New builds: Homes on the market in London this week, from a former Bermondsey pub to a Deptford tower with City views October 4, 2019 196 Southwark Park Road, Bermondsey From £450,000 for a one-bed Bermondsey is often ranked as one of London’s best places to live thanks to its food, drink and culture scenes, transport connections and relative affordability. If you want a piece of the action, Orchard Homes Group has just launched eight apartments and two houses at [...]
Exclusive: Barclays installs Big Brother-style spyware on employees’ computers February 19, 2020 Barclays has been criticised by HR experts and privacy campaigners after the bank installed “Big Brother” employee monitoring software in its London headquarters. Introduced as a pilot last week, the technology monitors Barclays workers’ activity on their computers, and in some instances admonishes staff in daily updates to them if they are not deemed to [...]
Why cash-rich renters are on the rise October 11, 2019 According to conventional British wisdom, renting is something you do when you can’t afford to buy a house. While that’s still true of the majority of London renters, there is another group – and they’re growing. Some are international executives coming here to work for a year or two. There are wealthy overseas students, too, [...]
Barclays forgot about the humans in HR February 21, 2020 Barely a day goes by without a think tank, employers’ group or minister talking about the need to improve the productivity or British business, and while this generally conjures up images of factory floors it’s reassuring to know that investment banks are also searching for elusive gains. How else to explain the decision by Barclays [...]
Coronavirus: How safe is the post-lockdown commute to work? August 4, 2020 After more than four months of lockdown Londoners are beginning to return to the office as public transport operators take measures to make the once-daily commute as safe as possible from coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave employers “more discretion” from 1 August to bring back their staff if it was safe to do so. [...]
Square Mile lockdown: City firms plot staff’s return to work May 14, 2020 City banks and professional services firms are drawing up plans to send staff back to the office as the UK begins to ease its coronavirus lockdown. Earlier this week Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that people who can work from home should continue to do so, as he laid out guidance to make workplaces “Covid-secure”. [...]
Focus on St John’s Wood: Super-prime rentals are hot property in this US enclave July 19, 2019 With its secluded streets, proximity to the West End and legendary status in the worlds of both sport and music as the home of Lord’s and Abbey Road, St John’s Wood has long been a desirable address. PG Wodehouse made it the home of Bertie Wooster’s best pal, aristocrat Bingo Little, in his Jeeves series; [...]
Extinction Rebellion protests: Protesters glue themselves to HM Treasury in day of action targeting finance sector April 25, 2019 Environmental protesters have glued themselves to the HM Treasury building as part of a day of action targeting the financial industry. More than 300 Extinction Rebellion activists staged protests across the Square Mile and Canary Wharf as they shifted their focus from London landmarks to the financial sector. Read more: 26 arrested as climate change [...]
Extinction Rebellion protest: Climate change protesters block Vauxhall Bridge on fourth day of action April 18, 2019 Climate change protesters have blocked Vauxhall Bridge on the fourth day of action in central London this week. Read more: London shutdown goes on in fourth day of climate change protests Transport for London (TfL) confirmed that demonstrators were "intermittently" blocking the road, and drivers should expect delays. A bit reminiscent of 28 days later…. Vauxhall Bridge [...]
Paul Drechsler pledges to use Brexit as opportunity for business as he swaps CBI for London First May 25, 2018 The Confederation of British Industry president Paul Drechsler is to become chairman of lobby group London First, pledging to use Brexit as an opportunity to improve the environment for the capital’s businesses and residents. Drechsler will take on the reins on 1 July, after his three-year term at the CBI concludes. He is taking over [...]