Government will let homeowners add two storey extensions with planning reforms to ease housing crisis February 4, 2018 The government has said it will loosen planning rules in a bid to ease the housing crisis, with homeowners being given permission to build upwards. "The answer to building new homes isn’t always an empty plot, or developing on a derelict site," said housing secretary Sajid Javid. Read more: These are the UK's 20 least [...]
Focus On Vauxhall: Donald Trump might not be keen on it, but international investors dig these skyscrapers south of the river February 2, 2018 Vauxhall got dragged through the mud by no less a figure than the President of the United States recently. The US Embassy’s much touted move to the “off location” was supposedly the reason behind Donald Trump’s cancelled visit to the UK, even though the new building has its own moat. Clearly, tech behemoth Apple didn’t [...]
‘Supermarket giants doomed’ – no, just history repeating February 2, 2018 Investors, analysts, journalists or other market commentators often become convinced some scenario or trend definitely will or will not play out. Check back a few years later, however – always anyone bothers – and that certainty may prove unwarranted. Three or four years ago, for example, many were arguing it was ‘game over’ for supermarket [...]
Property of the Week: The former Johnson family home has been done up and is now on the market for £11.25m February 1, 2018 Looking for a home that’s fit for a foreign secretary? This five storey Victorian townhouse on Regent’s Park Road was the childhood home of Boris, Rachel and a whole host of Johnsons, including jungle-botherer and father of the thatched brood, Stanley. 60 Regent's Park Road, Primrose Hill, £11.25m Legend has it that he lived in [...]
Los Angeles claims top spot in Schroders Global Cities 30 index for the second time February 1, 2018 Los Angeles has been named as the top global city for the second time in the Schroders Global Cities 30 index. California’s largest city narrowly beat Asia’s Hong Kong, which took second place. London slipped from second to third place. The Schroders Global Cities 30 index is based on a range of factors. The measures [...]
Ryanair to roll out Brexit clause in tickets later this year as it says uncertainty hasn’t affected bookings yet January 31, 2018 Ryanair confirmed today it will add a “Brexit clause” to tickets going on sale from September for 2019, as the uncertainty continued over arrangements for airlines after Britain leaves the European Union. Ryanair said tickets for its 2019 summer flights will include a clause explaining flights are “subject to the regulatory environment allowing this flight [...]
House of Fraser boss Yuan Yafei says UK businesses need a “signal” on Brexit January 30, 2018 House of Fraser boss Yuan Yafei, who also chairs Sanpower Group, has said business needs a “signal” on the kind of Brexit the UK is pursuing. Yafei, who took control of House of Fraser four years ago, told the BBC that leaving the EU would “not be too bad” for the economy, but that the [...]
Focus On Deptford: We delve into the housing market in the Help to Buy capital of London January 26, 2018 Since Help to Buy, the government’s equity scheme to help first time buyers on to the property ladder, was announced in 2013, it’s created thousands of new home owners. And nowhere has benefited more from this than Deptford. This once run down part of south east London is now the Help to Buy capital of [...]
Online stalwart Asos is in for a fashion face-off with Amazon’s wardrobe service January 26, 2018 What do Debenhams, House of Fraser, Mothercare and Asos not have in common? Cracking Christmas clothing sales. While the high street’s stalwarts struggled to attract bargain-hunting shoppers over the festive season, their smaller online-only rival yesterday revealed a 30 per cent rise in sales for the final four months of 2017. Asos, or as As [...]
UK leads the pack as Europe hits its highest level of buyout activity since 2007 January 22, 2018 In a year which saw Brexit negotiations grind on while a number of European countries held elections, private equity activity in Europe hit a decade-high. Private equity firms completed 919 buyouts of companies in 2017, up 19 per cent year-on-year and the highest number since 2007’s 1,000 deals, according to Unquote data. The UK drove [...]