Inside the Caribbean island that’s becoming a secret AI hub June 20, 2025 Anguilla is where high-rolling lawyers from New York go to work remotely in tranquillity. It is also becoming an unlikely world-leading beacon for AI due to one lucky coincidence. Adam Bloodworth went in search of answers The Sunset Bar on St Maarten’s Maho Beach is one of the weirdest tourist attractions in the world. Go [...]
Sale Sharks tycoon Simon Orange buys steel giant June 17, 2025 The co-owner of rugby union side Sale Sharks, Simon Orange, has bought the UK’s second-largest steel contractor just a few months after selling his investment business in a deal worth more than £1bn. Self-made millionaire Orange, whose brother Jason was an original member of Take That, has snapped up a majority stake in Greater Manchester-based [...]
Business rates to hammer the West End: ‘This whole policy is nuts’ June 16, 2025 A rise in business rates for more expensive properties is set to hammer valuable areas like London’s West End, a leading investment firm has warned. The policy, which aims to bring down business rates for small properties by raising them for large properties, has been slammed as “unlikely to save the high street” and likely [...]
London broker upgrades landlord GPE on expected surge in prime office rents June 12, 2025 London broker Peel Hunt has upgraded the target share price for West End property giant Great Portland Estates (GPE) as high demand for best-in-class office space is set to push up prices. GPE’s share price was 342p as of the close on June 11, but Peel Hunt brokers have set a target price of 375p. [...]
Bob Bob Ricard boss: ‘Champagne is in our DNA’ June 12, 2025 Bob Bob Ricard has become that incredibly rare thing: a London restaurant that hasn’t been forced to close. It has outlasted a financial crash, a pandemic and a cost of living crisis, all because it is very, very good. The dining room is designed to make you feel like you’re careering through Europe on an [...]
‘I tried to warn them, but no one listened’ – one man’s crusade against HS2 June 12, 2025 “History will not be kind to those who, if it is pursued, push through this silly scheme.” It is not far off a decade since Lord Framlingham decided to take drastic action against HS2, the deeply troubled high-speed rail project connecting London and Birmingham. The former commons deputy speaker staged a last-ditch attempt to kill [...]
What a difference a day makes for Russia June 12, 2025 Today is 38 years since Ronald Reagan’s ‘tear down this wall’ speech, which ushered in the most free and fair election Russia has ever had, says Eliot Wilson There is such a thing as coincidence, and sometimes a specific date arises again and again in the same context. Today’s date, 12 June, was like that [...]
Lunchtime tourism: Visit the amazing Postman’s Park June 11, 2025 In our new regular feature Lunchtime Tourism we will bring you a guide to the best hidden spots you can visit in your lunch break Nestled between King William Street and St Martin’s le Grand in the Square Mile is the serene oasis of Postman’s Park. Once global in significance, it is now simply a [...]
Israeli ministers face UK sanctions over Gaza stance June 10, 2025 Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich were sanctioned by the UK government over “monstrous” comments on Gaza and the use of violence to expand control in the West Bank. Ben-Gvir, Israeli security minister, and Smotrich, the finance minister, will face financial sanctions – their assets will be frozen – as well as a travel [...]
Spending more on less: Premiumisation emerges as retail winner June 10, 2025 Most people will be familiar with retail premiumisation from the pandemic. Faced with a sudden boost in the number of Brits on furlough with time to spend looking for products, a number of retailers – partially luxury and alcohol retailers – bumped up their supply of more expensive, premium products. The strategy worked well, for [...]