International visitors to the UK found great value in 2012 as average hotel prices across the country fell by 4% to just £100 a night, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI) which compares prices paid for hotel rooms globally in 2012 and 2011.

Travellers from 34 of the 39 countries included in the Hotels.com report paid less for their hotel rooms last year than the previous twelve months.

JCB, the British digger manufacturer, has bucked the trend that has seen a dramatic decline in the construction market worldwide, by recording the highest profits in its 67-year history, writes David Sapsted for Re:locate.

The family-owned company, which opened a new factory in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last year and will begin construction of a new plant in Jaipur, India, in 2014, saw earnings rise to £365 million last year on turnover of £2.7 billion. 

Six of the nine English regions recorded increases in business activity in March – the fifth month of expansion in succession, according to a report published on Monday, writes David Sapsted.

The report, from Lloyds TSB Regional Purchasing Managers' Index, showed that the fastest rates of expansion were in London and Yorkshire & Humber, with both regions registering their best performances since last summer.

Virgin Media has announced that it is creating 400 jobs across the UK to meet increasing demand for TV and broadband services.

A further 230 staff will be recruited in Swansea, adding to the existing 900 workers in customer service and technical support.

Chinese, Malaysian and other Far Eastern investors are driving demand for new-build investment properties in the UK's regional cities, according to buy-to-let specialist Assetz, drawn by strong yields and the opportunity to take advantage of a weak sterling.

The property market in Beijing, Shanghai and other leading Chinese cities has suffered in recent years, with oversupply of property driving rents down with gross yields of just 3%, says Assetz.

The second phase of the HS2 high-speed rail network has been announced by the government.

The details revealed the preferred route running northwards from Birmingham will have five stops: Manchester; Manchester Airport; Toton near Nottingham; Sheffield; and Leeds.

Boutique financial consultancies are now the most prominent new occupier of London offices, according to commercial property agency DeVono Property.

Data from DeVono Property, which represents commercial tenants looking for office space to rent and purchase, reveals boutique financial consultancies are now the most prominent office occupiers in numbers and reach over the past six months. 

Uncertainty over government policy could lead to investors and contractors abandoning infrastructure projects in the UK in favour of international alternatives, Britain’s spending watchdog warns in a report on Wednesday.

The National Audit Office (NAO) says in its review of infrastructure planning that, of the £310 billion the government expects to be spent on energy, digital communications, rail, roads, water, waste and flood defences by 2015, 64% will come from private sources.

Honda, the Japanese car manufacturer, is to cut almost a quarter of its 3,500-strong workforce at its UK factory because of weakening demand across Europe, David Sapsted reports for Re:locate.

The company told workers on Friday that 800 jobs would go over the coming months at its plant in Swindon, Wiltshire, which makes Civic, Jazz and CR-V models. Only a year ago, Honda added 500 to the factory’s workforce in anticipation of a surge in demand that has not materialised.

The government has announced it will expand its start-up loans scheme, which offers £2,500 in loans to help young entrepreneurs start businesses.

The scheme was initially targeted towards those aged 18 to 24, but will now be available to anyone up to the age of 30.