How Brexit could help mortgage prisoners break free November 22, 2018 In the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, lenders were dishing out large mortgages and asking for tiny deposits in return. Property values were rapidly outpacing wage growth, and buyers were being allowed to borrow eight times their annual salary. For many homeowners, the problems started after the crash when the regulators forced [...]
Vue Entertainment to postpone IPO after major Canadian shareholder considers selling stake June 14, 2018 The UK's largest cinema chain, Vue Entertainment, may postpone its plans for a stock market float after news that one of its biggest shareholders is considering selling its stake in the company. According to Sky News, which first reported the reshuffle, Canadian company Alberta Investment Management Corporation (Aimco) is seeking a buyer for its ts [...]
London startups take the lead in Tech Nation’s fourth Upscale accelerator January 25, 2019 City startups have landed more than two thirds of the places available on Tech Nation’s fourth Upscale acceleration programme, beating out over 100 applicants. The digital entrepreneur network, which also runs a fintech accelerator backed by the Treasury, has selected 30 startups as “ones to watch” in 2019. The fast-growing tech firms will enter the programme’s [...]
Editor’s Notes: The joy of Scan-dining, coming down to earth and never mind the Banksys October 12, 2018 The City’s restaurant scene has changed enormously even in the last few years. There’s more life in the Square Mile at weekends and more choice for City lunches than ever before. These are exciting times. A good way to get a sense of this is to embark, as I did yesterday, on a lunch safari. [...]
UK house prices: Demand for homes drops due to uncertainty around the General Election May 30, 2017 The demand for homes stuttered in April due to uncertainty around the General Election, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). The number of house-hunters registered per estate agent branch fell in April, the property body found. There were 381 house hunters per branch in April compared to 397 in March and close [...]
Shutterstock CEO Jon Oringer on putting profit first and selling his billionth image | City A.M. April 9, 2018 Many moons ago, there was a game called GoogleWhack. The objective was to return only one hit from a Google search query consisting of just two words. Naturally, with billions of pages indexed, it’s quite tough, and today, probably impossible. I propose a new, but similar, game using Shutterstock. Type in any two words, and [...]
Isa guide 2016: What first-time buyers need to know about the Lifetime Isa and the Personal Savings Allowance March 31, 2016 It only seems like yesterday that George Osborne was unveiling his Help to Buy Isa to let more aspiring homeowners get a foot on the property ladder. But the announcement of the Lifetime Isa in this year's Budget, and the introduction of the Personal Savings Allowance – which comes into effect on 6 April – is about to complicate [...]
House prices: London’s first time buyers will need £106,000 salary to afford an average home by 2020, warns Shelter April 14, 2016 Londoners looking to buy their first home will need to earn over £100,000 a year by 2020, research by housing and homelessness charity Shelter has found. The study said this was an increase over the quarter on the £80,000 needed for a typical first time buyer’s mortgage today. On top of this, first-time buyers will also need an [...]
Budget 2017: This is what the Budget had to say about UK house prices March 8, 2017 UK house price growth will be cut by almost half by 2018, according to predictions from the Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR). The OBR has released its predictions for house price growth along with chancellor Philip Hammond's first (and last) Budget today, and it seems house price rises will be tempered over the next five [...]
The house Gianni built: A look back on the history of Versace as it settles into life as a $2bn part of Michael Kors November 5, 2018 In the window of Versace’s Sloane Street boutique there's a black hoodie. On the left shoulder, right side, and both elbows are brightly coloured silk patches featuring Grecian and Etruscan motifs. Surrounding these, and looping around the collar and hood, are thick, furry, brown trims, similar to ones that hang from my grandmother’s sofa. It [...]