I’ve done a bit of digging as I don’t want to face further accusations of “thoughtless” posting :-). It seems jackdaw has hit the right nail.
This question largely hinges on advertising. I’ve cribbed this from Equality Commision’s website:
“Placing or publishing a discriminatory advert is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 (‘the Act’). The Act protects individuals from discrimination because of sex, race, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, religion and belief, sexual orientation and age (‘protected characteristics’).
The Act applies to all publishers and advertisers and covers employment and the provision of goods, facilities and services. It also applies to: employment agencies and people who advertise for contract workers; vocational training services; trade unions; partnerships; education providers; the letting and selling of land or property; and service providers such as pubs, clubs and shops.”
Note that this requirement is made of those publishing advertisements and it makes no distinction between private sellers and trade/business sellers. So it seems that so long as the advert is not discriminatory the seller can be as discriminatory as he likes. Though once again, I’m not sure how he would get on if he entertained 20 potential buyers and turned away 19 of them because of their racial characteristics. I suppose he would be investigated for a “hate crime”.
BTW, I would have bet my boots that this question would degenerate into a slanging match as soon as I saw Eddie’s “Brexit” post. It seems few questions can conclude now without such treatment. Shame.