Remortgage lending figures surge in September over prospect of rate hike October 26, 2015 The number of people remortgaging their properties jumped in September as homeowners rushed to secure record-low rates ahead of a potential interest rate hike next year. The latest figures from property services group LMS reveal that remortgage loans reached 28,686 last month, up 12 per cent from 25,600 in August. This is also a four per cent [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Sadiq Khan has danced into the lead over Zac Goldsmith for London mayor, but how important will voter turnout be on 5 May? February 9, 2016 In three months’ time London will have a new mayor, ending the eight year era of Boris. Sadiq Khan may well be in the box seat with both pollsters and bookmakers at present, but the Tooting MP has a delicate dance to perform until voters head to their local polling places on 5 May. Khan’s [...]
Discounters Aldi and Lidl pick up the space race left by Big Four supermarkets November 15, 2015 The big four supermarkets may have called an end to the space race. But for Aldi and Lidl the race has just begun, after new figures show the discounters have submitted plans for nearly five times as many stores. The latest data from construction data firm ABI Barbour shows that Aldi has submitted 93 planning [...]
Heathrow decision delayed: Government confirms deadline has been extended until next summer December 10, 2015 The government has confirmed that it will delay making a decision on whether to expand Heathrow Airport until at least next summer. In an announcement that sparked outrage among business groups, the government said that it "accepted the case for airport expansion in the south-east and the Airports Commission’s shortlist of options for expansion" but "more work [...]
Do plunging stocks predict global meltdown? Some believe a world recession is coming as oil prices are low, deflation creeps out of China and GDP growth flounders February 1, 2016 The dust has barely settled on the global financial crisis. The clean-up job is still ongoing, with interest rates at or just above emergency levels and tougher financial regulation being implemented. Yet some say there is a new crisis brewing. Equity markets around the world have plummeted this year, reflecting a catalogue of risks. There’s geopolitics [...]
Three Little Birds in Brixton Jamaican restaurant review and the Shuang Shuang Chinese hot pot conveyor belt disaster February 2, 2016 Last time I didn’t like a restaurant, someone got so cross they threatened to report me to the Independent Press Standards Organisation for the sheer gall of having an opinion, which, in this case, happened to be that their restaurant was rubbish. So in the interests of not making someone else cross, I shouldn’t write [...]
The top four is up grabs – it’s time for Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to loosen the transfer shackles for Mauricio Pochettino in January window December 2, 2015 If there’s one thing Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham has demonstrated, it’s that team-building in the Premier League doesn’t start and end with the transfer window. Spurs’ impressive start to the season has been based not on the purchase of any marquee summer signings but instead on a foundation of a young squad willing to [...]
Hamleys poised to be sold to a relative of House of Fraser’s Chinese billionaire owner October 18, 2015 A Chinese investor is said to be closing in on a deal to buy the UK’s most famous toy store Hamleys in the coming weeks. Ludendo, the French family-owned toy group, is in advanced talks to sell the chain to a Hong Kong company run by a relative of Yuan Yafei, the billionaire owner House [...]
Spectre: No slowing down for the new James Bond movies’s marketing bandwagon October 28, 2015 So the new Bond film has been out for a few days now, but there’s no slowing down for the enthusiasm of London’s PRs and small businesses. Venues and companies big and small are attempting to cash in on Bond-mania while some poor souls in the City have yet to see the film. The good people [...]
Tottenham and Chelsea have greatest need to spend in January, Arsenal can sit tight, and Crystal Palace and West Ham are in a good position to grab a bargain January 5, 2016 City A.M.’s resident columnist on how each London club has fared this season and how, if at all, they should buy this month ARSENAL: Nothing needed The Gunners will be delighted to be top of the Premier League and still in the Champions League, albeit having targeted as much. Despite injuries they’ve been consistent and [...]