Alibaba: Sales during online retail bonanza Singles’ Day hit new record as they smash $25bn mark November 11, 2017 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has said its Singles’ Day sales hit $25.4bn (£19.2bn), smashing its own record from last year. The shopping bonanza’s sales surged past last year’s total just after midday local time, hitting a record $18bn (£13.6bn). Singles’ Day, held every year on 11 November, is the world’s biggest online shopping event that [...]
Revealed: Mayor’s plans to pedestrianise London’s Oxford Street next year November 6, 2017 Radical plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street are set to get underway next year to provide a traffic-free space in central London in time for the full launch of Elizabeth Line services. London mayor Sadiq Khan and the deputy leader of Westminster City Council Robert Davis, announced the plans this morning to banish buses and black [...]
London’s Oxford Street to be pedestrianised by the end of 2018 under plans by Mayor Sadiq Khan November 6, 2017 Radical plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street are set to get underway next year to provide a traffic-free space in central London in time for the full launch of Elizabeth Line services. London mayor Sadiq Khan and the deputy leader of Westminster City Council Robert Davis, announced the plans this morning to banish buses and black [...]
Billionaire Hollywood bad boy Alki David is resurrecting the dead with holograms | City A.M. November 6, 2017 There’s a rather bonkers Russian chap named Dmitry Itskov who claims that by the year 2045 his team of scientists will have achieved human immortality by uploading brains onto a computer. That’s a little way off, though. In the meantime, if Frankenstein’s monster meeting Blade Runner doesn’t tickle your fancy, one can achieve a rather [...]
London real estate nears record year: Investment in the capital’s commercial property set to top £20bn October 31, 2017 Investment in London’s commercial real estate sector is on track for a record-breaking year as international buyers flock to the capital. Property adviser Savills predicts that the total volume of commercial real estate transactions in central London during 2017 will top £20bn, and could end the year higher than the previous record level of £21.6bn [...]
London house prices: The 10 London neighbourhoods with the most £10m plus homes | City A.M. October 23, 2017 London’s high-end housing market may be struggling, but more than 50 homes worth more than £10m have been sold so far this year, new analysis has suggested. Not surprisingly, the place with the most ultra-high end deals is Belgravia, where seven sales worth more than £10m have taken place, totalling £151m. Meanwhile, Knightsbridge came second, [...]
China’s paradoxical growth plan is still attractive for global funds: Why President Xi’s pursuit of unity as well as expansion is working for now October 23, 2017 When President Xi first gained the position of President of China five years ago there was considerable western enthusiasm. He came across as a keen reformer willing to push on with China’s enterprise revolution. He wanted to open China’s markets more to the west, to liberalise foreign exchange, privatise more industry and even introduce more [...]
The West End wins big property deals as London office space take-up soars October 16, 2017 Take-up of office space in central London surpassed a 10-year average in the third quarter this year. Central London take-up was 3.4m sq ft, marking a quarterly increase of three per cent, and beating a 10-year average of 3.1m sq ft, according to the latest figures from global real estate advisor CBRE. The largest deal [...]
Rate rise will not leave challenger banks exposed says Hampshire Trust chief executive Mark Sismey-Durrant as profits surge October 16, 2017 A widely expected interest rate rise from the Bank of England will not leave the specialist lending sector exposed, according to the chief executive of a challenger bank which has seen profits surge in the last year. Hampshire Trust Bank recorded rapid profit and loan book growth in the first half of 2017 said its [...]
UK house prices: The 10 most expensive streets for million pound properties in London and Britain revealed by Zoopla October 2, 2017 The number of streets where homes cost more than £1m has grown by 16 per cent over the past year, new figures reveal. But the value of property on the most expensive street in Britain has fallen by £2.5m and, in fact, prices have declined on half of the top 10 priciest roads as London’s [...]