Shaftsbury integration ‘progressing well’ in vote of confidence for booming London west end June 14, 2023 Shaftesbury delivered a confident update to the markets, as a return to international tourism and its £4.9bn merger with Capco helped boost activity London’s West-end. In March last year, the two West-end landlords merged, meaning that Shaftesbury who owns land around Soho and Capco who owns land around Covent Garden now operate under one ownership. [...]
Transport for London warns of huge crowds on Coronation weekend – and here’s what they’re doing about it April 18, 2023 Service providers such as Transport for London which operates the tube and bus network in the Capital have warned of huge central London crowds between 6 and 8 May over the bank holiday weekend. Extra train services are being laid on for the King’s coronation weekend, but the transport operation will not match the scale [...]
FTSE 100 live: London markets rise after UK GDP contracts by less than expected July 13, 2023 London markets rose this morning, despite housebuilders slumping, after official figures showed that the UK economy contracted by less than expected. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.18 per cent higher at 7,429.68 while the midcap FTSE 250, which is more aligned with the health of the domestic economy, climbed 0.13 per cent to 18,604.03. Sentiment [...]
May bank holiday traffic: 17 million car journeys in ‘busiest weekend’ since 2016 April 25, 2023 Traffic levels are set to soar, with this weekend set to be the busiest since 2016, according to research conducted by the RAC and transport analytics firm Inrix. Over 17 million journeys will take place over the long weekend, beating the 14.6 million predicted for the King’s coronation, as Brits opt to watch the event [...]
Small business confidence slumps amid rising rates and stubborn inflation July 26, 2023 Confidence among small businesses slumped in the second quarter as the impact of rising rates and a stalling economy hit SMEs. The Federation of Small Business’s (FSB) Small Business Index fell to minus 14.2 points in the second quarter, down 11.4 points in the first quarter of the year. The fall in confidence reflects the [...]
Supermarket wars: Tesco rakes in £8.92bn of sales as clubcard points entice cash-strapped shoppers May 23, 2023 Tesco remains Britain’s favourite supermarket with clubcard points helping cash-strapped shoppers in the cost of living crisis – but Waitrose was given a sales boost thanks to luxury purchasing during the King’s Coronation. Figures released by Kantar show that in the 12 weeks to 15 May, ‘Big Four’ grocer Tesco raked in £8.92bn in sales [...]
Bumper Bank Holiday drives footfall levels up June 1, 2023 Bumper bank holidays in May helped hike footfall levels as work-free Brits flocked to the high streets to drink and shop in a welcomed boost for businesses. Footfall over the last month climbed 3.6 per cent, the second month in a row in which levels have risen following a 3.3 per cent jump in April, [...]
After the economy grew again, will Bank of England’s rate hikes tip the UK into recession? August 11, 2023 The UK economy grew faster than expected in June, expanded 0.5 per cent, helping to bring growth in the second quarter to 0.2 per cent – but analysts are divided about what the figures say for the coming months. Growth in June was given a boost by a strong performance from the production sector, which [...]
Wage growth has ‘passed its peak’ as Andrew Bailey prepares to address City on interest rates July 10, 2023 Workers returning to the jobs markets and boosting the volume of candidates available to businesses are poised to put a lid on wage growth, analysts are predicting official numbers this week will show. Pay growth is said to have “passed its peak” after raging for more than a year, fuelled by staff demanding wage increases [...]
London Calling! Over two million tourists will visit this year in £674m boost to the capital August 1, 2023 London will welcome more than two million international tourists this year compared to last, bringing an additional £674m to the capital. As travel fully recovers post-pandemic, data from the London mayor’s office, shows that London was the top city in Europe for bed nights in 2022 with an increase of 131.5 per cent in 2021. [...]