Focus on Chiswick: Why are families flocking to west London? November 13, 2014 Many people seem to think that, between oligarchs buying up prime central London and renters occupying the trendy suburbs, the capital is becoming a place of transition. But there’s one place that’s defying that trend: Chiswick. This ancient country retreat, which was once part of Middlesex, is every inch the traditional London village. [...]
The Shanghai’s the limit in this city that never stops March 29, 2015 Londoners are obsessed with christening skyscrapers. From the Walkie Talkie to the Cheesegrater, new buildings are barely granted planning permission before they are slapped with a nickname, reducing years of meticulous planning to a childish slogan. If the residents of Shanghai had a similar habit, they’d have little time to do anything else. The skyline [...]
How much is Jay-Z worth? Rapper adds luxury champagne brand Armand de Brignac to personal empire with purchase from Sovereign Brands November 6, 2014 It's been six years since Jay Z very openly boycotted Cristal, pulling it from his chain of bars and even rapping about how the champagne brand was "rascist". In the same song, On To The Next One, he referenced his new favourite tipple – the gold bottle brand Ace of Spades. He's just made [...]
Lloyd’s sells €1.1bn of bad bank to Lone Star October 15, 2014 Lloyds has jettisoned €1.1bn (£883m) of bad bank. Lloyds Banking Group, which is partly owned by the UK government, has sold its Irish residential home loans to Lone Star, a US private equity group. Lloyds's Irish operation was heavily loss-making and, according to the FT, had £13.4bn of Irish loans left in its [...]
Media company Gorkana sold to Cision for £200m October 22, 2014 AMERICAN media group Cision yesterday snapped up British PR data company Gorkana in a deal estimated to be worth £200m. Exponent Private Equity sold the company, after building it up from Durrants, Metrica and Gorkana, merging the three into a combined group. Gorkana was founded in 2005 by former Brunswick PRs Michael Webster and Alex [...]
Bank of England wants savers’ first £1m deposit to be protected October 6, 2014 Deposits of up to £1m should be guaranteed under the government-backed scheme to reassure savers their money is safe, the Bank of England proposed yesterday. Currently, the first £85,000 with any bank or building society is protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. It was extended to that level during the financial crisis, as worries over the [...]
London property: 12ft wide house that hasn’t even been built yet goes on sale for £500,000 September 9, 2014 After last week's 7ft house (a snip at £235,000) comes a new competitor for the title of "most number of rooms squeezed into smallest amount of space" – this 12ft wide house in South London. It isn't due for completion until the beginning of next year, but that hasn't stopped its developers from putting it up [...]
Paperchase sent greetings from potential buyers October 12, 2014 HIGH street stationery chain Paperchase has brought in advisers to help with a potential £150m sale of the business after receiving approaches from several suitors. Paperchase is owned by private equity firm Primary Capital, which acquired the business four years ago in a management buyout from the now defunct US book chain Borders. The retailer [...]
Swiss voters reject plans to hoard gold, curb immigration and scrap rich expats’ tax benefits November 30, 2014 Swiss voters have rejected proposals requiring the central bank to to hoard huge amounts of gold, in a move that will help ensure the country's economic stability. It failed to secure the so-called "cantonal majority" — which is a yes vote from most of the country's "cantons" or states — needed to pass, according to [...]
175 years young November 6, 2014 Just what is it about Patek Philippe that keeps this brand at the top? Robin Swithinbank explores the unflagging appeal of Geneva’s favourite son You don’t have to be an avid consumer of luxury watches to have gathered there’s much ado about Patek Philippe at the moment. The reason is we’re in the great Genevan [...]