Focus On Canary Wharf: there’s more than just money in E14 June 28, 2019 Most parts of London have had their ups and downs, but few areas have experienced shifts as seismic or profound as Canary Wharf. With the advent of the London Docklands, it went from being uncultivated marshland to the site of the world’s largest port. Following the docks’ closure in 1960, Canary Wharf became an economic [...]
German court bans Tesla ads over self-driving claims July 14, 2020 Germany has banned Tesla from repeating what a court says are misleading statements relating to its driver assistance systems and autonomous driving. The case was brought by Germany’s Wettbewerbszentrale, an industry sponsored body tasked with policing anti-competitive practices. Tesla can appeal the Munich court’s ruling. The court agreed with the industry body and banned Tesla [...]
Focus on Willesden: A well-connected area where North London buyers can upsize November 1, 2019 One of the universally acknowledged truths of the London housing market is that needing more space often means moving further out. But it need not mean going all the way out into the sticks – and the North West London neighbourhood of Willesden is testament to that. While it is on the zone two-three border [...]
Bitcoin parabola signals the starts of a new crypto paradigm November 27, 2020 Bitcoin momentum stalled at around $19,400 as it began to slip into dangerous territory before breaking its parabolic trend that began in the first week of October. However, historical precedent speaks volumes about bitcoin’s mini parabolic run-up, and what’s to come in 2021. While hindsight bias could elaborate on what precipitated the sell off, bitcoin’s technical [...]
Why we built a better Tether January 27, 2021 This week I had a long meeting with the FCA reviewing our fully regulated Peer to Peer savings and loan platform JustUs. The FCA has the unenviable task of trying to stress test the health of the financial services industry in the middle of a health and economic crisis via their quarterly “Covid19 Financial Impact [...]
January deals flat as uncertainty weighs on housing market February 21, 2019 Buyers and sellers in Britain’s housing market remained subdued in January, as stamp duty and Brexit uncertainty added to the traditional New Year slowdown. Data released this morning from HMRC has found that residential deals nudged up by 0.8 per cent between December and January, marking a 1.3 per cent rise on the same period [...]
Debenhams closure: What next for struggling retail landlords? December 1, 2020 Retail landlords are set to take a multimillion pound hit following the collapse of Debenhams and Arcadia’s fall into administration, and could struggle to fill the space left by closed flagship stores. Many property owners, which have already been impacted during the pandemic due to a spike in retail restructurings and renegotiated rents, will lose [...]
In full: PM Boris Johnson’s Tory conference speech in full October 6, 2020 Boris Johnson took the stage Tuesday for the Tories’ virtual party conference, announcing policies on 1:1 teaching and low-deposit mortgages, but also promising to unleash the private sector. Here’s the text in full. Good morning conference, I want to begin by thanking you for everything you did at the election, pounding the streets in the [...]
McCarthy & Stone swings to a loss as completed projects halve July 15, 2020 McCarthy & Stone posted a £25m loss for the first half of 2020 this morning, and warned of further difficulties as the pandemic continues. The retirement-home builder said coronavirus had dampened housing transactions, affecting the number of sales it was able to complete in the six months to the end of April. McCarthy & Stone [...]
Opinion: Lloyd’s Lend a Hand mortgage is a great deal for the bank, but is it any good for borrowers? February 15, 2019 A “new” mortgage called ‘Lend a Hand’ from Lloyds made the headlines last week – well, the real headline was the 100 per cent Loan-to-Value, which brought back memories of the financial crisis. Digging deeper into the mortgage itself, this product may well help first-time buyers, provided they are very careful, but, really, it is [...]