As Apple’s iPhone 6S lands will mobile payments change the way we live? December 11, 2015 Today’s smartphones can do incredible things. Need a ride around London? Just tap the Uber app. Fresh flowers or food from a local restaurant delivered straight to your door? Try Bloom & Wild or Deliveroo. These apps are fantastic, but there's a new smartphone feature set to fundamentally revolutionise the high street and how [...]
News you can celebrate: Happy Birthday is now officially in the public domain and free for all to sing December 9, 2015 One of the most performed and well-known songs in the world is finally free as a two-year legal battle over who owns the copyright to Happy Birthday to You comes to an end. Music publisher Warner/Chappell, part of Warner Music Group, has settled a class-action lawsuit for an undisclosed sum, with multiple artists who wanted to have fees they [...]
Derwent London sells Hoxton Hotel development on South Bank to Ennismore for £34m December 7, 2015 Derwent London has sold a development site on London’s South Bank to Hoxton Hotel owner Ennismore for £33.5m, as the company prepares to build a third branch of its East End venue. The FTSE 250 developer and Ennismore teamed up to gain planning consent this summer to convert Wedge House at 40 Blackfriars Road into [...]
Pub lunches and buying a pet: The low-cost lifestyle changes you can make to be happy in middle age December 7, 2015 Alright, so the older generation may be the most well-off – but according to new research, splashing the cash won't necessarily make you happy. A study by retirement income specialist Age Partnership has put together the definitive list of lifestyle changes over-55s can make to stay happy as they get older – and it turns [...]
Street Feast owner London Union backed by Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver crowdfunds millions for expansion December 3, 2015 London Union, the celeb-backed company behind Street Feast, Dinerama and Hawker House co-founded by the creator of Leon restaurants has raised millions of pounds to expand across the city. With the public appetite for street food only rising, it raised £2.5m on crowdfunding site Seedrs, with 160 individuals investing between £5,000 and £200,000. It has also raising a [...]
Government housing minister Brandon Lewis has admitted defeat in the face of the housing crisis: Generation Rent can’t make a “judgement call” about where they live December 2, 2015 The government has admitted defeat in the face of the London housing crisis. At least, that was the conclusion I drew yesterday when the housing minister told people hoping to stay in London to make “a judgement call about what you can afford and where is right for you”. By being “up front about the [...]
Greene King share price jumps as profits rise and Spirit integration takes place “ahead of plan” December 2, 2015 Brewery Greene King had a strong six months to mid-October, after successfully integrating its latest purchase into the business. The figures During the 24 weeks to 18 October, Greene King's pre-tax profit rose by 46.9 per cent to £121.3m, driven mostly by its acquisition of pub group Spirit Pub Company for £774m in July. It [...]
German Gymnasium restaurant review: This menu has the best sausage in town December 1, 2015 1 Kings Blvd, N1C 4BU, germangymnasium.com FOOD ★★★★★ | VALUE ★★★☆☆ | ATMOSPHERE ★★★★☆ Cost for two with booze: £120 The name German Gymnasium evokes images of preening, glistening men flexing their biceps; of grunts of exertion and the repetitive fwap of fists against leather; of the distant scent of Lynx. Restaurant giant D&D’s new venture is so-called [...]
Focus On Dalston: Why City workers still dig it November 30, 2015 Dalston may have become a byword for a certain type of bearded hipster in recent years, but there’s much more to the area than meets the eye. While Hackney has been through a tremendous change, Dalston has probably seen the greatest amount of it next to Shoreditch. There are now too many hot bars and [...]
Fortnum & Mason gets a pre-Christmas boost with record sales November 30, 2015 Londoners' enthusiasm for posh food continues apace, after luxury food retailer Fortnum & Mason's posted record sales. In the 12 months to July, total sales amounting to £88m for the period – 19 per cent higher than 2014 and 70 per cent higher than five years ago. In addition, profit before tax was 31 per cent [...]