Three buyers on grid for Caterham after Formula One team went into administration and made 230 staff redundant December 11, 2014 Struggling Formula One team Caterham is in negotiations with three possible buyers as it seeks a takeover that will allow it to race next season, it emerged yesterday. Joint-administrator Henry Shinners – of London firm Smith & Williamson – told City A.M.: “There are three interested parties at present. There are more who want to [...]
How government is opening its supply chain – to small business’s benefit December 7, 2014 If you’ve never considered government as a potential client for your business, think again. Government spends £230bn every year on products and services across all layers – from central and local government, to the police, NHS, and emergency services. This may not previously have appealed to the small business owner, as the perception has always [...]
House price growth slows but could be boosted by tax reform December 4, 2014 THE HOUSE price boom continued to cool in November, data from a UK mortgage provider shows. House prices climbed 8.2 per cent year-on-year in November, down from 8.8 per cent in October, figures released yesterday by Halifax show. Although still high, year-on-year house price growth has fallen for the past four months after peaking at 10.2 [...]
This time last year Foxtons was an investor favourite – what happened? December 4, 2014 It was just over a year ago that London estate agent Foxtons became the darling of the London Stock Exchange with a stonkingly successful IPO. Having floated at 230p, valuing it at £649m, shares in the company rose sharply to a peak of 285.5p in its first day of trading. By the end of February, [...]
UK house price growth slows, but prices are five times average earnings December 4, 2014 House prices across the UK were up 8.2 per cent in the year to November, another month of slower growth after October's 8.8 per cent rise. The price to earnings ratio is ticking up, however, and has reached a multiplier of 5.02. Halifax’s house price index also showed quarterly prices up 0.7 per cent (slowing [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: George Osborne hits banks to help home buyers December 3, 2014 Chancellor plays Robin Hood by grabbing from the wealthy to fund stamp duty sweetener for those lower down property ladder. THE UK ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ● The UK’s economic growth has outperformed the March forecast of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), giving Britain the fastest growth rate in the G7. ● Unemployment has fallen [...]
Time is money: Why are watches so expensive? December 3, 2014 There’s a very good reason top quality watches can set you back six figures. Let us start with a description of two dramatically different approaches to highend mechanical watchmaking. Bear with me. Firstly: “At certain moments you might leave the drawing and let the metal guide you… I really value the fact that I can [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: George Osborne scraps stamp duty slabs December 3, 2014 George Osborne's Autumn Statement unveiled a raft of measures in an intensely political statement aimed at luring voters back from Ukip during next year's general election. His centrepiece? A complete overhaul of stamp duty which, he said, will create savings for 98 per cent of home buyers. To cheers from the Tory back benches, Osborne [...]
Focus on Victoria: Grab a prime bargain in SW1 November 27, 2014 Victoria has long been a place of work, but it’s been a while since it’s been a place to live. Dominated by a mixture of grey government office blocks and its various transport hubs, it certainly doesn’t fit the desirable London village trend. But that may be about to change. Developer Land Securities [...]
It doesn’t get more central than The Beecham in Covent Garden November 27, 2014 Covent Garden, that stretch of meandering streets off The Strand that culminates in the famous piazza, has been through every stage of London life. It started out, as many of the City’s suburbs did, as countryside, serving as gardens for Westminster Abbey. Then came its first gentrification phase when Henry VIII seized the land [...]