France has ignored consumers and the digital economy is bearing the brunt January 14, 2014 PRESIDENT Francois Hollande would like us to think that France is about to bounce back. At a press conference yesterday, he detailed plans for a “responsibility pact” with business – a deal to reduce the burden of social levies on companies by €30bn (£24bn) by 2017, in return for businesses pledging to increase hiring and [...]
WIEF Diary October 28, 2013 Olympic Village Tour The London 2012 Olympic Village has taken on new life as a showcase for Qatari investment in the UK. In alliance with real estate investment company Delancey, Qatari Diar – Qatar Investment Authority’s property investment company – bought the site in 2011 for £557m, with a promise to build 2,818 new homes [...]
Indecisive Europe is acting too late to save Ukraine from Kremlin discipline February 19, 2014 LIKE a slow-motion car wreck, the tragic violence that has erupted in Ukraine over the last few days – which some fear could result in bloody civil war – has been inexorably coming for some time. In November 2013, the country’s President Viktor Yanukovych abruptly broke off talks with the EU over a political and [...]
New listing rules protect investors and safeguard London’s open markets November 11, 2013 THE OPERATION of public markets frequently attracts high levels of scrutiny. But for much of the past 18 months, the spotlight on the UK equity market and the listing regime has been intense. Questions over corporate governance at companies with a controlling shareholder – and by extension the rights and protections for minority investors – [...]
British Land is upbeat after it outpaces rival November 13, 2013 BRITISH Land outshone its biggest rival Land Securities yesterday after the property giant reported a strong rise in rents and values across both its office and retail empire. The owner of the Cheesegrater skyscraper in the City said its net asset value (NAV) per share – a key industry measure of performance – rose 4.5 [...]
London Report: Bank policy and property fears weigh on FTSE September 25, 2014 Britain’s FTSE 100 fell yesterday to a six-week low as concern that Britain and the United States would soon tighten monetary policy pulled down mining and energy stocks, as well as companies exposed to the UK property market. Shares in basic materials and energy companies knocked a combined 35 points off the FTSE 100, which [...]
London house prices set to soar by 35 per cent over the next five years October 24, 2013 HOUSE prices in the capital are set to spiral further upward by more than a third in the next five years, according to new research seen by City A.M. Property services firm CBRE expects the capital’s house prices to soar by an astonishing 34.8 per cent between 2014 and 2018, according to its latest forecast. [...]
Comfort curry for cold nights November 12, 2013 Alfred Prasad of Michelin-starred Tamarind, remembers his favourite dish growing up AT 29, Alfred Prasad was the youngest Indian chef to receive a Michelin star. Alfred was born in the central Indian city of Wardha and lived all over the sub-continent during his youth, an experience which expanded his mind to the immense variety and [...]
Two more firms to list as London market booms November 18, 2013 TWO START-UPS floating on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) next month will further boost the London market’s reputation as a popular place for new firms to list. So far 61 companies have floated on the UK’s exchanges in 2013, compared to just 53 throughout 2012. Education group Caredus and on-demand online video firm SyQic will [...]
London Barometer October 24, 2013 DIRECTOR, DOUGLAS & GORDON PRIME central (PC) and prime south west (PSW) London continue to be polar opposites; buyers are not paying asking prices in PC but are driving prices up in PSW. With stock levels down 35 per cent on last year, it’s telling that purchases in PC often follow a price reduction; this [...]