City tourism boosted with £230m Farringdon hotel plans Hospitality Developers have unveiled plans for a new 350-room hotel in Farringdon, setting up a £230m joint venture to revamp the historic site. Dublin-based aparthotel operator Staycity, which owns the Wilde brand, has founded a partnership with Penta Real Estate to deliver the new project. The 11-storey site, which will offer apartment living and co-working areas, [...]
Oxford Street pedestrianisation is a win for London Opinion The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street will create a new a public realm where it is anticipated that people will enjoy the new space, stay longer and spend more, says Andrew Busby The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street is the most radical project to hit the West End in decades. Almost a kilometre of the nation’s high [...]
Don’t congratulate Sadiq Khan for delivering the transport London needed 10 years ago Opinion So far, Sadiq Khan's only transport achievements have been to cut the ribbon on new projects that his predecessors started, writes James Ford.
Microsoft hops on Lizzie line in search for new London HQ February 25, 2026 Microsoft has hopped on the Elizabeth Line in its search for a new London headquarters, with the US tech giant eyeing up Paddington and Canary Wharf as potential homes. The tech firm needs upwards of 200,000 sq ft from its new office and is seeking advice from CBRE, according to the Financial Times. Office space [...]
This hotel on the Elizabeth Line is 30 minutes from London but feels totally remote January 22, 2026 THE HOTEL: The Cotswolds has attracted A-Listers like Ellen DeGeneres and Beyonce partly because of its proximity to London. Morning meetings in Mayfair are softened by late lunches in the countryside. That’s old hat now though, thanks to the Elizabeth Line. The easterly stretches of rural Buckinghamshire and Berkshire can be considered London by virtue [...]
Elizabeth Line branded a ‘folie de grandeur’ in Treasury campaign against Crossrail December 31, 2025 Tory Chancellor Kenneth Clarke warned that initial plans for the Elizabeth Line were a “folie de grandeur” that taxpayers would be unwilling to foot the bill, during a protracted rearguard action against the megaproject by the Treasury in the 1990s, City AM can reveal. According to a fraught set of ministerial correspondence released to the [...]
London Museum: inside the £400m cultural development at West Smithfield December 9, 2025 The London Museum is set to open at West Smithfield in 2026. It is one of Europe’s largest cultural developments and is backed by more than £400m in funding from the City of London Corporation and the Mayor of London, of which the City Corporation is contributing £222m. I recently toured the museum and met [...]
Elizabeth Line operator doubles profit before contract loss September 23, 2025 Profit at the first company to operate the Elizabeth Line in London more than doubled in the year before it lost the contract, it has been revealed. The division of MTR Corporation is part of the wider majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong and had run the line since it first opened. However, the [...]
Londoners paying £42,700 premium to live near Tube and train stations September 23, 2025 Home buyers in London are paying as much as a £42,700 premium to live close to a train station. According to research from Nationwide Building Society, there is a stark pricing gulf between houses within 500 metres of a station compared to 1,500 metres. Londoners face a significantly higher premium compared to other major urban [...]
Thameslink boss steps down after less than two years July 21, 2025 The chief executive of Go-Ahead, the group which operates London’s Thameslink, Gatwick Express and the Elizabeth Line through a joint venture, has stepped down after less than two years in the role. Miguel Parras has resigned from his role at the Newcastle-headquartered group to “pursue other opportunities” after 20 months. The group has not announced [...]