House prices at the top end of the London market are down 5.4 per cent November 18, 2016 House prices at the top end of the market are faltering due to stamp duty reforms – and estate agents are calling for the government to reverse the trend for the sake of the wider property market. Prices in the top quarter of the London market dropped 5.4 per cent between the second quarter of [...]
New Builds: On the market this week from a Roman site in the City to a £400m piazza in Islington November 21, 2016 Landmark Place, City of London From £810,000 A rare chance to live in the City of London has arisen with the opening of a new show apartment. The three bedroom duplex was unveiled by Barratt London on the 23rd floor of its Aldgate Place development last week. The new homes will be on Water Lane, [...]
Lost for words: The indie bookshop has weathered many storms, from the rise of Amazon to rising rents. But its future has never looked so perilous September 7, 2017 Prospero’s Books stood on Crouch End Broadway for 10 years. I remember it, though not well. The bookshops of my childhood memories are all vaguely similar – they were places where I’d be both happy and bored. To hear locals tell it, there wasn’t any sign that Prospero’s was in trouble. It seemed to plod [...]
Houses priced below £100,000 are officially extinct in London October 17, 2016 Houses priced below £100,000 are now an extinct species in London. According to research by Jackson-Stops and Staff, all London homes worth less than £120,000 will disappear this year, with properties worth less than £150,000 set to vanish by 2020. Read more: This is how sterling's unstoppable slide will affect UK house prices Ninety-three per [...]
Rio Tinto confirms it is being investigated in US over accounts writedown December 1, 2016 Rio Tinto confirmed this morning that it is the subject of a long-running US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe. The investigation, which started in April 2013, relates to a $3bn (£2.4bn) impairment charge lodged in its 2012 accounts in respect of Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique. Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique housed assets the company picked up when it took [...]
Should we rule out a trade war between China and the US? January 10, 2017 Andy Rothman, investment strategist at Matthews Asia, says Yes. Donald Trump is very unlikely to implement the 45 per cent across-the-board tariff on imports from China that he proposed in an interview last year. US law permits the President to make only an emergency declaration of 15 per cent tariffs for up to five months, and [...]
Interiors: Embark on a ‘tipples and trees’ tour to get festive inspiration from London’s hotels and restaurants December 5, 2016 Now the merry month of December is upon us it’s time to fire up the festive spirit and prepare to entertain descending hordes of relatives. But what to do with them? A Christmas-themed afternoon tea or a festive cocktail at one of London’s landmark venues is a surefire way to impress. This time of year, [...]
Institutional West End property sales sizzle to record high as investors capitalise on weaker pound and foreign interest December 5, 2016 Institutional sales of commercial property in the West End have topped £2.7bn in the year-to-date, the highest volume ever recorded, according to estate agent Savills. Standard Life, Aberdeen Asset Management, DTZ Investors, TH Real Estate, Blackrock and Aviva have each sold more than £100m of assets since January, with vendor institutions making up 55 per [...]
Watch news: Omega’s new hashtag-inspired timepiece and a Tudor for lefties February 6, 2017 The hashtag that Omega Built The story could well be titled “Swiss watch brand in social-media savvy shocker”. Because Omega has gone and launched a watch based on an Instagram hashtag. Since 2012, thanks to Fratello Watches founder Robert-Jan Broer, fans of Omega’s Speedmaster chronograph (NASA’s preferred wristwatch, no less) have been sharing pictures of [...]
Soho House has unveiled an online interiors business – we catch up with Jayne Demuro, the brains behind the project November 23, 2016 If you’re one of the 30,000 people currently on a waiting list for membership of Soho House, there may be an easier way to bask in the studied cool of its private members’ clubs. The worldwide hospitality brand launched an online retail business this summer that aims to ‘bring the House home’. Your home, specifically. [...]