Istanbul has rekindled Turkey’s fight against religious autocracy June 26, 2019 Istanbul is one of the most famous cities in the world, on account of a storied history encompassing myriad great events. As Byzantium, it was first the fortress of the eastern Roman Empire and then the bastion of Orthodox Christianity. After its fall to the Turks in 1453, the newly-minted Constantinople became the capital of [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond pledges billions to build in the 2017 Autumn Budget but wonks warn over future of UK’s stagnant economy November 23, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond yesterday promised to turn Britain into a prosperous nation of homeowners, yet was rocked by a sweeping set of downgrades to the UK’s future growth prospects. Hammond used the Autumn Budget to abolish stamp duty for thousands of first-time buyers, and reveal £15.3bn of new funding to encourage housebuilding. “As we invest [...]
Forget ditching the Lifetime Isa – it should be evolved instead August 1, 2018 Last week, the Treasury Committee suggested that the year-old Lifetime Isa (Lisa) be killed off. This news came hot on the heels of rumours that the pensions dashboard might get the boot, just months before it was expected to go live. This government seems to have a knack for driving in reverse. And by [...]
Crest Nicholson reports profit slump on Brexit uncertainty June 11, 2019 Crest Nicholson reported a fall in profits this morning as Brexit uncertainty kept house prices flat across the south of England. The figures Revenue was £501.9m, up seven per cent on half-year 2018 while profit before tax fell 11 per cent to 64.4m. Read more: Intu appoints ex-Crest Nicholson exec as finance chief The company [...]
Tradeweb’s CEO on tech, China, and modernising bond markets July 24, 2019 While researching Lee Olesky, the co-founder and chief executive of the fixed-income market platform Tradeweb, I came across an article comparing him to Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos. Both started their companies in the nineties. Both set out to use the internet and ecommerce to disrupt their respective industries at a time when the idea of [...]
Property prices in Croydon, who is buy and more May 25, 2018 There was a time when Croydon was famous for three things; Kate Moss, trams and Mark and Jez’s dingy flat in Peep Show. Thankfully, its reputation – and its housing stock – have improved since then and it’s now notable for a whole host of other reasons. “In recent years, Croydon has seen a reversal [...]
Stevenage FC launch share offering as they seek £1.2m boost to promotion ambitions June 3, 2019 For clubs scrambling to scale the ultra-competitive English football pyramid it can pay to go against the grain. Ambitious Stevenage FC are doing just that with an innovative equity offering designed to give them a leg up into League One and, later, the Championship. Chairman and majority owner Phil Wallace hopes to raise £1.2m by [...]
Positive thinking on negative equity: What to do if your home is worth less than your mortgage July 4, 2018 Less than a year ago, it was all talk of bubbles in the UK housing market. But we all know that what goes up must come down, and the first signs that the market was losing steam came at the start of this year. The market continues to look skittish, with the most recent figures [...]
How a tea estate is helping to conserve Rwanda’s rich biodiversity September 27, 2019 There are only two things that most people think about when they hear “Rwanda”: the country’s unfathomable genocide, the 25th anniversary of which is in 2019; and, to a lesser extent, the critically endangered mountain gorilla. But Rwanda is unrecognisable from how it was in the mid 1990s, and although the gorilla population is steadily [...]
Office Space: Inside the opulent Mayfair base of luxury property developer Clivedale November 1, 2019 Real estate firms’ offices tend to fit into one of two moulds: a converted Mayfair townhouse, an old-fashioned relic left over from the days where Hanover Square was overrun with estate agents in braces and pinstripe suits; or a clinical, corporate space interchangeable with that of any other property company, law firm or accountant. Super-prime [...]