City of London approves plans for new skyscraper near Walkie Talkie December 6, 2024 The City of London has approved plans to build a “landmark” 36-storey tower near Liverpool Street. The proposals for the £500m tower, located at 60 Gracechurch Street, were first put forward in April by the UK property developer behind The Shard, Sellar, and Japanese developer Obayashi. The developers had said the construction will start in [...]
Revolut, Interactive Investor and Abcam: Britain’s venture capital success stories December 6, 2024 This week, Revolut made headlines when it emerged that early investors in the fintech had been offered an opportunity to cash out with returns of up to 400 times their initial investment. The news arrived in the same week venture capital trusts celebrated their 30th anniversary of backing British startups. Revolut used crowdfunding rather than [...]
Observer newspaper sale to Tortoise Media approved December 6, 2024 A deal to sell the Observer newspaper to Tortoise Media has been approved, it has been announced. The boards of the Scott Trust and Guardian Media Group have given their blessing to the sale – only days after Observer newspaper journalists went on strike over the proposed sell off. No information has been given over [...]
Ian King quits Business Live and will leave Sky News in Spring December 6, 2024 Presenter Ian King has quit Business Live and will leave Sky News early next year, it has been announced. King has been with the news channel for ten years and has “agreed to contribute analysis and reporting” to Sky News’ website over the coming months ahead of his departure. The move comes after City AM [...]
Keir Starmer: Planning regime ‘suffocating aspirations of working families’ December 6, 2024 Writing in the Times, Starmer said the planning system had become "increasingly ruinous" and was "suffocating the aspirations of working families".
City of London approves Barbican Centre regeneration ahead of 50th anniversary December 6, 2024 A £191m funding package has been approved to repair and upgrade the Barbican, the City of London’s flagship cultural and performing arts centre. The City of London Corporation approved the package yesterday, and construction on the Barbican Centre will begin in 2027. The package will fund 80 per cent of the first phase of the [...]
Planning reforms have had ‘profound and hugely positive impact’, Berkeley says December 6, 2024 FTSE 100 house builder Berkeley said it was on track to meet its profit targets in 2025 as it announced a new investment strategy to help capitalise on the government’s planning reforms. The government has committed to building 1.5m new homes over the course of the parliament. To meet its target, ministers are consulting on [...]
UK house prices reach record levels with demand set to continue December 6, 2024 House prices have now reached record levels as lower mortgage rates have helped improve buyer confidence for the fifth month in a row. According to the Halifax House Price Index, UK house prices rose 1.3 per cent in November, the biggest increase this year. November’s increase pushed the annual growth rate up 4.8 per cent, [...]
Aviva set for £3.6bn Direct Line takeover December 6, 2024 Direct Line is set to agree to a £3.6bn takeover by its bigger rival Aviva, after the FTSE 100 firm returned with a sweetened bid for the company today. In a joint statement to the market this morning, the two firms said they had struck the outlines of a deal in which Aviva will pay [...]
CBI downgrades forecast for UK economy after Budget December 6, 2024 The UK economy is set for slower than expected and “unimpressive” growth in 2025 thanks partly to punitive measures introduced in October’s Budget, a leading business group has predicted. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) now expects Britain’s economy to grow by just 1.5 per cent next year, it said in its latest economic forecast, [...]