Focus on Battersea: Home of dogs, cats, families and riverside living March 12, 2015 Battersea’s venerable institutions – from its power station to its Dogs and Cats Home – often overshadow its considerable success as a residential destination. While houses easily soar over the £1m mark in this part of south-west London, UK buyers still account for 76 per cent of the market, 80 per cent of whom use [...]
Sales up at Safestay’s posh hostels April 13, 2015 SAFESTAY, the Aim-listed property developer of upmarket hostels, posted a jump in full-year sales thanks to growing demand from families, business travellers as well as traditional backpackers for its plush rooms. The four-year old company was founded four years ago with the idea of sprucing up the hostel market and providing a safer and more [...]
London Barometer: What’s happening to the capital’s house prices? February 26, 2015 There is clearly now much more activity in emerging prime areas than prime central London, with ongoing political uncertainties and the recent Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) changes alluded to in our last Barometer now having a marked effect. More sellers coming to the market would seem to imply that high SDLT has been a [...]
UK house prices: A return to optimism? – CNBC Comment February 16, 2015 The UK housing market is a favourite topic of conversation – a national pastime, even. But an abundance of different data types mean that statistics can swamp and confuse anyone looking to gauge the current climate. Property website Rightmove just announced its busiest ever month for house hunters, while Halifax saw its biggest January monthly [...]
The Ivy goes takeaway – sort of March 24, 2015 CELEBRITY hotspot The Ivy is in the middle of a massive makeover – but for those who can’t bear the thought of never again eating a meal in its hallowed environs, there is a solution. The old fixtures and fittings from the restaurant will go on sale tonight, at an auction run by Sotheby’s. Alongside [...]
Focus on Hammersmith: The town where prices have grown by half February 26, 2015 When it comes to neighbours, Hammersmith has struck lucky. There can’t be another location in London that’s surrounded by such a cluster of affluent residential neighbourhoods. With Kensington to the east, Chiswick to the west, Fulham to the south and Shepherd’s Bush to the north, it’s a wonder this area is still known primarily as [...]
Why Toshiba still sees value in rugby after 60 years supporting the sport May 31, 2015 Japanese firm Toshiba sees the 2015 Rugby World Cup as a chance to build B2B connections IT’S THE nature of sporting events that, for all the hype in advance, and indeed while they’re taking place, before we know it they’re over and the carousel moves on to the next celebration and jamboree. The Rugby World [...]
The mansion made for Versace where Mayfair meets Milan March 12, 2015 Many houses are marketed as a fusion of the old and the new, east meets west or even luxury meets shabby chic. But 50 Charles Street is a rare fusion of Mayfair mansion and Milanese palazzo. This unusual combination is the result of one of London’s most ambitious conversion projects, designed to woo one of [...]
A very big house in the country: Whitestaunton Manor is a Grade-I listed estate with a very textured history February 19, 2015 Nestled in a quiet country village on the outskirts of Somerset lies a house with architecture so rare the only other place you’ll see anything like it is in the Houses of Parliament. In fact, most of Whitestaunton Manor, listed Grade-I for architectural or historical interest, is older than that venerable institution; it’s even namechecked [...]
London house prices: Can stamp duty save the capital from a demand crisis? January 14, 2015 Demand for houses has been falling in the housing market for six months, or eight if you live in London. It doesn’t feel so long ago we were talking about booms and whispering of bubbles, but that's gone for now. The latest figures from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reveals that 10 per cent [...]