Oil: Where do we go from here? April 21, 2020 Oil has collapsed. So how did we get here? Oil has fallen roughly 70% YTD, one of the biggest falls in history, as a result of a combination of supply and demand factors. When Covid-19 was first announced the markets were hesitant about its impact and continued to trade as normal until it started to [...]
Fresh blow for Woodford investors as biotech sell-off fails February 9, 2020 Investors in the failed flagship fund of Neil Woodford are facing a further blow after a £550m deal to rescue a portfolio of his stakes in biotech startups collapsed, raising concerns the holdings will be offloaded in a fire sale. WG Partners, a boutique investment bank specialising in life sciences, had been trying to assemble [...]
London house buyers report growth in gazumping despite wider UK decline November 21, 2018 Roughly two in every three London buyers has been ‘gazumped’ on a house purchase in the last year, according to a new poll which underlines the growing frustration within the capital’s housing market. Gazumping, which is the process of agreeing to a person’s offer on a property and then selling the house to another buyer [...]
Let it be: London councils should allow offices and shops to be converted into homes January 31, 2019 Amid all the Brexit brouhaha in Westminster it is important that parliamentarians do not forget the many other issues that affect people's day-to-day lives. Bravo, therefore, to MP Chris Philp for reminding Theresa May during yesterday's Prime Minister's Questions that the dream of homeownership remains all too elusive for many young adults – particularly in [...]
London Metal Exchange plans to suspend ring trading amid coronavirus outbreak March 17, 2020 The London Metal Exchange (LME) is planning to suspend open outcry trading and shift its business entirely on to electronic systems for the first time in its 143-year history to limit the spread of coronavirus. The LME said today that it expects to temporarily shutter Europe’s largest open-outcry trading venue next Monday to protect traders [...]
How to pick the best estate agent to sell your home October 18, 2019 When looking to sell your property, finding the right estate agent can feel like a real minefield. As a London-based property developer with over 30 years of industry experience, being able to identify the right people to find buyers for my finished homes has been vital to ensuring that the best prices were achieved – [...]
The good, the bad and the ugly of the cryptocurrency dream July 28, 2020 Way back in 2014, I debated the merits of bitcoin with cryptocurrency evangelist Andreas Antonopoulos. It was a wonderful, civil and not too disobedient dialogue. I was sceptical, not cynical. Six years later, I remain sceptical but now have a cynical bias. Let me explain what I see as the good, the bad and the [...]
Crypto AM: Shines its Spotlight on Electroneum May 19, 2020 Imagine a cryptocurrency for social impact that solves many of the issues the 1.7 billion unbanked people around the world face today. Now envision one with the potential to empower hundreds of millions anywhere with instant access to the global digital economy unlocking for them the opportunity to earn crypto and use it to live [...]
Property focus on Sloane Square: This 1980s hotspot is experiencing a revival November 22, 2019 It may be famed for being the social epicentre for the young and blue-blooded in the 1980s, having lent its name to the Sloane Ranger set which included Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson. But the area around Sloane Square is now getting a modern makeover – and vying with other parts of Chelsea and Mayfair [...]
Housing market uncertainty persists as property transactions remain flat September 24, 2019 Property transactions in August edged down slightly year-on-year, but buyers and sellers showed some signs of resilience despite the current Brexit uncertainty. There were 99,890 residential deals in August 2019, falling 0.9 per cent from last year but rising 15.8 per cent compared with the previous month, according to new HMRC data published today. Signs [...]