BUSINESS LIVE: Burberry profit warning; Robert Walters fees sink; House prices fall

House prices dipped by more than usual in July, according to a property website, as new sellers tried to cut through the distractions of the General Election, sporting events and the summer holiday season.

Across Britain, the typical new seller asking price fell by 0.4% or £1,617 month-on-month in July to £373,493, down from £375,110 in June, Rightmove said.

This was a bigger drop than the typical fall seen in July, according to the website.

The average price drop in the month of July over the past 20 years has been 0.2 per cent.

The number of sales being agreed and new sellers coming to market is higher than a year ago, Rightmove said.

Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove added: ‘Three major uncertainties hanging over the property market at the start of the year were when the first interest rate cut would be, and the timing and the result of the General Election.

‘We’ve now got the political certainty of a new Government with a large majority, which we expect will help home mover confidence.

‘It’s very early days, but the new Chancellor’s immediate announcements on housebuilding targets and planning reform are positive signs that the Government is keen to get going with its manifesto pledges.’

Royal Mail is facing a mounting backlash over its plan to stop transporting post by rail.

This newspaper revealed last week the postal service will sell its last freight trains after nearly 200 years of delivering mail on the railways.

The move sparked fierce opposition from unions, politicians and freight industry leaders over concerns about jobs.

Robert Walters has reported a fall in quarterly net fees, as macroeconomic and political uncertainties weakened employee and employer confidence.

Global recruiters have been struggling to find momentum as clients delay hiring and candidates are reluctant to change jobs in the current uncertain economic climate, with elections in some countries further weighing on the market.

‘Our near-term planning now assumes that any material improvement in confidence levels will be gradual, and likely not occur before 2025,’ Robert Walters CEO Toby Fowlston said in a statement.

Burberry has named former Michael Kors boss Joshua Schulman as its new chief executive, as the British luxury brand warned on profit and scrapped its dividend payment for this year.

A slow down in the luxury sector has hit Burberry hard over the last year, derailing the 168 year-old British brand as it tried to move upmarket.

The company said weakness in its market had deepened, pushing underlying sales down 21 per cent in the 13 weeks to 29 June, and as such it would switch back its offer to be ‘more familiar’ to its ‘core customers’.

That decline prompted the board to say CEO Jonathan Akeroyd would leave with immediate effect by mutual agreement on Monday, just over two years after he took over.