Heathrow or Gatwick runway expansion? Business groups slam delay over airports action June 10, 2015 Politicians must act quickly to implement the recommendations of the Airports Commission or risk being accused of dithering, business groups said yesterday, hitting out at reports that it could be early 2016 before any government action is taken. The commission, overseen by ex-City watchdog Sir Howard Davies, has been looking into the state of [...]
London house prices: More than 35,000 high-end homes planned in next decade – just as the prime property market starts to falter April 11, 2016 London's prime residential market is already suffering from the early signs of a slowdown but a flood of new properties is coming in the next decade that could exacerbate it further. A new report out today suggests there are 35,000 prime London homes due for construction in the next 10 years – a 40 per [...]
General Election 2015: Tory election victory triggers London luxury property market surge as mansion tax fears dissolve May 10, 2015 In the hours after it became clear that the Tories had won a majority government at the general election, London estate agents reported a surge in luxury property sales as buyers' fears over Labour's proposed mansion tax were allayed. Over £100m worth of top-end central London property was sold on a frenzied Friday as estate [...]
Sport Comment: Future looks uncertain in Wild West of football agents April 9, 2015 IT WAS an astonishing Easter weekend of football, full of action and mouth-watering goals of the highest class. But after being persuaded by someone other than Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to spill his guts to the BBC, young forward Raheem Sterling was not one of those heroes. I am sure he will reflect on that [...]
Self-styled bank sheriff Ben Lawksy hangs up his badge May 21, 2015 Banks in the UK and across Europe will be breathing a little easier next month after New York’s top financial crime cop Ben Lawsky, who mounted an aggressive campaign against some of the world’s biggest institutions, exits his role policing financial firms operating in the Big Apple to take up a West Coast teaching job. [...]
Banks forced to compete hard for current accounts April 22, 2015 Britons have been shaken out of their traditional apathy towards their banks, as the switching scheme has successfully encouraged them to shop around, new data shows today. The seven-day switching service was used by 1.14m people to change current accounts, the Payments Council said, up seven per cent on the year. And the proportion who [...]
Wealthy Russians push up rents by paying annual cost upfront March 30, 2015 WEALTHY tenants from Russia, Ukraine, Nigeria and China are pushing up high-end rents in the capital by paying for an entire year of tenancy upfront, a new study has suggested. Upmarket lettings agency EJ Harris said the number of wealthy foreign investors paying annual rents upfront had doubled in the past year, from one in [...]
The biggest story since the end of the Cold War: China’s new anti-West axis June 2, 2014 IN THE words of the great stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, “The object of life is not to be in the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” By this definition, the greater number of foreign policy analysts ought to be speedily locked up, as they have so underrated the seismic [...]
The biggest story since the end of the Cold War: China’s new anti-West axis June 1, 2014 IN THE words of the great stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, “The object of life is not to be in the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” By this definition, the greater number of foreign policy analysts ought to be speedily locked up, as they have so underrated the seismic [...]
Serviced offices march on London as smaller firms embrace temporary workspaces May 12, 2015 The number of landlords providing temporary workspace in London has boomed over the past decade, fuelled by small-to medium-sized businesses avoiding burdensome leases in favour of more flexible and creative offices. The serviced office market has grown by 67 per cent over the last 10 years and now comprises of five million square feet across [...]