Huawei: Will the government ban the Chinese vendor tomorrow? July 13, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to decide whether to ban Huawei from the UK’s 5G infrastructure tomorrow, following intense pressure from MPs and US President Donald Trump to U-turn on a deal with the Chinese vendor over national security fears. In January, Johnson struck a deal with Huawei to build technology for the UK’s [...]
‘Dearth of supply’ sees London office vacancies drop to lowest level since 2007 August 19, 2019 A supply starved market and weakened investment has led to vacancy rates in London offices falling to their lowest level since 2007, a new report has found. The amount of available office space in London has fallen 19 per cent over the past year, with vacancies in the City dropping 27 per cent, according to [...]
Big businesses drawn to the City for office space July 29, 2019 Big businesses upped sticks for the City in 2018 as companies increasingly move further afield to find the best office space, a new study has shown. Read more: Wework grabs €62m from EU in Brexit deal for London office spot Mayfair lost the largest number of businesses renting office space of more than 10,000 square [...]
Cost of new Museum of London balloons to £332m over ‘desperate’ need for repairs July 1, 2019 The price tag for the new Museum of London in West Smithfield market has increased by a third to £332m after studies revealed the extent of repair work needed. The relocation, previously estimated to cost £250m, is one of the largest cultural projects underway in Europe and is set to be the UK’s most expensive [...]
Microsoft opens flagship London store on Oxford Circus July 11, 2019 Microsoft opened its flagship store on Oxford Circus today, marking the US tech giant’s first major retail location in Europe. The new store offers a string of hands-on customer experiences, including a McLaren Senna racing car experience, a gaming lounge and a digital learning hub offering coding lessons for children. Read more: Microsoft and Oracle [...]
Crossrail: TfL to run Paddington to Reading trains from December September 26, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) will start running services between Paddington and Reading from this December, which will become part of Crossrail when it opens from 2021. TfL Rail will replace GWR as the operator of the services, with four trains per hour at peak time and two at off-peak. Read more: Crossrail shares progress pictures [...]
Level up: Lessons from London for boosting the rest of the UK October 29, 2019 Britain’s economy has been distorted. London takes all the jobs, all the talent, all the investment, leaving crumbs for everyone else. For Britain to prosper, the capital needs to be cut down to size. In the wake of the financial crisis, and then of the Brexit vote, this is an argument that has become increasingly [...]
Focus on Willesden: A well-connected area where North London buyers can upsize November 1, 2019 One of the universally acknowledged truths of the London housing market is that needing more space often means moving further out. But it need not mean going all the way out into the sticks – and the North West London neighbourhood of Willesden is testament to that. While it is on the zone two-three border [...]
Property giant Land Securities eyes £650m sale to fund real estate expansion October 13, 2019 Property giant Land Securities is reportedly close to selling a £650m stake in a leisure portfolio to private equity property investor CIT Partners. Land Securities is understood to have agreed to sell its 95 per cent share of the X-Leisure Unit Trust – which is behind developments including Xscape Milton Keynes and Brighton Marina – [...]
Focus on St John’s Wood: Super-prime rentals are hot property in this US enclave July 19, 2019 With its secluded streets, proximity to the West End and legendary status in the worlds of both sport and music as the home of Lord’s and Abbey Road, St John’s Wood has long been a desirable address. PG Wodehouse made it the home of Bertie Wooster’s best pal, aristocrat Bingo Little, in his Jeeves series; [...]