The future of the construction industry is digital September 4, 2020 The double-whammy of a pandemic and a recession has made 2020 one of the most challenging and disrupted years in living memory. But the bright spot, in an otherwise battered economy, is construction, which forms a major part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ”Build Back Better” campaign. Britain’s construction industry grew at the fastest rate in almost [...]
Can office workers save the day for local businesses ravaged by Covid-19? September 2, 2020 The sudden shift to remote working put in place by the majority of UK businesses may herald the end of the office, at least as we know it. Five months and multiple government campaigns later, and the shift to the kitchen table continues, seemingly unabated. According to a survey from US bank Morgan Stanley, just [...]
Build back better? No, let’s build back smarter and take carbon out of construction August 27, 2020 Boris Johnson has set out his plans to “build back better”, and major changes have recently been announced to planning regulations to enable faster decisions on planning applications. It sounds like a developer’s paradise. But construction already accounts for nearly two fifths of UK carbon emissions, so where does that leave the government’s equally vaunted [...]
General Election 2019: Labour pledges 20 per cent property tax for foreign buyers November 23, 2019 Labour has pledged to put an extra 20 per cent levy on foreign companies buying property in the UK. The party has said it would charge firms and trusts from abroad looking to buy properties an additional 20 per cent on top of existing stamp duties and surcharges. Read more: General Election 2019: Jeremy Corbyn [...]
Billionaire businessman Teddy Sagi buys Grade II-listed Holborn building for £300m September 17, 2019 Billionaire businessman Teddy Sagi has bought a Grade II listed building in Holborn for £300m through his co-working investment vehicle Labtech. The 300,000 sq ft Victoria House, a neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s, is Labtech’s largest acquisition to date and brings the total value of its property portfolio to around £3bn. Read more: Belgravia’s [...]
Punching power: F45 is innovating gyms using technology September 16, 2019 Fitness is a cut-throat business. Competition is intense: there are over 7,000 gyms in the UK, and the market is worth about £5bn. Around one in seven people are paying some form of gym fee. Unsurprisingly, new fitness brands are popping up all the time to capitalise on the health and wellbeing trend. To stand [...]
Police release daredevil climber who scaled London’s 95-storey Shard skyscraper July 8, 2019 A man who was filmed climbing the outside of The Shard early this morning was let go by police later today, after reaching the building’s 95th floor. Police said the daredevil had been taken inside Britain’s tallest building with officers, after they were called at 5.15am to reports of a person scaling the tower. The [...]
Flotilla on the Thames: There’s going to be a royal river salute Queen Elizabeth II today with boats including Havengore, Gloriana, and Massey Shaw September 9, 2015 A flotilla of historic vessels will make a royal river salute on the River Thames today to mark Queen Elizabeth II becoming the UK's longest reigning monarch. The flotilla of boats will include the Havengore and Gloriana, which took part in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee River Pageant in 2012, as well as the fireboat, [...]
The City of London’s decade of growth – upwards September 6, 2015 An army of tall buildings that have transformed London’s skyline over the past decade – from the Heron Tower, completed in 2011, to the Shard, which opened in 2012 near the former site of City A.M.’s very first offices, New Bridge House. And there are many more to come in the next few years, [...]
The refugee crisis, the EU referendum and London’s skyline: Here’s what got us talking this week September 4, 2015 There was a fine wine scam. There was a Circle Line travelator (in the making). And somewhere in Japan, people started seeing the world from a cat's perspective. Here's what got us talking this week 1) The refugee crisis Disturbing images of dead toddler Aylan Kurdi galvanised the world into action over the Syrian refugee [...]