CURRENT MORTGAGE DEALS March 11, 2010 LENDER FIXED/FLEXIBLE RATE UNTIL STANDARD RATE APR MAXIMUM LOAN (PER CENT) (PER CENT) (PER CENT)TO VALUE (PER CENT) First Direct Flexible 2.39 Term 3.69 2.9 65 Market Harborough BS Flexible 2.48 2 years 5.49 5.1 75 HSBC Special Flexible 2.49 Term 3.94 2.7 60 Yorkshire BS Flexible 2.49 To Mar 2012 4.99 4.7 75 Nationwide [...]
FOCUS ON: CROYDON, GREATER LONDON March 11, 2010 CHELLOWS, BIRCH HILL, SHIRLEY HILLS, CR0 5HT Price: £2.495m An extremely spacious five bedroom detached property, this house has a separate annexe and is located in a private road. There is a smart kitchen/breakfast room and a garden/music room with a bar. It comes with 1.3 acres of landscaped gardens and a heated swimming pool. [...]
INTERIORS March 11, 2010 Q.Dear Andrew, I have just come back from holiday and was taken by the wet room that was part of our suite. I was thinking about updating my en suite – how can I recreate it? A.A wet room is a great way to achieve a clean and contemporary look for your en suite. You [...]
Stylish kit for your kitchen March 11, 2010 1 Salter Sweetie kitchen scales, £44, www.johnlewis.com 2 Retro popcorn maker, £24.99, www.gilesandposner.com 3 Nest 8 bowls, £35, www.josephjoseph.com 4 Cico egg cup and spoon, £10.00, www.alessi.co.uk 5 Limited edition Russell Hobbs crystal glass toaster with Swarovski crystals, £159, www.harrods.com 6 Bugatti Vela blender, £160, www.harrods.com 7 Artisan stand mixer, £399, www.kitchenaid.co.uk 8 Ibis kettle, [...]
Enron survivor sails to success March 11, 2010 BUDDING entrepreneurs consider this: you co-found a business and, after a while, you realise the culture isn’t right for you. What do you do? John Paskin abandoned his first dream of becoming an entrepreneur in 2007 and went back to his corporate job as an IT manager at BP and waited until the time was [...]
Spring clean your tax affairs for April March 11, 2010 ONE of the drawbacks of starting your own business is that you have to become an expert in everything from day one. This includes the maze that is our tax laws. Come the new financial year, these are only going to become more complicated. So what can entrepreneurs do to put their financial houses in [...]
OUTSOURCING March 11, 2010 Q. What are the benefits of outsourcing for a small business? A.The primary benefit is cost, says Cathy Ryan, Director at Transformosys, a business consultancy that specialises in outsourcing. “It can cut operational costs as it is cheaper over the long-run than employing members of staff.” Ryan recommends that you only outsource back-office roles that [...]
Scorsese takes over the asylum March 11, 2010 FILM SHUTTER ISLAND Cert: 15 HHHII MARTIN Scorsese pays tribute to his hero Alfred Hitchcock in this creepy thriller that lays the atmosphere on with a heavy trowel, but doesn’t quite keep us as gripped as we should be. Leonardo DiCaprio, the star of Scorcese’s previous three films, is Teddy Daniels, a Fifties US Marshal [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS March 11, 2010 FILM GREEN ZONE Matt Damon and Bourne-director Paul Greengrass go to war in Baghdad. THE KREUTZER SONATA Danny Huston stars in this adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel. HACHI:?A DOG’S TALE Richard Gere stars in a true story of a professor and his bond with his dog. DVD AN EDUCATION Sixties-set coming-of-age drama, with Carey Mulligan on [...]
Bag yourself a leather satchel this spring March 11, 2010 1 Explorer satchel by Dunhill, £695, www.dunhill.com 2 Cavalry satchel by Aspinal of London, £395, www.aspinaloflondon.com 3 Jour Apres Jour shoulder bag by Berluti, £1,600 www.berluti.com 4 Men’s leather satchel by Austin Reed, £150, www.austinreed.co.uk 5 Travel computer case by Carolina Herrera, £780, www.carolinaherrera.com 6 Barnaby shoulder bag by Mulberry, £450, www.mulberry.com 7 Messenger bag [...]