Lenders predict bridging loan spree in 2013 January 1, 2013 A DIFFICULT mortgage market will lead to an explosion in the use of short-term bridging loans, mortgage brokers said in a survey out this morning. Though mortgage lending is set to expand some 8.3 per cent in 2013, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) predictions, the market will remain tight. This tightness will drive [...]
Congestion charge after ten years: It’s time to be bolder February 17, 2013 IT’S exactly a decade since London’s congestion charge was introduced. Its immediate impact was a dramatic fall in traffic volumes, and there are still around 60,000 fewer vehicles entering the central zone every day. But with 23m journeys made on London’s roads each day, congestion is now back to pre-charge levels. Over the next 20 [...]
Crisis in the Eurozone is brewing up security problems for years ahead February 3, 2013 IN HIS speech on Britain’s relationship with the EU, David Cameron reminded us that European politics is still characterised by a competition for influence in pursuit of the national interest. There is, of course, no longer a military dimension to that contest. A common European market and common institutions have weakened the link between economics, [...]
Kingsland Wharves offers waterside living near the City January 24, 2013 After THE success of its one-bedroom apartments, Kingsland Wharves is now entering into the final stages of completing the development by launching a series of two and three bedroom homes. The prestigious new development is comprised of exclusive apartments overlooking the banks of the historic Kingsland Basin and is already going down well with City [...]
Empty offices look bleak now but are also a sign of optimism January 24, 2013 THE City is changing, and not just because of the skyscrapers about to reinvent its skyline. The firms that are taking office space are changing as well. The trend for insurers to cluster in EC3 around the Lloyd’s building is well-established. Equally striking has been the lack of demand in Cannon Place and the Walbrook, [...]
Crack down on the high cost of living or growth suffers January 22, 2013 THE emergence of competitive economies in the East is a well-known phenomenon. But less understood is the challenge this poses to the West. First, the rising East will squeeze traditional markets (albeit while creating new ones). Secondly, it will turn the terms of trade for primary products against us. We are not powerless, however. Emerging [...]
Jubilee attracts two million to West End June 6, 2012 SOME two million visitors flocked to the West End over the bank holiday weekend, as the capital went into full swing celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Theatres, hotels, restaurants and retailers are together expected to have made more than £120m over the four-day weekend, according to the New West End company, which represents 600 firms [...]
Property firm Hammerson hires Sainsbury’s head as chairman January 14, 2013 DAVID Tyler, the chairman of Sainsbury’s, is to take on another FTSE 100 role, after it was announced yesterday he will replace John Nelson as chairman of property giant Hammerson. Tyler, who has also been a non-executive director at luxury group Burberry for more than a decade, will join the board with immediate effect on [...]
I’d have gone further, but new rules are a good start February 7, 2013 THIS is something we Premier League clubs have talked about for years and there hasn’t been the appetite. But in the last couple of years there has been a shift of views – probably prompted by the Portsmouth situation, which shook everybody – and now fortunately we’ve agreed to put in some protocols that I [...]
Clapham goes Overground December 9, 2012 THE LATEST extension to the Overground opened yesterday, completing an orbital rail route around suburban stations but marking the end of some direct services into central London. The extension from Surrey Quays in the south east to Clapham Junction in the south west creates the capital’s first orbital railway in 128 years. But the opening [...]