New homes on sale this weekend at one of the tallest residential towers in Europe and a historic mansion in Hampstead September 30, 2016 South Quay Plaza, Canary Wharf From £695,000 The arrival of Crossrail trains at the latticed Foster + Partner-designed train station in Canary Wharf will be a “gamechanger” for the area, according to Berkeley Homes. That’s why the developer has chosen the business hub– and the station’s Sterling Prize winning architects – to create its tallest [...]
Cronut craze: I queued for two hours for a £4 pastry and this is what I learned September 30, 2016 In 2013, Dominique Ansel’s New York bakery started selling a croissant-doughnut hybrid, which he called the Cronut. Nine days later, he’d registered the pastry’s name and crowds of people were queueing around the block to try the odd new delicacy. Now the super-baker has brought his brand, and his Cronuts, to London. The store opened [...]
London swells the taxman’s coffers by paying almost half the country’s levy on home purchases September 30, 2016 The government collected £3.4bn of stamp duty from the London's homebuyers according to statistics released today. The number represented 46 per cent of the total amount of stamp duty paid in the UK over the last year. And together with the rest of the south-east, together the two areas accounted for more than two-thirds of the [...]
What will your bank be called after RBS restructures? September 30, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) customers could see the name of their bank change, when the lender restructures to comply with UK ring-fencing regulations. RBS today set out its plans for the reshuffle – here's what the group is moving, and what the new entities will be called. RBS becomes Adam & Company… but not [...]
Ofgem investigates ‘E’ energy supplier for potentially misleading customers September 30, 2016 Ofgem is investigating gas and electricity supplier E for potentially misleading its customers. The regulator said today that the investigation was triggered by concerns over the supplier's approach to attracting new customers. Companies are required to provide complete and accurate information to customers who are switching to a new tariff or energy supplier. The BBC reported [...]
Ovo Energy makes first profit as smart meter push pays off September 30, 2016 Independent energy supplier Ovo made a pre-tax profit for the first time in its seven-year history, helped by improved customer tenure and as "being a first mover with smart meters paid off". The company said today that its pre-tax profit hit £30.4m in the six months to 30 June, up from a loss of £3.6m a year earlier. [...]
Rosetta spacecraft makes successful crash landing September 30, 2016 The Rosetta probe, sent into space to collect data about a comet, has completed its 12-year mission with a crash-landing. The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the spacecraft in 2004 and sent it to explore the features of the catchily-titled Comet 67P. After collecting reams of data and sending its sister landing probe, Philae, down to [...]
Sainsbury’s hires former Boots boss as retail and operations director September 30, 2016 Supermarket Sainsbury's has hired a veteran of the UK retail sector as its new retail and operations director. The company has appointed former Boots managing director Simon Roberts to the role. Roberts was most recently executive vice president of pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance and president of Boots in the UK & Ireland. Prior to that, [...]
Brighton Pier waves losses goodbye as former Pizza Express chairman right-sizes operations September 30, 2016 Brighton Pier is back in the black and said that students had played a pivotal role in its return to profitability. The company revealed that it had sold 664,000 drinks under a "Loyalty Card" system during the last student year. This meant that on the assumption that every student moseyed down to the seaside for a pint, each one had consumed an [...]