London house prices: Ex-council flat in Covent Garden sold for record-beating £1.2m August 14, 2015 A small two-bedroom flat near London’s Covent Garden has become one of the most expensive council flats ever sold after going under the hammer for £1.2m. Property agent Barnard Marcus said the flat, which is part of Siddons Court, an ex-council mansion block on Tavistock Street, has been snapped up for £1.21m after just six [...]
Celebrity rehab center The Priory in talks with banks over London flotation September 18, 2015 Priory Group, the mental care homes provider famous for its celebrity clientele, has moved closer to realising plans for a public listing after kicking off a search for bankers to work on the float. The company, which runs a chain of rehabilitation clinics, best known for treating pop stars such as Robbie Williams, is understood [...]
City Moves for 17 September 2015 | Who’s switching jobs September 16, 2015 STANHOPE CAPITAL The investment office has appointed Bernard Kalfon as partner to develop its private and institutional client base outside the UK. He has over 20 years’ experience and has held roles at Société Générale Asset Management, Salomon Brothers-Citibank, and Bear Sterns. In 2009, he co-founded Nexar Capital Group. INVESTEC PRIVATE OFFICE Rafe Garvin has [...]
London house prices: Not another brick in the wall? London has a 24 million brick shortage August 19, 2015 London is more than just one brick short of a full load. A new study reckons the capital has a 24 million brick shortfall if it's to meet the demand for new homes. As the population of the UK's capital swells to nine million by 2021, the Linton Group claims London will need 66,000 [...]
Insurance deal frenzy shows no signs of stopping as Phoenix considers offer for Cinven subsidiary September 17, 2015 Insurer Phoenix Group today confirmed it’s in talks about a possible takeover of Cinven-owned Guardian Financial Services. “Phoenix has been evaluating Guardian Financial Services as part of an on-going sale process for the Guardian Financial Services business,” it said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today. “Discussions remain on a non-exclusive basis. There [...]
Cost of London office space set to soar amid supply shortages July 22, 2015 Office space is in short supply, putting upward pressure on prices, a new survey of property surveyors reveals today. In central London, 60 per cent more surveyors are seeing a rise rather than fall in demand across all areas, the research undertaken by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said. As a [...]
Golden touch: Global Group founder Johnny Hon talks Kung Fu Panda, the Northern Powerhouse, Glenn Close and human rights November 15, 2015 Did you sell sweets to all your classmates? I ask Johnny Hon, interjecting as he talks about his childhood. “Yes, I did actually,” he chuckles, before moving back to explaining how he never took money from his parents after the age of 18, and ended up selling second-hand cars to fund his education. “They taught [...]
Grand Designs’ Kevin McCloud talks Britain’s House of the Year 2015 November 27, 2015 It is a curious paradox that, while so many of us want to own our own homes, so few get to build one. Finances and the planning system seem to conspire, with the result that personalisation of where we live is frequently restricted to some amateur interior design. But there is a way to get [...]
August Bank Holiday 2015 blues for Barclays, RBS and NatWest staff as local branches stay open August 27, 2015 In these modern times of accessibility and 24-hour contact, is the Bank Holiday becoming part of Britain’s history more than a cultural event? Three lenders were excited to announce the desecration of the sacred so-called bank holiday weekend by opening branches across the country. While execs and chairs head off to their homes in the [...]
Bethnal Green bomb: Second World War device “safely removed” by army, evacuated residents will “soon” be allowed to return August 11, 2015 Update: Military personnel have safely removed an unexploded Second World War bomb from the area this afternoon. The 500lb device was found by contractors working on a building site on Temple Street on Monday afternoon, prompting emergency services to put a 150 metre safety cordon in place. Around 150 people were evacuated and will [...]