Average UK house price rises to record £299,331, says Halifax

UK house prices rose for a third consecutive month in August, pushing the average price of a property to a record high as momentum returns to the market.Prices increased by 0.3% month on month in August – after a 0.4% rise in July and a 0.1% increase in June – pushing the average cost of a UK home to £299,331

Fast fashion’s quick decline: Asos and Boohoo have that post-Covid feeling

Once the feared enemy of the high street and worth more than £5bn, the online fashion retailer Asos has seen its value slump as it faces difficulties that could herald the demise of fast fashion.The London-based seller dropped out of the FTSE 250 with a whimper this week, valued at about £320m.Four years ago Asos, and its fellow online fast fashion purveyor Boohoo, were booming as the high street suffered from Covid pandemic lockdowns, and largely housebound shoppers had cash to spare for slouchy leisurewear.They thought shoppers had been permanently converted to online shopping, and stocked up accordingly, only for Asos to find itself lumbered with a £1bn stock hangover as, post-pandemic, young and old alike once again enjoyed the freedom to try on clothes and stalk the high street.By the end of 2021 Nick Beighton resigned as chief executive with profits headed downwards – and the new boss, José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, has yet to stem the decline

Head of UK’s beleaguered Alan Turing Institute resigns

The chief executive of the UK’s leading artificial intelligence institute is stepping down after a staff revolt and government calls for a strategic overhaul.Jean Innes has led the Alan Turing Institute since 2023, but her position has come under pressure amid widespread discontent within the organisation and a demand from its biggest funder, the UK government, for a change in direction.ATI said the search was already under way for a replacement for Innes, who held senior roles in the civil service and technology industry before her appointment.Government sources pointed to a letter sent by the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, to ATI’s chair in July that demanded strategic change and indicated a need for new leadership.In the letter, Kyle said the institute should switch its focus to defence and national security and urged “careful consideration” on having an appropriate executive team in place for such a move

Quantum computing firm reaches $10bn valuation as investor interest builds

A British quantum computing entrepreneur has doubled the value of his stake in the business he founded to $2bn (£1.5bn), after the company achieved a $10bn valuation in its latest fundraising.Ilyas Khan, 63, is the founder of Quantinuum, a UK-US firm that announced on Thursday it had raised $600m as investor interest builds in the cutting-edge technology.Khan set up Quantinuum’s predecessor company, Cambridge Quantum, in 2014 before it merged with the US-based Honeywell Quantum Solutions in 2021.Khan, a former owner of his home town’s football club Accrington Stanley, is now chief product officer at the business and to date has not sold any shares since founding it more than a decade ago

Geelong beat Brisbane: AFL 2025 second qualifying final – as it happened

Geelong join Collingwood as the preliminary final hosts. Both will be at the MCG. It is the Cats’ 14th preliminary final in 19 seasons and some might argue it is time to give other teams a turn. But those two sides have laid down a marker over the past 27 hours that they are the sides to beat.Prelim hosts are set 🔒#AFLFinals pic

Breakaway R360 league launch dealt blow after World Rugby application withdrawn

Rugby union’s proposed R360 breakaway league has deferred its application for sanctioning by World Rugby until at least next June in a setback for plans to launch next year.The Guardian has learned that an application for official approval that was due to be discussed by the World Rugby Council on 23 September has been withdrawn, raising questions over whether the rebel league will be able to launch next September.Under World Rugby regulations all cross-border competitions must apply to the governing body for sanctioning and satisfy legal requirements regarding player welfare, medical provision, respecting the existing calendar particularly contractually agreed international windows, as well as providing reassurances over anti-doping compliance.The next opportunity for R360 to make a sanctioning application is June next year, so a delay seems inevitable. Even if approval is granted at that point, setting up a 12-team global competition in three months appears unrealistic