Island Poké review: Hawaiian street food has hit the streets of Canary Wharf this week, so we try it out to see if it’s any cop December 5, 2017 Island Poké Broadgate Circle, EC2M WHAT? If you haven’t already said aloha to poké, the biggest street food trend of the year, then you better hurry up because there isn’t much of 2017 left. Pronounced pok-eh, the word means “cut” or “dice” in Hawaii. WHERE? The one we visited was nestled into the second tier [...]
Escape to Tea Country: With over 150 years of tea making heritage, Sri Lanka is a brew-lover’s paradise June 18, 2018 Sri Lanka, the teardrop shaped island in the Indian Ocean, is the size of Ireland, yet it’s home to an incredible diversity of wildlife. In the deep waters off the southern cape, blue whales, the largest animal on earth, come to breed. Herds of the largest land animal, the elephant, freely crisscross the island. Leopards [...]
Lord Mayor of London returns painting stolen by the Nazis November 6, 2017 The Lord Mayor of London has today handed back a painting stolen by the Nazis to its rightful owner. The Oyster Meal, by Dutch painter Jacob Ochtervelt, was given to the City of London Corporation by Land Securities founder Harold Samuel. Read more: This Picasso masterpiece sold for $45m last night The painting was one [...]
The Subaru WRX STI says goodbye in style with this farewell Final Edition March 12, 2018 As I write this piece, Snowmaggedon is causing chaos across the UK. Schools are closed, police are warning motorists to stay at home and bread is being sold for £50 a loaf on eBay. Unfortunately I won’t be enjoying a snow day, as Subaru has dropped off a WRX STI Final Edition and it’s my [...]
Let’s scrap stamp duty and stop exacerbating the housing crisis October 30, 2017 Often when we talk about taxes, we just weigh out how much they raise and who pays, and assume any change is about handing out cash to a favoured group. But this is misguided. Some taxes distort the economy far more than others for every pound they raise for the Treasury. By this measure, stamp [...]
New homes: Spanking new property going on sale this weekend in Greenwich, Blackwall, Southfields, Hendon and Old Isleworth February 17, 2017 Kidbrooke Village, Greenwich From £850,000 Buy a home that you can grow into over time by snapping up an adaptable Urban House. Berkeley Homes has designed these three to four bedroom houses on its development in Greenwich so you can upgrade them over time, depending on your living situation. The ground floor, for instance, can [...]
East Eight Victorian school conversion in Hackney is on sale with Urban Spaces November 29, 2017 There’s something to be said for going back to school – especially when it’s as architecturally grand as this one in east London. This imposing Victorian establishment in the heart of London Fields was converted into a series of trendy loft apartments nearly 20 years ago called East Eight and they rarely go on sale. [...]
Here’s why housebuilder shares are down today November 8, 2017 It was a bad morning for housebuilders, with companies listed on both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 dragging the indices lower. Persimmon, the UK’s largest housebuilder by volume, led the fallers on the FTSE 100, with shares dropping 3.4 per cent to 2,772.5p, while Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley Group were all among the [...]
Investors not convinced by Electra Private Equity’s new strategy as the firm releases first results since booting its investment manager December 7, 2017 Listed private equity firm Electra Private Equity said today that it had generated a strong return for shareholders and slashed management fees, in its first year-end results since showing its investment manager the door. Under the leadership of activist investor Edward Bramson earlier this year, Electra tore up its agreement with longstanding investment manager Electra [...]
Will Apple take the Dow over 27,000 this week? Only a fool would bet against it January 30, 2018 How much higher, and how quickly, can Wall Street rise? It’s a question this column has asked a couple of times, but it’s one that bears repeating after the Dow Jones hit a new record close on Friday. Might we see the Dow break 27,000? Market sentiment suggests yes. Moreover, it suggests it could do [...]