City of London steps up Brexit diplomacy as financial services white paper is shelved January 23, 2018 The City is seeking to take control of its post-Brexit future by ramping up engagement with EU member states, as it emerges that ministers have shelved plans for a financial services white paper. Meetings have been taking place with weekly envoys from the City of London Corporation and TheCityUK meeting ministers from across the continent. [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wants powers to take over empty luxury properties to solve the housing crisis January 28, 2018 Jeremy Corbyn wants to reclaim luxury property that is left “deliberately” empty to help solve the nation’s housing crisis. “We would give local authorities the power to take over deliberately left vacant properties,” the Labour leader said, speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday morning. Read more: Editor’s Notes: May can benefit from [...]
Social entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and Microsoft Stores’ head named UK change-makers by London Tech Week April 3, 2018 Some of the most influential names on London’s tech scene have named their people to watch for 2018, in sectors spanning from autonomous vehicles to healthtech. The ambassadors of London Tech Week – who include Eileen Burbidge, a partner at Monzo backer Passion Capital and member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group, Sarah Wood, [...]
Legal Q&A: I intend to extend the lease of my flat and read the price payable for an extension is 15 times the current ground rent? Is this correct? January 26, 2018 There is a popular myth that the price for a lease term extension is simply a multiple of the passing ground rent under the terms of the lease. Unfortunately, the price payable for a lease term extension is not as straightforward. Pursuant to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Land Act 1993 (the Act) [...]
This property investment firm now owns a huge chunk of Seven Dials after acquiring six more shops | City A.M. December 20, 2017 West End investment firm Shaftesbury announced this morning that it has acquired six more shops on London’s Neal Street, in Seven Dials, for £24.6m. This means Shaftesbury now owns a whopping 70 per cent of the shops on the northern section of Neal Street, the busy road which connects Covent Garden Underground station to Shaftesbury [...]
Bank of England economist Silvana Tenreyro sees potential for pleasant UK productivity surprise January 15, 2018 British productivity growth could give economists a pleasant surprise in the coming years, according to a top policymaker at the Bank of England. Silvana Tenreyro, an external member of the interest rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC), said she believes the so-called productivity puzzle could be resolved as laggards – including the financial sector – finally [...]
Trinity Mirror buys Express owner for £127m – and pays £41m to plug pension hole February 9, 2018 The owner of the Daily Mirror has bought the company behind the Daily Express and Daily Star for £126.7m. An announcement this morning ends Richard Desmond’s 18-year association with some of Britain’s most popular newspaper and magazine titles. After posturing for some time, sale talks between Trinity Mirror and Express owner Northern & Shell were [...]
Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn bags more than £100m bonus after year of strong sales January 9, 2018 Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn is in line to collect a bonus of more than £100m after the housebuilder posted a nine per cent growth in annual sales. “Modestly” ahead of consensus expectations, Persimmon profits were boosted by average selling prices rising three per cent. Annual revenues were £3.42bn as Persimmon increased legal completions by 872 [...]
Can the UK economy cope with sustained house price falls? June 19, 2018 Brexit uncertainty is far from over. Indeed, as we approach the crunch point in negotiations over the summer, we expect rhetoric of hard Brexit and a cliff edge to reach a crescendo, before a final deal is agreed in September or October. Meanwhile, business and consumer confidence are likely to continue to suffer, causing decisions [...]
Property Legal Q&A: What can I do if I suspect my landlord is overcharging me for repairs and maintenance? December 8, 2017 We are five leaseholders in a block of flats and we have recently discovered the landlord has been charging more than 100 per cent of the outgoings for repairs and maintaining the building. What can we do about this? The general rule is a landlord should not recover more or less of the costs [...]