Ascot is all about hats with a big H June 4, 2009 I’M sitting on a gold baroque-style seat in a small boutique on Great Queen Street, surrounded by hats that look more like sculptural cakes than headwear. There is an otherworldly hush in the shop, and each hat is a sophisticated creation. Celebrity milliner Stephen Jones’s hatworld is daunting. After all, it is about what he [...]
GENTS, GO FLORAL June 4, 2009 Sara HollambyStyle CounselIT’S Ascot time again, and this is the moment for guys to shine with a fabulous waistcoat (don’t worry about the expense – it’ll last you years) and a fragrantly fabulous floral tie. Go to Favourbrook waistcoat shop in Piccadilly Arcade. This summer they have a new collection of real “vintage” embroidered fabrics. [...]
FOCUS ON: CAMBRIDGESHIRE June 4, 2009 MANOR FARM, 10 NORTH END, BASSINGBOURNPrice: £2mThis stunning Georgian house is located outside Cambridge and is three miles from Royston railway station – 40 minutes from Kings Cross. Sitting next to a 14th century church, the grounds could not be more picturesque. The property has seven bedrooms, of which two have en suites. The kitchen [...]
House prices see surprise jump in May June 4, 2009 HOUSE prices unexpectedly rose by 2.6 per cent in May at their fastest monthly rate since October 2002, according to Halifax’s house price survey released yesterday, although economists warned that house prices still had some way to go before bottoming out. Last month’s rise soundly beat analysts’ expectations of a fall of one per cent [...]
Car sales continue to drop despite scrappage scheme June 4, 2009 SALES of new cars continued to slide last month despite the government’s £300m scrappage scheme, new industry data revealed yesterday. New registrations fell 24.8 per cent in May to 134,858 units, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. It is the 13th straight month of faling volumes, as consumers shun expensive purchases like [...]
Q&A: RENTING June 4, 2009 Louise SavageDIRECTOR OF RESIDENTIAL LAND Q. I rent out a house and the neighbours have complained to me more than once now about my tenants making noise. How should I bring this up? I feel embarrassed and don’t want to ruin what is otherwise a good relationship with my tenants. A. In this kind of situation, [...]
Threadneedle Street and ECB leave interest rates on hold June 4, 2009 THE Bank of England (BoE) yesterday left UK interest rates at 0.5 per cent and announced no further asset purchasing beyond the existing £125bn, which the Bank expects will take two more months to complete. However, the Confederation of Business Industry’s chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty said fragile monetary and lending conditions mean the Bank [...]
Sales surge at WM Morrison June 4, 2009 SUPERMARKET group WM Morrison yesterday reported a better-than-expected 8.2 per cent jump in first quarter like-for-like sales, after it poached new customers from premium retailers. Chief executive Marc Bolland said Britain’s fourth largest supermarket had attracted an extra 500,000 customers a week over the period, largely driven by strong growth in London and the South. [...]
Helical Bar plans developing spree June 4, 2009 PROPERTY group Helical Bar yesterday said it had turned a corner as it revealed plans to begin a development spree, despite plunging further into the red for the full year. The firm said it had raised around £500m to invest in retail projects and student accommodation developments, including £26.4m of its own cash raised in [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 4, 2009 J SAINSBURYIt’s the end of the beginning for J Sainsbury, not the beginning of the end, said analysts at Morgan Stanley as they upgraded the stock from “equal-weight” to “over-weight”. The broker expects the retailer to deliver premium like-for-like growth for at least 12 months, and has set a price target of 375p, which is [...]
