Housebuilding in London has plummeted in the run-up to the mayoral election: Here’s which boroughs are approving the fewest new homes April 28, 2016 It seems the capital's local authorities have got a case of the heebie-jeebies in the run-up to the mayoral election – after a new report showed approvals for new homes have plummeted. The report, by estate agent Stirling Ackroyd, found London boroughs gave the thumbs-up to a mere 4,320 homes in the first quarter of the [...]
Corbyn-backing Sadiq Khan would be a disaster for London’s thriving economy April 28, 2016 When it comes to business, London’s mayoral election matters for the whole country. Britain’s economy is deeply interconnected. A startup in Bristol will hire a design agency in Soho to help them market their product online; a Leeds manufacturer will draw on finance and legal advice from firms in the City. For better or for [...]
Bankers: Nearly everybody else is working harder than you April 27, 2016 Workers in the square mile probably feel like they have one of the hardest daily grinds in the country. If you're one of them, you might agree, but a new survey from recruitment firm Reed suggests there will be little in the way of sympathy from friends and families in other professions. In fact, most people [...]
Why Brexit could spell trouble for Berkeley Group if foreign investors abandon London April 27, 2016 Berkeley Homes produces some of the most desirable goods in the UK. Building high-end houses and apartments chiefly in London, this well-managed company has delivered impressive profit margins and sustained growth. To explain this success, many would point to London’s chronic housing shortage. Annual demand is typically estimated at 50,000 homes by industry commentators. In [...]
Regular home buyers feel the squeeze as investors and second home buyers storm London property market April 27, 2016 Fewer than half of all homes sold in central London over the last three months went to regular homeowners, a new report has shown, casting a light on the extent of the housing crisis in the capital. Buy to let landlords accounted for 36 per cent of property transactions during the first three months of [...]
Wheeeeeeeee! Tickets for the giant Olympic Park Orbit slide have gone on sale April 26, 2016 Time to treat your inner child – tickets have gone on sale for the highly anticipated giant slide at the Orbit Tower in London's Olympic Park. How giant? It happens to be the longest and tallest tunnel slide in Europe. Nice one London. Tickets will cost £17 – the current £12 cost of climbing the Anish Kapoor [...]
Big Ben’s bongs are going to be silenced for months April 26, 2016 One of the capital's most iconic sounds is going to be silenced for several months, as repairs are carried out on the UK's best-known clock tower. The Houses of Parliament said today that Big Ben's bongs will be no more – for several months, anyway – while vital repairs are carried out to the tower. Meanwhile, [...]
Paul Smith wants to turn Trafalgar Square into a mini golf course – but he needs your help April 26, 2016 Paul Smith and his friends at the London Design Festival have teamed up to transform Trafalgar Square from its current status, ie. tourist-addled nightmare, to the sort of mini golf course we can only dream about. Smith has even designed a pair of socks for it. But there's no easy way to say this: there's a chance it might not [...]
People would leave big cities if they knew their professional life wouldn’t suffer for it, but poor connectivity leaves many dreams of countryside living unrealised April 26, 2016 Many workers would gladly swap city streets for a breath of countryside air if they weren't so concerned about their job prospects, a study out today has found. The research by Citrix, seen exclusively by City A.M., found that over half (54 per cent) of the 1,243 workers they surveyed would move to a more rural [...]
London Marathon 2016 in pictures: Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer, Prince Harry and Top Gear’s Chris Evans among crowds and runners… and Tim Peake in space April 24, 2016 When the marathon comes to town, prepare yourself for crazy costumes, famous faces, record attempts and dramatic moments. And even if you're not running the race, you can still enjoy the atmosphere from afar. Kenyan athletes Eliud Kipchoge and Jemima Sumgong won the elite races, with Sumgong taking the top spot (two hours, 22 minutes and [...]