Local councils own 580 restaurants, 378 pubs and 174 hotels – among other assets June 2, 2015 Councils across the country are sitting on millions of pounds of assets as their portfolios include an impressive array of property – including 378 pubs and 174 hotels. Freedom of information requests sent by the Taxpayers' Alliance show that local councils also own golf courses, shopping centres and a cheese factory. Despite austerity measures being [...]
Property of the Week: the local investor who transformed an old wig factory in Beckenham into a £1.25m house April 14, 2016 On the way home from the pub in Wickham Road, Adam Jude Grant used to walk past a huge decrepit building – one of the oldest in dwellings in Beckenham, south east London – and wonder why it was falling into disrepair. Built in 1777, it sits in the Chancery Lane conservation area and has [...]
Area guide: Woolwich – why it’s tomorrow’s town April 1, 2016 It’s an unfortunate consequence of over-enthusiastic estate agents that an area described as “up-and-coming” is often, well, getting there but taking its sweet time about it. Woolwich was one such place for a long time, but 2016 is the year SE18 arrives on the property scene. “Woolwich has been touted as up-and-coming for the last [...]
JD Wetherspoon and Heineken make up after row December 4, 2015 UK pub chain JD Wetherspoon kicked off the new year by setting aside its differences with Heineken, and putting the Dutch brewer's products back onto the menus of its 926 pubs across the UK and Ireland. From today, Wetherspoon has started serving Heineken, Fosters, Kronenbourg 1664, Strongbow, John Smith's Extra Smooth and Amstel at its [...]
From community shares to regional pension funds: How crowdfunding is changing investment forever July 21, 2016 If you're an optimist, you’ll likely think that we’ve only seen the start of what new technologies can offer – and change. Although growth across alternative finance has slowed in the past 18 months, the models found in the industry have continued to evolve at pace. One such development was announced last week. Crowdfunder, one of [...]
City boys go overboard on their whisky order and rack up an £11,000 bill in West End restaurant April 4, 2016 The Capitalist once thought, naively, that five-figure bills can only be racked up by ordering multiple bottles of Dom Perignon from bars in Mayfair or the Square Mile. Our doubts were first raised when, we brought you the news that a group of wealthy tourists managed to spend over £10,000 celebrating the Russian Orthodox new [...]
High street restaurant dishes from Pizza Express and Barburrito have more salt than a McDonald’s Big Mac February 16, 2016 Popular dishes at some of Britain's best-known high street chains actually contain more salt than junk food favourites like a Big Mac and regular fries from McDonalds. That's according to research by Treated.com, which found some main course menu items on offer in high street chains such as Pizza Express and Barburrito "out-salt" what's generally seen as less [...]
A developer is about to be ordered to rebuild the London pub it demolished “brick by brick” April 29, 2015 Here's one for all those complaining about London's best assets being converted into luxury flats: a developer is due to be told to rebuild a historic pub it owned "brick by brick", after it demolished it without getting planning permission. The Carlton Tavern in Kilburn Park, which survived the Blitz, was razed to the ground [...]
Football betting: Noisy neighbours Manchester City to deafen Manchester United in derby March 17, 2016 There is more than bragging rights at stake as Manchester City host Manchester United on Sunday. Beyond the search for superiority in the playgrounds and pubs of the north west, this match could prove key in the final Premier League shake-up. City, in fourth, are four points above their rivals and know victory could go a [...]
Counting the pennies: No Las Vegas party for AFC Wimbledon chief Erik Samuelson as focus turns to plotting path to Championship May 31, 2016 While AFC Wimbledon’s promotion-winning players were on a plane to Las Vegas for a celebratory jaunt paid for by a mystery supporter, chief executive Erik Samuelson was today back at his desk putting the finishing touches to next season’s budget. The champagne had barely stopped bubbling but thoughts within the club’s hierarchy had already turned to [...]