West End retailers poised for £2.3bn Christmas and Black Friday 2015 shopping bonanza October 27, 2015 West End retailers are bracing themselves for a £2.3bn shopping bonanza this Christmas, with spending set to reach its highest level since 2007, as higher disposable incomes and lower prices help boost consumer confidence. London’s main shopping streets – Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street – are expecting a 1.2 per cent uplift in sales [...]
Jacksonville Jaguars: London’s unofficial NFL franchise, their plans to put down roots in the capital, and the threat Tottenham Hotspur pose to their British affair September 28, 2016 More than three years have passed since Mohamed Al Fayed, in a fitting coda to his eccentric reign, donned an oversized fake moustache and faced the cameras with Shahid Khan to mark the bewhiskered American sports mogul’s takeover of Fulham Football Club. It marked the second play of Pakistan-born, Florida-based Khan’s incursion into the capital’s [...]
Groundhog Day at the Old Vic review: Tim Minchin’s follow-up to Matilda is a bawdy, hilarious modern-day Dickens tale August 18, 2016 At the opening of Groundhog Day I overheard David Walliams say to writer Tim Minchin: “This better be bloody good.” He was saying what everyone was thinking: there’s an absurd amount of expectation heaped on Minchin’s first musical since 2010’s Matilda, a level of hype perhaps not seen since The Book of Mormon. So it’s just as [...]
New homes on sale in London this weekend: from flats on “Billionaire’s Row” to Regency style mews in Wimbledon June 24, 2016 Buxmead, Hampstead From £6.9m to £17m Though it’s only recently been dubbed “Billionaire’s Row”, Bishops Avenue in north west London has housed media magnates, Saudi Princes and A-List celebrities in its gated mansions for over a century. Criticised in some circles for its empty homes, a rare new build development went on sale last week [...]
Edinburgh should stay the top UK location for commercial property investment outside London post-Brexit August 23, 2016 It’s fair to say we live in interesting times post-Brexit. The only tangible outcome of the United Kingdom’s EU referendum on 23 June has been uncertainty so far. But while many across corporate Britain wait for greater clarity, property deals continue to be made – with investors showing a clear preference for traditionally strong, robust [...]
West End poised for £2.5bn boost from Crossrail October 5, 2015 THE ARRIVAL of Crossrail is set to bring a £2.45bn boost to the West End by 2020 as thousands more visitors pour into central London, new research shows. The New West End Company (NWEC), which represents 600 businesses, said annual turnover for its retailers is predicted to hit £11.25bn just two years after completion of [...]
Investment trust winners of 2016 November 29, 2016 Investment trusts focused on Asia are on course to deliver some of the best returns in 2016, according to data for trust sectors. Investment trusts are an alternative to more commonly held open-ended funds or unit trusts, offering some advantages. This is explained here: investment trust v open-ended funds Here, we look at the [...]
Focus On Harrow: Why this north west London suburb is popular with families and first time buyers June 24, 2016 The north west London suburb of Harrow is all too often synonymous with the prestigious boys’ boarding school with which it shares its name. Certainly, the school has influenced the growth of central Harrow through the centuries; following a big expansion of the school in the 19th century, housing was built for its staff resulting [...]
Bond bad-boy Mads Mikkelsen boozes with brokers at XTB, but are execs worried the loose-tongued actor will give away trade secrets? May 2, 2016 It's well known that London's finance workers have a thing for James Bond. And so it was for fintech trader XTB, which celebrated signing Le Chiffre actor Mads Mikkelsen as its brand ambassador with a star-studded party in the West End last week. Is the fintech firm worried that their new signing will give away trade secrets? Before [...]
Why peers must press for a rethink on HS2 into Euston June 10, 2016 It’s been a rough few weeks for the HS2 project. Within days of winning election to City Hall Sadiq Khan questioned the current plans for HS2's London Terminus. News also leaked that the Cabinet Office, concerned at its exorbitant and escalating cost, is undertaking an urgent review of the whole project. This came after news [...]