After the whistle: Premier League clubs have been busy monetising content this summer which Sky, BT Sport and the BBC would eagerly compete for August 12, 2016 In recent weeks, Sky Sports has had David Beckham running through the streets taking in 10 months of Premier League footballing drama. But the UK’s top flight tournament is no longer seasonal. Over the summer, fans have been assiduously following transfer news and international friendlies with a new level of fervour. And Premier League clubs [...]
Wetherspoons drowns its sorrows as profits are hit by taxes – and chairman voices support for Brexit March 11, 2016 Cheap it may be, but cheerful Wetherspoons is not – after it said profits in the six months to the end of January were hit by the "continuing tax disparity" between supermarkets and pubs, as chairman Tim Martin came out in favour of Brexit. The figures Pre-tax profits fell 2.2 per cent to £36.6m, while operating profit before exceptional [...]
Focus On Camberwell: The area’s cool neighbours and artistic connections make up for the lack of Tube September 29, 2016 Gentrification is taken to be a fairly modern concept; the word conjures up images of property developers covertly following artists home to scout out the area for substantial profit. In fact, the Victorians have been at it ever since the first railways began connecting previously far-flung districts to the capital and Camberwell was one of [...]
Zeroing in on the competition: This is what Coca-Cola’s new ad campaign tells us about the drinks market July 19, 2016 Coca-Cola's announcement that it is pouring £10m into its newly-branded Zero Sugar variant is proof of two things. First, that the carbonated soft drinks market is alive and well. Second, that it is recognising changing consumer and industry attitudes towards health and sugar. But does this huge investment reveal the big brands are concerned about [...]
From idea to IPO in three years: Purplebricks founder Michael Bruce November 21, 2016 "Every time you mention the word ‘estate agent,’ everyone gets a little bit of a smile on their face and an inner feeling of unhappiness,” says Michael Bruce, chief executive at Purplebricks, the online estate agency that has turned the industry on its head in a little over four years. Bruce has traversed the world [...]
Focus On Harrow: Why this north west London suburb is popular with families and first time buyers June 24, 2016 The north west London suburb of Harrow is all too often synonymous with the prestigious boys’ boarding school with which it shares its name. Certainly, the school has influenced the growth of central Harrow through the centuries; following a big expansion of the school in the 19th century, housing was built for its staff resulting [...]
Five stocks to watch following the Brexit market meltdown June 30, 2016 The UK’s stock market has quickly and efficiently established a pecking order in the wake of the EU referendum vote. Low-volatility stocks, defensives and dollar earners have generally done well, or at least much less badly, than cyclicals and, domestic plays such as retailers, banks and house builders. In addition, gold and silver miners have performed extremely [...]
Bhupen Khakhar at the Tate Modern review: LS Lowry meets Henri Rousseau in this touching chronicle of life in India June 6, 2016 Bhupen Khakhar | Tate Modern | ★★☆☆☆ This impressive collection of Bhupen Khakhar’s work is a deeply personal journey through the life of India’s most revered pop artist. It flits from his wide-eyed early paintings of life on the subcontinent to his darker, more blurred work that grapples with his homosexuality (much of which was made [...]
Britons will add £9m to their energy bills this summer just to watch sports July 8, 2016 Energy providers may have more to cheer about than British sports fans this summer. A new study has found the UK's sports fans will add more than £9m to the nation's energy bills from binge-watching their favourite sports on TV, despite England crashing out of the Euros. But a host of other spectacles will see the average [...]
Focus On Earl’s Court: Around 7,500 new homes and a brand new high street coming to west London by 2033 October 7, 2016 Best known for its (closed) Exhibition Centre, Earl’s Court is not the sort of place you’d expect to attract million-pound investment. But it’s currently undergoing its biggest upheaval in over a century and this west London outpost is set to be a very different place in a couple of decades. The last huge change in [...]