POUND NOTES

NATIONWIDE BOOSTS ACCESS TO LATER LIFE LENDING PRODUCTS

BRITAIN’S biggest building society is boosting access to its later-life lending products aimed at over-55s.

Nationwide Building Society previously launched a range of mortgage options supporting those in and approaching retirement for its existing mortgage members.

Now, the products are also being made more widely available to borrowers who are not already Nationwide customers.

Borrowers will need to apply before their 85th birthday – or their 95th birthday if they are an existing mortgage member.

NEARLY HALF OF WOMEN ‘BUY CLOTHES SEEN FIRST ON CELEBS’

NEARLY half (48%) of women buy clothes they’ve seen being worn by celebrities or people in the public eye, according to a survey by MoneySaving Heroes.co.uk, often spotting the outfits on news websites.

The dress by Ghost that Carrie Symonds, pictured above, wore as she waited for boyfriend Boris Johnson to move into number 10, sold out almost immediately.

Celeb-inspired shopping spends averaged £67 a month, the survey found.

SURGE IN EX-FINANCE CARS COMING ONTO MARKET, SAYS WEBSITE

USED car buyers could potentially take advantage of a surge in low-mileage, threeyear-old vehicles being listed for sale, according to a CarGurus. co.uk, which says a swathe of ex-finance contract vehicles is heading back into dealer stock.

As with any used vehicle purchase, buyers should always shop with care and research their potential purchase thoroughly.

FINANCIAL FACT: The number of homeowners’ properties being repossessed across the UK jumped by 15% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019, figures from a trade association show.

There were some 1,270 repossessions of mortgaged properties in April-June 2019, compared to 1,100 in the same period in 2018, UK Finance said.

A backlog of older cases being processed in line with regulatory requirements is partly behind the increase, it explained.