Why does it matter? It matters because we will soon know the inevitable changes in fiscal policy and how the new government will tackle our Greek like deficit! This will have implications for unemployment, inflation, interest rates, sterling and financial markets amoungst other things I think the sooner we have the election, the better it is for the country. But as we all know politics doesn’t work that way.

The economy has technically moved out of recession, but at 0.1% growth I wouldn’t be jumping for joy just yet. However, manufacturing data released this week has beaten expectations which suggests that the GDP figure for 4Q 2009 will be revised upwards.

The UK’s competitors such as Germany and France came out of recession 6 months ago and their growth has been stronger than that of the UK. Those of us who argued against joining the Euro have been vindicated: if we had adopted the Euro (as Blair wanted) we would be a true basket case now with a seriously overvalued currency weighing down the rest of the EU just as Greece is now. In the past the likes of Spain and Greece could devalue their currencies to get out of trouble, but this is no longer possible as both are locked into the Euro, at least for the time being.

In times of uncertainty investors have traditionally reverted to tangible assets such as real estate and gold, today is no different. Although we have seen a recovery in UK property prices over the past 12 months, I think the market will consolidate and further opportunities will present themselves in the form of distressed assets (bank repossessed properties). The latest numbers for repossessed properties are published later today, but one thing is for sure, there will be opportunities for those who know where to find them.

What’s going on in Liverpool?

Since the last newsletter we have been extremely busy as a Group, positioning ourselves as the UK property market recovers and moving to take some excellent opportunities as they have arisen. We are presently expanding the UK operation and will launch a new brand identity shortly, which will encompass the range of services we now provide including:

In addition, we will continue to provide our training courses, seminars and conferences.

The property development company will remain a stand-alone entity.

I would like to welcome David Tickle to the team. David is a qualified mortgage broker and joins our financial services division, more of which you will hear about in the future.

Distressed Assets’ Repossessed Property Conference London – 30 Jan 10

The London Conference went extremely well and both delegates and staff had an enjoyable day. Many thanks to Mark Rubinson of Arram Berlyn Gardner Accountants for his fascinating talk on how we can structure our property purchases in the most tax efficient manner and also on how to reduce the amount of stamp duty we pay.

Thanks also to Angela Hesketh, Head of Property with David Roberts and Co Solicitors who advises Distressed Assets on all property purchases. She is very experienced in the repossessed property field and gave an excellent presentation on how to avoid the legal pitfalls.

Philip Johal of Maida Vale Lettings Agency Concept Spaces gave a thorough presentation on how to let investment property quickly and the steps required to comply with current legislation.

This is what two of the delegates said:

"The conference put on by DA was excellent. It was balanced, well thought out, impartial and supported by some very high quality external speakers from the legal, tax and property management sectors. I have been to a couple of similar events but found this to be the best and most useful so far. The Distressed Assets team demonstrated a good depth of knowledge and their analysis of the Distressed Assets market was top notch"
Stuart Quick

"As a property investor I found the Distressed Assets conference to be extremely useful. The content was very relevant ranging from tax and lettings advice to raising finance and, most importantly, covered detail on the UK market in bank repossessed property. I would recommend the conference to anyone with an interest in financially distressed property"
Sanjiv Dodhia

InvestinCyprus.com Developers

Stephanie and Jon are presently with the Cyprus team and attended the monthly site meeting yesterday. The Grove Spa Resort continues to attract a lot of interest and is moving forward well.

Diary Date:

Due to the huge success of the Distressed Assets London Conference, we will be holding a Northern Conference in Liverpool on Sat 15th May 2010. Further details to follow.

Best wishes