Money blog: Inside £7m home of popstar as it goes on market (2025)

The National Trust has increased the price of its memberships by as much as 5.7% in the past year.

The price hikes, which came in on 1 March, mean the cost of a membership has gone up almost 25% in three years.

An annual adult membership cost £76.80 in 2022 but now costs £96.20, while a lifetime family membership will now set you back £3,025. Before the increases, it was£2,865.

A National Trust spokesperson told Money: "Operating costs have soared in recent years in the challenging external financial context.

"In our last financial year, our operating costs grew by £53.2m."

They were keen to remind readers, however, that membership still "costs the same as buying one takeaway coffee a week".

A US judge has denied Elon Musk's request for a court order to block OpenAI from turning into a for-profit company.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled "Musk has not demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits" in his request for a preliminary injunction.

However, she also said she would expedite a trial to consider Musk's claims, which could happen as soon as this autumn.

It's the latest step in a battle between Musk and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, who officially revealed plans to turn the AI firm into a for-profit in December.

Musk says OpenAI needs to remain non-profit for the good of humanity.

The ChatGPT-maker has always had a goal of making sure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

OpenAI, however, says it needs to turn a profit in order to reach artificial general intelligence in the first place.

By James Sillars, business and economic reporter

I wouldn't hold out much hope for an interest rate cut this month.

We've been hearing from four Bank of England rate setters this afternoon, including governor Andrew Bailey - that's almost half the monetary policy committee.

The main message was unanimous - there is heightened "uncertainty" in both the domestic and global economy, largely due to Donald Trump's expansion of trade tariffs but also from employer tax and household bill hikes due to take effect in April.

They’re not unduly worried by the current outlook for inflation as the "bump" expected this year is expected to be temporary.

They just can't be sure of the months ahead given the many shifting sands.

But chief economist Huw Pill did outline a scenario where borrowing costs could be cut at a faster than gradual pace should the economy deteriorate further.

Wild week for markets as dollar plunges and pound spikes

There's lots to take in more widely, too.

A plunge in the dollar due to tariff worries has been supported here by those indications that Bank rate is expected to remain higher for longer.

The pound was trading at its highest level since mid-November at $1.2862.

Stock markets have had a wild week so far.

The FTSE 100 is heading towards a flat close despite reports that the Trump administration is considering an easing of its blanket tariffs against Mexico and Canada, to make them sector specific instead.

Trump reiterated his tariff threats in a speech to Congress last night - watch a key clip below:

What about the euro?

The euro and most major European stock markets have taken heart from Germany's spending plans to boost its economy and defence capabilities.

We'd been talking about the risks of euro parity versus the dollar earlier this year but the recent dollar weakening, coupled with euro strength on the back of that looming German spending spree, mean the single European currency is now trading at €1.0775.

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

Estate agent Foxtons has told investors "there is more we can and should do" after staff were groped and called slurs.

Reporting from Bloomberg based on records and interviews with more than 20 former and current employees uncovered the inappropriate behaviour.

In an update to the London Stock Exchange, Foxtons said it had made "significant progress" on creating an environment that "attracts, motivates and retains a diverse team" but added "there remains more to do".

The business said it introduced mandatory annual respect and inclusion training, strengthened equity, diversity and inclusion policies, and enhanced whistleblowing and speak-up processes over the last two years.

"We will continue to seek further improvement and progress", it said, pointing to what it said was a 25% increase in female managers over the last two years, improved employee engagement and a 12% increase in employee retention rates through new career development and diversity programmes.

The £6.9m London penthouse of Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie is up for sale.

Here's a peek inside the late rockstar's luxury three-bed apartment in Belgravia.

The singer and keyboard player bought the flat in 2015 after living in aGrade II-listed manor house in Kent for 17 years.

She enjoyed the privacy the home gave her, according to the estate agents Beauchamp Estates.

"When not touring, the Belgravia penthouse provided Christine with a comfortable home, and a quiet and private space where she could shop with anonymity," they said.

The 2,674 sq ft home has a private roof garden, marble fireplaces and sash windows.

On the lower floor, there is an entrance hall, two spacious reception rooms, a kitchen and a study.

The upper floor features three bedrooms and a walk-in dressing area lined with built-in wardrobes.

McVie wrote many of the British-American band's hits, including Don’t Stop, Everywhere, Little Lies and Songbird.

When she died inNovember 2022, she left her artwork and belongings to be auctioned from the property to raise money for music charities like MusiCares.

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England is appearing before the Treasury Select Committee this afternoon to face questions from MPs.

You can watch live by pressing play at the top of the page from 2.30pm - we're also listening in and will cover any key lines.

More than one in six students who gamble fall into the "problem category", meaning they could at risk of harm due to their habit, new research has suggested.

This is four times higher than the national average.

