Spratt Financial Services Ltd

31/12/2025

Wishing everyone a healthy & happy new year 🥳

07/08/2025

The Bank of England has cut interest rates to 4%, taking the cost of borrowing to the lowest level for more than two years.

The cut, from 4.25%, is the fifth the Bank has announced since last August.

While the fall in interest rates was widely-expected, the pace of price rises remains above the Bank of England's 2% target.

06/05/2025

The Bank of England is likely to cut UK interest rates by a quarter point to 4.25 per cent this week and signal further reductions to come as the uncertainty unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s global trade war hits growth.

The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee will announce its latest rates decision on Thursday, against a backdrop of mounting concern over the potential for erratic US policy on import taxes to derail the global economy.

02/05/2025

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Find out if interest rates will continue to fall in 2025 in the UK. Prepare for changes, and secure the best deals. Take control of your finances!

16/04/2025

Falling petrol prices drove UK inflation down by more than expected in the year to March.

Inflation was 2.6%, down from a rate of 2.8% in February, according to official data.

But the fall may only be temporary as analysts say it's expected to spike from April as rising bills and higher business costs take hold.

"The only significant offset came from the price of clothes which rose strongly this month," said Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The average price of petrol fell by 1.6p per litre between February and March to 137.5p per litre.

The inflation decrease was also driven by a drop in recreation and culture prices, with toys, games, and hobbies falling particularly sharply.

The fall in inflation means that, although prices continue to rise, the pace is slowing. Price rises have slowed from highs seen in recent years.

Wages continue to outpace inflation with salary raises for public sector workers growing more than those in the private sector.

06/03/2025

Home buyers are scrambling to complete purchases by the end of the month or face paying thousands of pounds extra in stamp duty.

First-time buyers in particular could be hit when stamp duty thresholds in England and Northern Ireland change on 1 April.

One couple said they felt like they were "in a race, and our prize is £11,000".

Lenders say a significant swathe of the country will be drawn into paying the tax, but the government says it is helping more people to buy their first home.

At the moment, buyers of homes worth less than £250,000 do not pay stamp duty land tax, but this will revert to £125,000 from 1 April.

For most first-time buyers the threshold is currently £425,000, but this will fall back to £300,000 in April.

The increases to the thresholds had been introduced during the September 2022 mini-Budget.

06/02/2025

Interest rates cut to 4.5%
published at 12:00
12:00
Breaking
The Bank of England has cut interest rates to 4.5% from 4.75%.

The decision could lead to cheaper borrowing costs for things like mortgages and loans, but also lower returns on savings.

Today’s decision means rates are now at their lowest point since June 2023.

05/02/2025

The cost of borrowing is expected to fall to its lowest point in more than 18 months on Thursday.

Senior economists at the Bank of England will announce whether they are cutting the UK’s base interest rate, which currently sits at 4.75%.

Most experts predict a quarter point reduction to 4.5%, continuing a series of cuts which started last summer.

The base rate helps dictate how expensive it is to take out a mortgage or a loan, while it also influences the interest rates offered by banks on savings accounts.

28/01/2025

The government is proposing to ease restrictions on how some pension schemes are managed, as part of efforts to boost economic growth.

The Treasury said defined benefit pension schemes have a total surplus of £160bn, but under current rules much of the money is trapped and cannot be invested in the wider economy.

The government has made improving growth its main priority in order to boost living standards, but recent figures indicate the economy is struggling to expand.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told company bosses on Tuesday that the government's "growth mission" would be the key factor behind policy decisions.

Sir Keir was speaking after he and Chancellor Rachel Reeves met bosses of firms including Tesco, BT and Unilever as part of their efforts to get more investment to the UK.

The meeting came ahead of a speech by Reeves on Wednesday where she is expected to focus on measures to boost growth amid speculation the government will back a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Sir Keir said he was "hard-wiring growth into all the decisions of the cabinet".

He said he would not speculate about Heathrow, but added: "What I will say is that growth is the number one priority, wealth creation, making sure that people are better off.

15/01/2025

UK inflation unexpectedly dipped in December for the first time in three months as hotel prices fell and to***co costs eased.

Prices rose 2.5% in the year to December, down from 2.6% the month before, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Despite the rate of price rises remaining above the Bank of England's target, expectations of an interest rates cut next month have grown.

The latest figures also ease pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has faced criticism following a fall in the value of the pound and government borrowing costs hitting the highest level for several years.

Borrowing costs fell back to last week's levels early on Wednesday and the pound rose slightly to stand at $1.22 as traders reacted to the unexpected inflation drop.

Easing price rises in restaurants, falling hotel prices, and smaller rises in airfares than usual last month helped the overall inflation rate come down, the ONS said.

Prices for to***co products, which include ci******es, pouches, v**e refills and ci**rs, also increased at a slower pace.

But Grant Fitzner, chief economist of the ONS, said this was offset by the rising cost of fuel and second-hand cars.

Inflation is much lower than its peak in October 2022 when prices soared, pushing up the cost of living for households and leading to higher interest rates, which has made the cost of loans, credit cards and mortgages, more expensive.

Falling inflation does not mean prices are decreasing, but are now rising at a slower pace.

01/08/2024

Interest rates cut to 5%
published at 12:00
12:00
Breaking
The Bank of England has cut rates for the first time since March 2020, which is likely to lead to lower mortgage repayment deals.

The Bank had held rates at a 16-year high of 5.25% since August 2023, as it attempted to tackle rising prices across the UK.

The last time rates were dropped was in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, they were slashed to a record low of 0.1% in an attempt to boost the economy.

19/06/2024

Inflation has hit the Bank of England's target for the first time in almost three years.

Prices rose at 2% in the year to May, down from 2.3% the month before, official figures show.

The economy is a key talking point in the run-up to the general election on 4 July, with all of the main parties battling over how they would keep the cost of living under control.

The Conservatives said their "difficult decisions" were paying off, but Labour said pressures on family finances were "still acute".

It comes ahead of a Bank of England decision on UK interest rates this Thursday.