San Francisco: the foodie’s dream November 27, 2011 THOSE lucky San Franciscans. One hour north and there’s Napa Valley. A hop skip and a jump (or 30 minutes) east of Napa and you’re in the stunning Sonoma wine region. Natural wonders including Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and the Big Sur are all on your doorstep. Top that with the fabulous food and drink and [...]
TRAVEL NOTES November 27, 2011 Australia to set up marine park bigger than Germany Australia has agreed to set up the world’s biggest marine park to protect vast areas of the Coral Sea off the country’s northeast coast and the site of fierce naval battles during World War Two. The park will cover almost 1m square km – an area [...]
Why it’s time to ditch the term Cyber Monday November 27, 2011 Today is Cyber Monday, which means at some point this evening we will all finally be subsumed into the greater consciousness of the net. Don’t panic, life will be better there. There won’t be any nasty “personalities” or “individuals” or “things,” just an infinite loop of the John Lewis advert playing over the surface of [...]
Welcome to Xmas hamper heaven November 27, 2011 CHRISTMAS TEA HAMPER £150 ● Jubilee Biscuit Selection, 500g Tin ● Afternoon Blend Tea, 125g Tin ● Apricot Preserve, no.98 ● Burleigh Mug ● Christmas Coffee, 250g Tin ● Christmas Curd, 327g ● Christmas Spiced Preserve, 340g ● Jubilee Clotted Cream & Pistachio Biscuits, 250g Tall Tin ● 900g Mulled Wine Spice Bag ST NICHOLAS [...]
Grainger up on a south east boost November 24, 2011 GRAINGER, the UK’s largest residential landlord, posted an 8.2 per cent rise in full year net asset value and remained confident in its outlook for the UK residential market as it focuses on London and the south east. Gross net asset value per share at the company grew to 216p at the end of September [...]
London & Stamford slumps into the red on higher costs November 24, 2011 LONDON & Stamford Property swung to a loss in the six months to September, thanks to a jump in exceptional costs and losses on derivatives. The firm, which owns One Carter Lane and Fleet Place in the City, posted a pre-tax loss of £3.4m, compared with a profit of £23.2m in the same period last [...]
Property developer Helical Bar swings back into full year profit November 24, 2011 HELICAL Bar swung to a first-half pretax profit, while its underlying net asset value slipped lower, and said it expected to sell more non-core assets in the coming months. The company, led by property veteran Michael Slade, posted a pre-tax profit of £4.1m for the six months, up from a loss of £3.2m. “The group [...]
CROYDON November 24, 2011 SAFFRON SQUARE Price: From £182,500 for one-bedroom to £640,000 for three-bedroom with balcony Saffron Square will be over 22,000 square feet of new apartment and retail buildings, all set in a new public square, landscaped and with water features. There will be 715 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Contact Knight Frank on 020 7861 5499 [...]
SELL November 24, 2011 MANAGING DIRECTOR OF KAY & CO, CENTRAL LONDON ESTATE AGENCY Q.I’m about to put my house on the market – how long should I expect it to take me to sell my home? A.This is a tricky question to answer as time scales vary dramatically. However, on balance, in order to allow for a full [...]
PROPERTY NEWS November 24, 2011 PRIME MARKETS TO LEVEL OFF NEXT YEAR The world’s prime markets are anticipated to level off next year, according to the Knight Frank global forecast. Forty-four per cent of cities are expected to see prices rise, 44 per cent should expect a fall in prices, and 12 per cent will remain unchanged. Asian cities are [...]