A quiet tech revolution is happening – not in Shoreditch or Birmingham – but in Croydon July 30, 2015 I read Nick Holzherr’s recent article championing Birmingham’s Silicon Canal with a mixture of interest and a large degree of scepticism. As the founder of Croydon Tech City, I agree that the UK’s technological future doesn’t lie solely with the denizens of Old Street. But I argue vehemently with his alternative. If you want [...]
David Shaw to chair Mayfair’s Pollen Estate July 5, 2015 MAYFAIR landlord The Pollen Estate has appointed the head of The Crown Estate’s Regent Street portfolio, David Shaw, as chairman. The Pollen Estate owns 43 properties on some of London’s most sought-after shopping streets including Savile Row and Bond Street, with tenants including jeweller Chopard. It has some 120 beneficiaries, including The Crown Estate, which [...]
Labour mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan wants to pedestrianise Oxford Street June 24, 2015 Sadiq Khan, a frontrunner for the Labour mayoral candidacy, has backed plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street as part of a campaign for cleaner air in the capital. He said he will turn the capital’s flagship shopping street and tourist attraction in to a one and a half mile tree-lined walkway, as he vowed to tackle [...]
Oxford Street property deals set to reach £1bn by end of this year June 17, 2015 The revamp of the eastern end of Oxford Street and the imminent arrival of Crossrail has sparked a flurry of property deals this year, with investors flocking to get a slice of London’s busiest shopping street. According to CBRE, seven record-breaking transactions totalling £645m have taken place since January, of which five were undertaken off-market. [...]
Government procrastination must end: Give the green light to Heathrow expansion now September 8, 2015 As ministers return to their desks this week from their summer holidays, the government will be faced with the pressing issue of whether to back the expansion of airport capacity in London and the South East. This follows the clear recommendation of the Airports Commission in July to build a new runway at Heathrow. [...]
Almacantar buys Shell Centre offices on South Bank for £550m August 3, 2015 Centre Point owner Almacantar has bought part of Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar’s controversial Shell Centre scheme on London’s South Bank, which faced opposition last year for obstructing views of the Houses of Parliament. The developer, which owns other landmark buildings including CAA House in the West End, has spent over £550m buying One [...]
New beginnings in north London: Woodberry Down joins regeneration move June 25, 2015 Most of London’s council estates have been used in a film as an “edgy, urban” backdrop at some point. But Woodberry Down, one of the largest housing redevelopments in Britain, had the dubious honour of being used as a stand-in for the Warsaw ghetto in Schindler’s List. You may not have heard of it, [...]
Tourists flock to feel London vibe June 3, 2015 LONDON is a tourist mecca. The capital has just trumped Bangkok, New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Milan, Barcelona and Prague as the world’s most popular tourist destination for the second year running. Top-class exhibitions, blockbuster entertainment, major sporting events and successes in the West End are expected to translate into a record 18.82m visitors by [...]
How the new Canary Wharf is sailing into the 21st century: With Crossrail Place gardens completed, the East End finance hub marks another milestone May 7, 2015 Canary Wharf has been a centre of upheaval for the last 30 years, and it has no intention of standing still now. It’s already renowned as one of London’s biggest financial hubs but it has also established itself as a shopping, dining and entertainment destination. By the end of the year, it will add “residential [...]
Night Tube series: Top seven places to buy a house in London along the Jubilee Line September 4, 2015 With the Night Tube delayed for the time being, now is the best time to consider buying in an area that’s set to benefit from it. Research shows that when new transport links come in, house prices only rise once the trains start running so it’s worth taking a punt before the asking prices shoot [...]