged are yet to receive any money back. More than a third of those whose supplier had made an error said that the wrong tariff or product details had been applied. This was followed by providers levying incorrect fees (31 per cent), as well as the wrong meter reading (27 per cent) and inaccurate direct debt amounts (24 per cent). “It’s unacceptable in this day and age that customers are picking up the cost of suppliers’ mistakes,” Claire Osborne, energy expert at uSwitch.com, said. “Accurate bills are essential if consumers stand any hope of taking control of their energy use and spend. “Recent upgrades by some suppliers to billing systems have resulted in teething problems, but Billing blunders are costing consumers £72 each, says uSwitch today’s figures show there’s still more for the industry to do. “We urge customers to always check their bills carefully, and speak to their supplier if they think they have been shortchanged.” London Chamber of Commerce and Industry urges Cameron to back Heathrow expansion JAMES NICKERSON @nickersonjw A TOP business group has urged the government to back Heath - row after the EU referendum following pledges from Gatwick that it would make concessions to get the green light for a second runway. The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said that airport expansion must be the priority after 23 June, adding that government should respond to the recommendations of the Airports Commission. Last year, the independent Airports Commission, headed by Sir Howard Davies, said Heathrow should be expanded, but with severe environmental restrictions. LCCI chief executive Colin Stanbridge said: “[The] government has been ‘on-hold’ for the past couple of months. And as a result many big decisions have been delayed. “There are no more excuses to delay a new runway decision – and one of the most crucial decisions for the sake of London and the UK economy. “The referendum result is due on Friday 24 June, [and] this should be followed by a clear decision on which airport location will be allowed to expand.” The push from the business group comes after Gatwick wrote an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, promising to cap passenger fares and accelerate its timetable if it is picked ahead of Heathrow. “The pledges we are making...represent a fair deal for the country – for passengers, the taxpayer and local communities. Critically they guarantee that the UK’s next runway can actually be built and operated legally so that Britain can grow,” the letter said.
CITYAM.COM WEDNESDAY 8 JUNE 2016 NEWS 13 Halifax: House prices still rising on high demand JAKE CORDELL @JakeCordell THERE were no surprises in the latest numbers on house prices, released yesterday – they are still going up. The average house was worth £213,472 in the three months to May, according to the Halifax house price index, 9.2 per cent more than the same period last year. The bank said the same old story – weak supply and high demand – had pushed house prices up by near double-digit rates as they warned house price growth could be reaching unsustainable levels. The average property price increased by £1,268 over the past month and by £17,043 – more than the annual pretax income from a full-time job paying the minimum wage – in the last year. “Low interest rates, increasing employment and rising real earnings continue to support housing demand,” said Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax. The strength of demand, combined with very low supply, is causing house prices to rise at a brisk pace.” However, as the cost of owning a home far outpaces growth in average wages, Halifax warned “increasing affordability issues… should curb housing demand and result in some slowdown in house price growth as the year progresses”. Jeremy Duncombe, director of the Legal and General Mortgage club, said: “While some may view rising house prices as something to cheer about, this relentless climb is actually bad news for aspiring homeowners across the country.” The research also showed that the slight dip in house prices registered in April was nearly completely reversed in May. Prices dropped 0.8 per cent in April following the rush to buy second homes and buy to let properties in March caused by stamp duty changes, but recovered by 0.6 per cent in May. V Festival is being headlined this year by Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and David Guetta Channel 5 and MTV team up to broadcast V Festival across UK BILLY BAMBROUGH @BillyBambrough CHANNEL 5 and MTV UK struck a deal yesterday to become the official broadcast partners of V Festival. Channel 5 will be broadcasting live packages of some performance acts over the weekend, while MTV UK will air live highlights from the MTV stage and main stage across its various channels. It’s the first time Channel 5 will air the festival although MTV UK has done so twice before. V Festival will take place in Hylands Park, Chelmsford, and Weston Park, Staffordshire, on 20-21 August, and is expected to attract around 340,000 attendees. Esure considers a demerger for GoCompare HAYLEY KIRTON @HayleyLEK THE FORMER boss of lastminute.com yesterday took the driving seat at GoCompare, as the price comparison website’s owner considers a demerger. Matthew Crummack, chief executive of lastminute.com from 2011 until 2015, has been appointed the chief executive of GoCompare. Crummack replaces Jon Morrell, who has been chief executive since founder Hayley Parsons decided to leave the business at the end of 2014. However, in the same notice announcing Crummack’s new appointment, Esure also revealed it would be carrying out a strategic review of the business, which could potentially include a demerger. “Since acquiring full control of GoCompare.com in April 2015, we have made good progress on both Esure and GoCompare.com strategic objectives,” said Stuart Vann, chief executive of Esure Group. “As reported in our 2016 quarter one interim management statement, we are delighted to see continued growth in Esure and GoCompare, and remain committed to delivering attractive returns to shareholders,” he added. Rental market has cooled down in past few months despite rise in cost People need to check their tax on savings HELEN CAHILL @HelCahill THE RENTAL market cooled slightly over the past few months as the rate of increase in prices slowed – although rents still rose in the three months to May. Rents agreed on new tenancies in the UK over the past three months were up 4.4 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to the HomeLet Rental Index. This compares to an annual increase of 5.1 per cent in April and 7.6 per cent in May last year. The average rent in the UK – excluding London – is now £771 a month. The average rent in London is far above the national average, and is now at £1,563. Martin Totty, Barbon Insurance group’s chief executive officer said there is still a “steady growth in rents” in the UK private rental market “as the number of tenants looking for property runs ahead of the supply in the market”. “That remains the picture in most regions of the country. “While this growth has begun to slow, which tenants will welcome, landlords will also be encouraged by the vote of confidence in the sector evidenced by the increase in buy to let completions in the past few months.” HAYLEY KIRTON @HayleyLEK TAX EXPERTS yesterday urged people to check their P60 to see if they can reclaim some of their savings. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), which is an initiative of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, is reminding people that their bank will have deducted 20 per cent for tax from their savings income, regardless of whether they were earning enough to be charged, unless the bank had been informed that they were not a taxpayer. “Even a small amount of tax deducted can be significant to people on low incomes,” said Anthony Thomas, chairman of LITRG. “It is always a good idea to get your tax information together and, if necessary, claim back tax you should not have had deducted.”
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