Napoleonic cellars and Peaky Blinders: How the old merchants of St James’s Street are fighting to stay relevant November 28, 2019 Reserved, polite and unashamedly old-fashioned, the shop-owners of St James’s Street do not offer many similarities with the brash retail bosses we so often see in the news. Unlike Mike Ashley or Sir Philip Green, they are not waging takeover wars or stirring up corporate controversies. They are cautious in their ambitions, and conservative in their tastes. But just [...]
Rent rises: East London outpaces West London in rental growth race March 18, 2019 Fresh evidence of demand for East London’s housing market has been underlined by new figures today, with traditional high-growth areas in the west of the capital seeing more of a slowdown in recent years. Rents in East London’s nine boroughs rose on average by more than 20 per cent since January 2012, compared with growth [...]
What the mayor-turned-Prime-Minister can do for London July 31, 2019 Boris Johnson is the first Prime Minister to have served as mayor of London. He gets London: he knows what make our city a success and understands the challenges we face. And that’s why his premiership is a great opportunity for our city. With the right approach, Boris can help to fill the leadership vacuum [...]
Focus on Twickenham: leafy suburb offers better value than its riverside neighbours Richmond and Putney July 15, 2019 If you were a wealthy member of 18th century London society set looking for a fashionable spot on which to locate your sprawling pad, Twickenham was the place to be. The south west London district – then part of Middlesex – was chosen for the purpose by poet Alexander Pope as well as Horace Walpole, [...]
Lidl unveils £500m London expansion plan for 40 new stores June 12, 2019 Lidl has unveiled a £500m expansion plan to create 40 new stores in the capital, including its first central London store. The German discount supermarket said the openings would create 1,500 new jobs over the next five years. Read more: Big Four supermarkets stall amid fast rise of Lidl and Aldi A proposed Tottenham Court [...]
World’s richest football clubs 2020: Barcelona replace Real Madrid at top of Deloitte Football Money League as Manchester United are left behind January 14, 2020 Barcelona have overtaken Real Madrid to become the world’s richest football club, according to Deloitte’s Football Money League. The Spanish champions saw revenue soar to €840.8m (£741.1m) last year – a record figure for any team and almost 10 per cent more than rivals Real Madrid, who are second. Manchester United, in third, remain the [...]
British expertise can unlock investment opportunities across the world August 5, 2019 Stood in a power plant in Lagos, Nigeria, I heard how UK aid has helped supply electricity to 300,000 people. It is powering street lights, schools, hospitals. It is critical to Nigerians receiving healthcare, an education, accessing jobs, and lifting themselves out of poverty. Last week, I travelled to Nigeria in my new role as [...]
Swingers crazy golf opens second site in former BHS on Oxford Street March 16, 2018 The former flagship site of collapsed retailer BHS on Oxford Street has gained another tenant in the form of crazy golf operator Swingers. The building is already host to Reserved, Poland's answer to H&M opened on the ground floor of the site last year. It will now be joined by Swingers on the first floor, [...]
West End landlord Great Portland reports robust leasing amid growth in tenant demand January 23, 2019 Fresh signs of strength in London’s leasing market emerged today, as listed property giant Great Portland Estates (GPE) posted rising rental values and low vacancy levels amid continued demand for office space in the capital. The West End landlord signed 16 new lettings totalling than 50,000 square feet in the quarter to the end of [...]
Record-breaking Chinese tourists in the UK inspires schemes to continue the momentum March 13, 2018 The UK is trying to build on its momentum of record-breaking Chinese visitors — and money — into the country. Nearly 532,000 visitor visas for the UK were issued to Chinese residents last year, and Global Blue, a tourism tax refund company, found that Chinese visitors accounted for 25 per cent of all the tax-free [...]