Budget 2016: Crossrail 2 could level the playing field when it comes to London’s house prices and office rents March 15, 2016 London is growing at an astronomical rate. Every week, more than two Tube-loads of people move into the capital and while the city’s transport infrastructure is a well-oiled machine, if we fail to invest in major projects, we run the risk of the network grinding to a halt. Set to be announced as part of tomorrow's Budget, Crossrail [...]
London office rents may be high – but there’s still plenty of fuel in the tank for growth as businesses look outside the centre March 14, 2016 Central London’s property market has been booming now for half a decade. Values and rents for the capital’s offices have risen steadily, by 88 per cent and 44 per cent respectively between April 2010 and January 2016, and those investing in the market have enjoyed total returns of 140 per cent over the same period. As ever, many [...]
City Moves for 14 March 2016 | Who’s switching jobs March 14, 2016 Accenture Professional services group Accenture has promoted Joydeep (Joy) Bhattacharya, pictured, to lead the Accenture Interactive business in the UK and Ireland. In addition to his new role, Joy will maintain his existing responsibilities as regional general manager for Fjord, Accenture’s design and innovation unit, in Europe, Africa and Latin America (EALA). With over 15 [...]
Fashion chain Jigsaw takes piece of West End after signing up to the Crown Estate and Oxford Properties’ £400m St James’s Market scheme March 14, 2016 Jigsaw has become the latest retailer to sign up to the Crown Estate and Oxford Properties’ £400m St James’s Market scheme. The fashion chain will open a 3,000 square feet shop last this year joining Swedish cycling brand Assos, Smeg and office tenants such as private equity Carlyle Group. Jigsaw's so-called Emporium will include 1,000 sq ft for its [...]
Footfall dips in February as shoppers abandon shopping centres and high streets March 14, 2016 Consumers flocked to retail parks in February but shunned high streets and shopping centres, according to data out today. Visitors to UK shops dropped by 1.1 per cent in February – an abrupt reversal of the 1.2 per cent rise seen in January, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard said. High streets and shopping [...]
Speedy CBRE team crush the corporate competition in Tower 42’s Vertical Rush March 10, 2016 TV personalities may have won the adrenalin fuelled race to the top of Tower 42 earlier this week, but one City firm also rose to the challenge. Five members of staff from real estate advisor CBRE were crowned champions of the annual Vertical Rush challenge on Wednesday. The sprint up every floor of Tower 42, precisely 920 steps, is about [...]
Metro Bank share price up as unconditional trading begins on London Stock Exchange and Jefferies initiates coverage with a buy March 10, 2016 Shares in Metro Bank are trading above the price of the British challenger bank's initial public offering (IPO) today, the first day of unconditional trading for the stock on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The stock is trading at 2,200p per share this morning, compared to an IPO price of 2,000p per [...]
Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the UK’s big six energy companies: CMA wants energy price cap for pre-payment meters March 10, 2016 Britain's competition watchdog wants to introduce temporary price controls for four million households which are on pre-payment meters, as it laid out sweeping reforms aimed at injecting more competition into Britain's energy market. This would cut bills by a total of £300m a year and will remain in place until 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) [...]
Former FA and Manchester City chairman David Bernstein joins advisory board at property investment firm Cogress March 10, 2016 An investment platform that allows consumers to invest in high-end developments has bolstered its advisory board after hiring former Manchester City chairman and retail veteran David Bernstein. Cogress, an open equity platform, was founded by Israeli entrepreneur Tal Orly in 2014 with the aim of making prime London residential and commercial developments accessible to private investors. Since its launch it has [...]
Sunday trading hours: Government defeated over plans to relax rules surrounding Sunday trading hours March 9, 2016 MPs dealt a major blow to Prime Minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne tonight by defeating government proposals to relax rules surrounding Sunday trading hours in England and Wales. In a rare House of Commons defeat for Cameron, MPs voted 317-286 to reject the government's plans. At least 20 Conservative MPs are understood to have rebelled. [...]