Brexit and beginners: Why the City must step up and support the next generation January 16, 2017 The City of London Corporation hosted its annual London Government Dinner last week. Central to the event was the topic of Brexit, in which the London mayor Sadiq Khan was vocal on how devolution would play a critical role in supporting Britain’s capital after Brexit. The lord mayor’s speech covered a different but equally important issue; [...]
Growth in London’s business activity at 11-month high January 15, 2017 December saw the fastest period of growth in London’s business activity since January last year, according to a report by Lloyds Bank. London’s showing on the Lloyds Bank purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was up 56.1 points in December, from 55.3 in November. Despite the strong figures, London was behind most other UK regions for business [...]
London’s iconic Goring Hotel hits record £14m in revenue January 15, 2017 The Goring Hotel in Belgravia reported its highest ever turnover in 2016, coming in at more than £14m with a profit of £1.6m. In a year which saw the Goring Dining Room receive its first Michelin star and the hotel awarded five stars in the Forbes Travel Guide, profit before tax almost quadrupled to £2m. [...]
Smokers Paradise lost: City’s oldest cigar shop shuts its doors January 14, 2017 One of the City's oldest cigar shops has shut its doors after serving the great and the good of the Square Mile for almost 200 years. Smokers Paradise, a shop which was based in the iconic Royal Exchange at the heart of London's financial district, has sold its final Montecristo after rising rent costs made it [...]
Remember special relationships? The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator wants one with the City of London January 14, 2017 The EU's chief Brexit negotiator has indicated signs of a softening his previously hardline stance of the UK's exit from the union, letting slip a desire to allow member states access to the City. Michel Barnier wants a "special" relationship with London financial powerhouse as part of any Brexit deal, according to unpublished European parliament [...]
Best and worst: The UK cities that are most and least likely to follow through on New Year’s promises January 13, 2017 For many of us, a couple of weeks into January and we're ready to bin those well intentioned promises made on New Year's Day. But new research by Amex has revealed which UK city is most confident about following through on their New Year's resolution. Read more: This is how much you're going to spend on getting [...]
No business like snow business: The funniest tweets about London’s flurry of snow January 13, 2017 The Met Office had issued warnings, Transport for London (TfL) said it had prepared – but in the event, in the capital yesterday's snow flurry proved pretty disappointing. That didn't stop Londoners from taking to Twitter to express their excitement, though. Here are the best tweets about #Snowmageddon. With the Met Office having issued warnings [...]
Why a Singapore-style London would be run by Jeremy Corbyn January 13, 2017 Occasionally, highly educated Londoners half-jokingly, half-wistfully suggest the city should declare independence from the rest of the country. They really mean independence from provincial England, whose values and political priorities they abhor. They aspire to live in a city friendly to business and the successful – an open-minded city, open to the world. Would they [...]
Canary Wharf station reopens after flooding trouble causes more travel headaches for the capital’s commuters January 12, 2017 The capital's commuters have been given yet more travel headaches for the week, after flooding caused station troubles during rush-hour. Canary Wharf was evacuated due to flooding, while westbound services weren't stopping at Mansion House and Victoria station also because of flooding. Bank was also closed due to overcrowding. Trains are now stopping at Mansion House, though Circle [...]
Snow no! London airports have cancelled dozens of flights January 12, 2017 As snow and ice loomed over London, airports across the capital have cancelled dozens of flights. Heathrow and Gatwick airports both said some flights were cancelled in advance of the snow, which is set to begin at five o'clock tonight. Meanwhile, Luton and City airports both said they will keep travellers up to date. Heathrow [...]