SELLING March 3, 2011 MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL LONDON ESTATE AGENCY, KAY & CO Q.I am looking to upsize but want to make sure I’ve found something else to buy before I put my property on the market. What do you advise? A.At present the prime central London market lacks fluidity and it is very difficult to tie in [...]
Profits double at Persimmon as sales falter March 1, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon warned yesterday that the weak mortgage market will continue to dampen sales this year, after almost doubling its pre-tax profit to £153.9m in 2010. While Persimmon sold 4.5 per cent more homes last year, the firm said completions tailed off towards the end of 2010 amid a tough mortgage market and economic fears. [...]
The entrepreneur who has found just the ticket February 24, 2011 IAM worried about the Olympics.” Joe Cohen, the founder and CEO of Seatwave, leans forward to explain. “They are capping the cost of all the tickets at face value, which is a stupid idea. It’s simple economics that whenever you have a situation where demand exceeds supply and you have a price cap, a black [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS JET TRAVEL REBOUNDS AS RICH SPLASH OUT FOR PRIVACY Private jet travel, shunned in the recession as a sign of ostentation, is recovering in a further sign that the world’s richest people are spending more freely again. The number of business flights – which includes celebrity, state and business hire – grew [...]
Home comforts point to Indian World Cup glory February 17, 2011 JUST OVER a month ago and England were joint-favourites with some layers for the World Cup. They are now out to 17/2 with Victor Chandler and bookies will happily take your money. Lifting the World Twenty20, their maiden international trophy, last year and their rousing Ashes victory in the winter are fading memories after the [...]
The £120m question: Will Gold and Sullivan cash in? February 14, 2011 IN THEIR first press conference as majority owners of West Ham on 18 January last year, David Gold and David Sullivan made clear their ambition to move the club into the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games. They knew it had the potential to catapult the debt-laden East End club into the big league; [...]
ROCHESTER February 10, 2011 WHORNES PLACE, CUXTON Price: £850,000 A magical home with a unique blend of old and new qualities. This property is grade II listed and steeped in history. It even has a coat of arms inscribed above the front door. However, it has been renvovated to the highest standards of modern luxury. The walled garden is more [...]
BUYING February 10, 2011 Q.I am thinking of buying a buy-to-let property in central London. What type of property makes the best rental and which tenant market should I be going after? A.We tend to advise our investment clients to opt for a two double bedroom, two bathroom configuration for a rental investment. This set-up will appeal to a [...]
FTSE held back by blue-chips and miners February 9, 2011 London trading was weighed down by falls in major stocks trading ex-dividend, outweighing strong performances by financial stocks. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.64 per cent or 30.04 points at 6,052.29, as BP, GlaxoSmithKline, International Power, Royal Dutch Shell, Sage Group and Unilever all lost their payout attractions. “After Tuesday’s leap to multi-year highs, a [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 8, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BRUSSELS URGED TO END BIG FOUR DOMINANCE Four international accountancy networks have taken the unusual step of jointly calling for changes to the audit market in Europe and arguing that regulatory intervention is needed to dilute the power of the profession’s biggest operators. BDO International, RSM International and Grant Thornton International, the world’s [...]