Bottoms Up: Coq d’Argent owner D&D London toasts jump in Christmas sales January 11, 2016 D&D London, the restaurant and hotel empire behind the City’s Coq D’argent and South Place Hotel, has posted a jump in sales over Christmas as diners popped open the champagne. The company, which is mulling a stock market float, said UK like-for-like sales jumped by 4.2 per cent in December. Underlying sales for the nine months [...]
15 plans for the future of London transport: From the Northern Line extension to Night Tube and Crossrail 3 March 11, 2016 London Mayor Boris Johnson has said £1.3tn of investment is needed in the capital over the next 35 years in order for London to retain its world class status. Transport is the biggest focus of the "London Infrastructure Plan 2050", and £973bn of spending is needed on transport alone to keep up with the rising population [...]
West End offices are the world’s costliest March 5, 2015 LONDON’S West End held onto its title as the world’s most expensive office market for the third year in a row, after hot demand and limited supply help push up rents last year. Businesses paid an average of €2,344 (£1,697) per square metre in 2014 for a foothold in the West End, according to Cushman [...]
The Kingmaker: All the world’s a stage for former Thatcher adviser Bill Robinson March 30, 2015 To be or not to be? It’s the age-old question that every former economic adviser to Margaret Thatcher asks themselves when they come to write for the stage. Of course it is… And so it is that Bill Robinson, chief economist at KPMG and the late Lady Thatcher’s adviser, wrote The Kingmaker, which opens tonight [...]
With Labour divided on Syria, would losing the Oldham West by-election be the beginning of the end for Corbyn? December 1, 2015 Atul Hatwal, editor of Labour Uncut, says Yes At the General Election, Labour won Oldham West with a majority of almost 15,000. Labour should romp home – but instead the result is on a knife edge. Defeat, or even a narrow victory, would signal the beginning of the end for Jeremy Corbyn. Although he was [...]
West End retailers poised for £2.3bn Christmas and Black Friday 2015 shopping bonanza October 27, 2015 West End retailers are bracing themselves for a £2.3bn shopping bonanza this Christmas, with spending set to reach its highest level since 2007, as higher disposable incomes and lower prices help boost consumer confidence. London’s main shopping streets – Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street – are expecting a 1.2 per cent uplift in sales [...]
Matalan chief Jason Hargreaves makes retailer a family affair May 14, 2015 Jason Hargreaves made a trip to Oxford Street earlier this year with his four-year-old daughter in tow. The managing director of Matalan, the out-of-town value fashion and homeware chain founded by his father, John Hargreaves, 30 years ago, came to view its first ever central London store at the east end of on Oxford [...]
London’s economic growth in 2015 far outstrips the rest of the country, RBS figures show October 7, 2015 London's economy is outstripping the rest of the country, growing 3.3 per cent year on year, compared with a national average of 2.5 per cent, according to RBS’ regional growth figures out today. London’s economic growth was boosted by its burgeoning professional, scientific and technical services industries. The City and the West End, unsurprisingly, were [...]
London’s economic growth: The capital leads the way as a wealth maker October 6, 2015 London’s economy is outstripping the rest of the country, growing 3.3 per cent year on year, compared with a national average of 2.5 per cent, according to RBS’ regional growth figures out today. London’s economic growth was boosted by its burgeoning professional, scientific and technical services industries. The City and the West End, unsurprisingly, were [...]
Is Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn right – when it comes to kickstarting the economy, is it time for a people’s QE? December 14, 2015 This is a big week for capitalism. In the next few days, the US Federal Reserve will finally start to remove its accommodative post-2008 crisis policy by pulling money out of markets. With asset markets buoyant and the American jobs market seemingly strong, policy-makers should be surely saying ‘job well done’? But, on the ground, [...]