David Cameron’s housing construction shake-up fails to build market confidence: Experts disagree residential planning overhaul is game changer July 12, 2015 Housing developers had a bit of a rollercoaster ride last week. First the Budget rocked shares, with changes to tax relief on buy-to-let mortgages – and then, on Friday, the government unexpectedly put house building at the centre of its plan to boost the UK’s productivity. With the cost of a home jumping by 45 [...]
Can London build enough homes for 9m people? And where should the new houses be built? October 30, 2014 As our population has increased, housebuilding has become a major political issue. There’s now a consensus that the capital needs to get building to accommodate a population that’s expected to grow by 920,000 by 2024. But it’s not an impossible task, according to residential and commercial estate agent Stirling Ackroyd, who released their [...]
How we can turn London’s thriving tech startups into billion dollar digital giants November 16, 2014 Just four years after the Prime Minister and the mayor of London launched the Tech City initiative, London now has one of the fastest growing technology sectors in the world. Visitors to any of its tech hubs will be struck by the industry and dynamism of the capital’s entrepreneurs and startups, driving innovation and change. [...]
New FCA and PRA bonus clawback rules: The UK now has the toughest bank pay rules in the world June 23, 2015 New rules to claw back bankers’ bonuses for up to 10 years threaten to undermine London’s appeal to international financiers, consultants warned yesterday, in the latest salvo against big banks from UK regulators. Read more: Bank bonus clawback extended to 10 years by UK regulators The clawback rules comes amid growing tensions between [...]
Galliford Try lands £360m development for 1,100 homes in east London September 15, 2014 Housebuilding and construction group Galliford Try has been chosen as the preferred developer by the Greater London Authority to build the Silvertown Way development. Located in Canning Town, East London with over 1,100 mixed tenure homes across 11 blocks, the gross development comes to a hefty £360m, ranking it as the largest standalone scheme Galliford [...]
Living in a noisy area increases your chance of being overweight May 26, 2015 Busy roads, rattling trains and aircraft taking off are just some of the unwanted sounds Londoners are exposed to on a daily basis, but it turns out the impact of all that noise extends far deeper than passing irritation. The noisier the area you live in, the larger your waistline is likely to be, according [...]
How shared ownership can help get Londoners on the housing ladder October 22, 2014 The Scottish Parliament has set out plans to levy its first tax since 1707. In an effort to support first time buyers, it proposed reforming stamp duty into a marginal – rather than a “slab” – tax, meaning that house sales in Scotland will no longer incur the highest rate on the whole price. These [...]
London can solve its housing crisis – if the public sector stops sitting on land November 5, 2014 THERE is a wonderful description of London from 1622, written by the pamphleteer Donald Lupton. He evokes the “Great Beehive”, “swarming” with people, the capital “a glutton that desires always to be full”. Now the largest city in Europe, Lupton’s characterisation of 400 years ago will be one that many Londoners recognise today. Of course, [...]
Drone sighting grounds Manchester airport flights but police find “nothing” April 20, 2015 Flights to Manchester Airport were halted for a short time after reports of a drone aircraft flying nearby with police called in to investigate. A small number of flights have been diverted to other airports and other flights have been delayed after a potential drone sighting in airspace near the airport closed the airport for [...]
July Budget 2015: From the pensions expert to the PwC economist, reactions to the chancellor’s statement July 9, 2015 THE BUSINESS GROUP Confederation of British Industry director general John Cridland Firms will welcome measures to boost investment but will be worried about paying living wage. “This is a double edged Budget for business. Firms will welcome measures to balance the books and boost investment, but they will be concerned by legislating for wage increases [...]