A total of 17% of gambling students were considered to be at "high risk" and 29% were considered to be at "moderate risk", research from GAMSTOP and Ygam found.

Male students were more likely than females to be in the problem gambling category and their mean spend on gambling is almost 1.7 times higher.

They were found to be spending almost as much on gambling as on their weekly food shop at £33.54 a week - less than the £36 spent at the supermarket.

The most popular form of gambling is online sports betting, with make student using the platforms for an average of 91 days a year.

"Although gambling has decreased slightly in universities, the risk of gambling harm is far higher than in the general population and students need to be educated about the consequences of gambling in the expectation of making money," GAMSTOP's chief executive Fiona Palmer said.

Basically, a building society is like a bank, but they aren't just there to turn a profit. Instead, customers (called members) can influence the decisions it makes, essentially giving them a say in how it is run.

In the past, building societies and banks would offer different products - in the 1980s, it was harder for banks to offer mortgages.

However, today banks and building societies offer very similar products, which is why it can be easy to get them confused.

A LinkedIn poll of Sky News readers found 36% did not know the difference, while 14% said they thought they did, but weren't totally sure...

Where did building societies come from?

The first known building society was Ketley's, which appeared in 1775. Ketley's gave working-class citizens (who at the time did not have access to banks) a way to buy their own homes. People would sign up to become members and pay into a central fund that was used to construct homes.

A building society may also be referred to as a "mutual" - this is because they were made to benefit people who wanted to save money or borrow money to buy a home.

The concept of mutual saving goes back to the 18th century when a group of people would pool their savings to buy land and build houses. The same general concept is true today - building societies help people save for the future and borrow money to buy a home.

According to the Building Societies Association, as of September 2023, building societies had nearly 26 million customers across the UK and held 19% of all cash savings.

Between July and September 2022, building societies were behind 26% of all UK mortgage loans.

What are some of the differences between a bank and a building society?

A bank usually has its shares listed on the stock market and is owned by its shareholders, so the aim is to generate profit for these people.

By comparison, building societies are owned by customers, who are known as "members". Any profit that a building society makes gets reinvested.

A building society will hold an annual general meeting (AGM) where members can meet and vote on where they want it to go next.

Building societies also use something called a "role number" - they have this as well as your sort code and account number, and it is a reference code with numbers and letters.

How many building societies are there in the UK?

At the moment there are 42 building societies in the UK. This seems like a lot, but in 1910, there were 1,723.

Not all of them have gone out of business - some larger building societies were taken over by larger ones, while some opted to become banks (a process called "demutualisation").

Some of the bigger household names are: Nationwide, Leeds Building Society, and the Yorkshire Building Society.

A few notable names that converted from being a building society to a bank are Halifax and Northern Rock (you'll remember them as one of the banks to collapse in the 2007-08 financial crash).

Is a building society better, or worse, than a bank?

There is no real answer to this because it depends entirely on the account and what you are using it for.

When it comes to savings, you may find building societies offer higher interest rates, but when it comes to finding a mortgage, banks tend to have a broader range of products.

The best way to figure out which is best is compare the latest rates available.

You can see our latest savings guide here...

Five years after the pandemic forced millions of employees to work from home, LinkedIn has found 41% of UK business leaders are reassessing their hybrid work policies.

Employers may not face as much resistance as you'd expect in bringing workers back in as nearly four out of five employees are happy to go to the office - but only if being there adds value.

However, half of UK office workers don't want their employer to dictate office attendance beyond their current arrangements.

"It's not just about showing up for the sake of showing up but actually collaborating with each other, making sure that that time is meaningful," Janine Chamberlin, UK head of LinkedIn, told Darren McCaffrey on Sky News' Business Live.

"It's about being thoughtful around how we bring people together in the office."

Nearly three-quarters of UK professionals feel more confident signing off a business deal in person, according to the research.

Stronger relationship-building, greater engagement in meetings and faster decision-making were considered the main benefits of time spent in the office.

The price of fuel has hit its highest level since September, with drivers facing five consecutive months of price rises.

The price of a litre of unleaded petrol is now 139.65p, rising by 0.65p in February, while diesel went up by 0.73p, according to the RAC.

It now costs around £3 more to fill up a family-sized petrol car than it did in October, at £76.81.

But there are a few ways to beat the price hikes.

Supermarketsare charging drivers around 2.3p less per litre of unleaded petrol compared to the UK average.

According to the RAC, supermarkets near Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-upon-Tyne are going even lower, selling unleaded for just 127.7p a litre.

For drivers in Shropshire, the DA Roberts Fuels forecourt in Whitchurch is offering unleaded for just 126.9p, while in Northern Ireland, unleaded is almost 7p cheaper on average than the rest of the UK.

"We hope better times are on the horizon," said RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams.

"With wholesale fuel costs falling throughout February, there’s a good prospect petrol and diesel prices will come down this month."