GOING OUT July 28, 2010 WITH the summer just about living up to expectations this year, outside space has become the holy grail when picking a great place to drink in London. It’s certainly tricky to find in Mayfair and the West End so when the sun does come out, here are some of the best alfresco spots to seek [...]
Generating cash from caring April 29, 2010 IT’S NOT often that an entrepreneur comes up with a multi-million pound idea while out with his elderly aunts looking at care homes around the south of England. But that is what happened to ex-advertising whiz Mike Parsons. That was back in 1988. The dismal state of the care homes that he visited sparked an [...]
North-South housing divide stark as ever April 12, 2010 THE chasm between house prices in the north and south of the UK is as wide as ever, according to a new report published yesterday. Not one of the ten streets with the lowest average property values in England and Wales was in the south of the country, the property research website Mouseprice Most Affordable [...]
2010 is the year of the big move to the country March 25, 2010 MANY who earn their crust in London dream of living in the country, and there are good reasons to make 2010 the year to make the move. While the property markets in the desirable parts of London have now fully recovered, with prices similar to those achieved in the 2007 peak, the same isn’t true [...]
John Lewis starts the year on a high February 12, 2010 JOHN Lewis has reported one of its healthiest starts to a financial year. Total sales in the first week of February were up 32 per cent. Fashion, including lingerie snapped up for Valentine’s Day – led sales gains by rising 47 per cent as new season ranges came into stores. John Lewis’s flagship store in [...]
John Lewis opens Olympic store February 1, 2010 Department store John Lewis is to open a shop next to the 2010 Olympics site as part of its sponsorship deal. The shop, in Stratford, will sell Olympic merchandise and become the 26th home-grown sponsor. An estimated 10,000 licensed products which will be on sale. The John Lewis flagship store in Oxford Street will also [...]
John Lewis to open “Olympic” store February 1, 2010 DEPARTMENT store John Lewis is to open a shop next to the 2010 Games site as part of its sponsorship deal. The shop, in Stratford, will sell Olympic merchandise and become the 26th home-grown sponsor. An estimated 10,000 licensed products which will be on sale. The john Lewis Flagship store in Oxford Street will also [...]
Weak pound fuels London sales boost January 18, 2010 SHOP sales in the capital soared over Christmas as tourists and Londoners embarked on spending sprees. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported that in London sales jumped 12 per cent in December – the best performance since it started publishing the figures in 2002. Visitors from Europe, China and the Middle East hit the shops, [...]
How the Queen of support services wants to turn UK companies green January 6, 2010 GOING GREEN may not be the most original of strategies but that doesn’t make it any less lucrative. So Mitie Ruby McGregor-Smith’s decision to bet the future of her support services giant on cashing in on the trend for all things environmental has gone down well with investors. The FTSE 250 company is still busy [...]
Buy-to-let is back as rents stabilise and low prices attract landlords December 3, 2009 BUY-TO-LET is starting to look like an attractive proposition once again, as lower house prices and a stabilising rental market result in more enticing yields. Data from LSL Property Services – the company that owns Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agencies – shows that annual returns on landlords’ investments have turned positive for the [...]