It pays to get your hands on the title deeds July 22, 2010 MORE London leaseholders than ever are taking advantage of their right to freehold enfranchisement – that is, the right to buy the freehold of their property – before the lease length drops below 80 years. “80 years is a magic number and not many people realise that,” says Katie Cohen of Jaffe Porter Crossick, a [...]
When experiments go wrong… July 22, 2010 Film SPLICE Cert: 15 Rhys Griffiths A CONTEMPORARY morality tale, this horror thriller pushes topical science controversies – stem cell tinkering, genetic cloning – to nightmarish extremes. Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) are superstar genetic engineers. Endowed with great scientific talent but seriously lacking in common sense, the pair cross ethical boundaries like [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND July 22, 2010 FILM CITY ISLAND Indie comedy about a disfunctional family with Andy Garcia and Emily Mortimer. IVUL French arthouse drama directed by the artist Andrew Kotting. MY NIGHT WITH MAUD Classic drama by the late French director Eric Rohmer, re-released. DVD ALICE IN WONDERLAND Tim Burton’s disappointing take on the Lewis Carroll tale. THE GIRL WITH [...]
Investing with a conscience July 22, 2010 FEW property developers can thank the financial crisis for leading them to their next business idea. Omari Bowers and Andrew Skeene are a rare exception. They could see that banks were pulling back on their lending since they specialised in arranging bridging finance loans for property developments. When they asked why, the genesis of Global [...]
Why now is the age for private equity July 22, 2010 THE venture capital and private equity industries had a bruising time during the credit crunch. But now that banks are less willing or able to lend they have found some good investment opportunities. Mark Lilley’s business Abokado, a takeaway lunchtime chain with six branches, recently benefited from a capital injection from private equity group Kings [...]
H&S LAW July 22, 2010 Q. Does my company need to worry about health and safety law? A.The main requirement for small companies is to draw up a written risk assessment if you employ five or more people. There is no legally required form that a risk assessment must take, but it must involve assessing potential risks to one’s employees, [...]
Dar Re Mi to be crowned Queen in tomorrow’s King George July 22, 2010 THE only place to start when looking at tomorrow’s King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is champion trainer Sir Michael Stoute. He trained the first three home in this race 12 months ago and looks to have another massive chance of getting a one-two with Derby winner Workforce and Hardwicke Stakes hero Harbinger. Workforce was [...]
THE INSIDER July 22, 2010 It’s about time the Derby winner came out and took on his elders in the King George. Great horses like Shergar, Nashwan and Lammtarra completed the double and I think WORKFORCE can add his name to the list tomorrow. His Epsom performance was breathtaking, scything through the field like a knife through butter. Yes, the [...]
Merger mania grips the City July 21, 2010 A SUMMER flurry of corporate activity gathered pace yesterday as SSL, the maker of Durex condoms, agreed a £2.5bn takeover offer from Reckitt Benckiser, and the owners of United Biscuits put the firm up for sale. Shares in SSL soared 33.5 per cent to £11.77 after the board recommended the FTSE 100 household goods company’s [...]
Oil giants to create $1bn spill squad July 21, 2010 FOUR oil giants have pledged $1bn (£659m) for a rapid response unit to battle future spills in the Gulf of Mexico, in a bid to regain America’s trust following the BP disaster. Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell will contribute equally to create the non-profit Marin Well Containment Company (MWC). BP, whose Macondo well [...]
