One of the highest profile and longest running house price indices, The Halifax, has been sold by Lloyds Bank to financial data company Markit - but it's going to be business as usual with no change to the name or the analysis, at least for now.
The Halifax index is thought to be the UK's oldest monthly house price monitor with data covering the whole country going back to January 1983.
Markit, a NASDAQ-quoted US data firm which currently works on some UK house price analysis with Knight Frank, is not revealing how much it paid for the index or the brand, nor whether the compilers of the index will change.
However, the methodology and brand name will not change in the short termm and it is believed it will still provide information for a number of private clients as well as the media.
The original purpose of it and what it is today are two very different things, a Lloyds spokeswoman says. It is not really a core part of our business, and it makes sense for someone like Markit to administer it.
Markit describes itself this way, as: a leading global diversified provider of financial information services. We provide products that enhance transparency, reduce risk and improve operational efficiency. Our customers include banks, hedge funds, asset managers, central banks, regulators, auditors, fund administrators and insurance companies. Founded in 2003, we employ over 3,000 people in 10 countries.
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