London house prices gloom revealed but owners set for £84,000 boost November 6, 2024 The average home in Britain will be £84,000 more valuable in five years’ time, according to a new forecast, but London house prices will grow slower than anywhere else in the UK. Real estate giant Savills has said it expects the typical property value to reach £442,000 by the end of the period to 2029, [...]
Stamp duty hike: a ‘bitter but manageable pill to swallow’ for UK landlords November 5, 2024 Last week’s Budget announcement raised Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to five per cent tax, yet household landlords seem unfazed. London-based estate agent Benham and Reeves carried a survey to find out how UK landlords reacted to this hike. Concerns about potential hikes in capital gains tax (CGT) on property investments weighed heavily on landlords [...]
Steve McQueen falls short with wartime drama Blitz November 5, 2024 Ten years on from his Oscar triumph with 12 Years A Slave, filmmaker Steve McQueen has forged his own creative path. Rather than dive into the world of blockbusters, he has stuck with hard hitting dramas such as his Small Axe anthology of films and the 2018 thriller Widows. His latest is Blitz, a World [...]
Driving Gen Z into the ground November 5, 2024 A shortage of driving tests and suggestions that young people should not be allowed to give their friends lifts are just the latest examples of the infantilisation of Gen Z, says Phoebe Arslanagić-Little In July 2024, there was not a single driving test to be had anywhere in London, at all. The best the DVSA [...]
The NHS will soon cost more than the GDP of New Zealand November 5, 2024 Spending on health and social care will hit £200bn by the end of this parliament – more than the entire economy of New Zealand – as Britain heads towards being a £1.5 trillion state, says Emma Revell New Zealand sounds, by all accounts, like a pretty sweet country. For a start, it is one of [...]
The Grace La Margna hotel: St Moritz goes casual November 4, 2024 THE HOTEL Checking into the Grace La Margna in St Moritz, you’ll want to kick off your shoes and curl up in front of the living room fire. This is hardly the typical vibe in St Moritz, Switzerland’s most bougie ski town, but this hotel does things differently. About to embark on its second winter [...]
Finding serenity in Zurich, Switzerland’s best Alps access point November 4, 2024 Laurel Waldron finds serenity near Zurich, Switzerland’s hip city with easy access to the Alps With Zürich the gateway to Switzerland’s finest skiing, it would be remiss not to extend your weekend and embrace a night in its largest city. Rather than being stuck in the hustle and bustle of the centre, a 10 minute [...]
How Shared Ownership can help Londoners escape high rents November 3, 2024 If you’re looking to get on the housing ladder then a range of new Shared Ownership properties (some in Zone 1) appeal this autumn Fears of a rise in stamp duty for first time buyers were allayed yesterday when Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the rise would only affect second home buyers. The news means landlords [...]
This amazing London restaurant is celebrating 60 years of history November 2, 2024 We review Grumbles, a London restaurant that’s more like an institution The capital is overrun with restaurants that look the same. They have emerald green and pink coloured furniture and there is probably a palm tree in the corner. Horrifically, some of these plants are plastic. Stats show that half of these restaurants close within [...]
Scrapping non-dom regime branded ‘monumentally stupid’ by tax advisors November 1, 2024 Several leading tax and wealth advisors have told City AM that scrapping the non-dom regime without a suitable replacement is a “monumentally stupid decision” that has already prompted some non-doms to leave. One of the key measures introduced in Wednesday’s budget was abolishing the non-dom status, a regime that allowed certain tax breaks for people [...]