Spectre: No slowing down for the new James Bond movies’s marketing bandwagon October 28, 2015 So the new Bond film has been out for a few days now, but there’s no slowing down for the enthusiasm of London’s PRs and small businesses. Venues and companies big and small are attempting to cash in on Bond-mania while some poor souls in the City have yet to see the film. The good people [...]
Booming London office demand drives vacancy rates to 15-year low October 28, 2015 London office vacancy rates dropped to a 15-year low during the third quarter of the year, new research shows, as increasing competition made space in the capital increasingly difficult to come by. As the economic recovery gathers pace, demand for office space has surged, thanks to businesses feeling more confident about their future prospects. Fears rents will [...]
West End retailers poised for £2.3bn Christmas and Black Friday 2015 shopping bonanza October 27, 2015 West End retailers are bracing themselves for a £2.3bn shopping bonanza this Christmas, with spending set to reach its highest level since 2007, as higher disposable incomes and lower prices help boost consumer confidence. London’s main shopping streets – Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street – are expecting a 1.2 per cent uplift in sales [...]
Like to have all the windows closed at work? It’s probably making everyone in the office less intelligent October 27, 2015 If you want to keep your mind in tip-top shape, keep fresh air coming into your office. A new investigation into the impact of air quality on cognitive functioning at Harvard University has shown having a well-ventilated work space makes people perform “significantly” better in intelligence tests. In fact, “green”, well ventilated offices with low levels [...]
Remortgage lending figures surge in September over prospect of rate hike October 26, 2015 The number of people remortgaging their properties jumped in September as homeowners rushed to secure record-low rates ahead of a potential interest rate hike next year. The latest figures from property services group LMS reveal that remortgage loans reached 28,686 last month, up 12 per cent from 25,600 in August. This is also a four per cent [...]
Crossrail: Latest images from Bond Street show how close London’s infrastructure project is to completion October 23, 2015 Crossrail may be another two or three years from completion, but the latest images released from London's £14.8bn infrastructure project show that the tunnels 30 metres below Oxford Street have already been finished. The western ticket hall on Davies Street is now "structurally complete" while excavation of the eastern hall on Hanover Square is due to finish [...]
No big deal: Why there’s no need to worry about the failure of a crowdfunded company October 22, 2015 Equity platform Syndicate Room has had its first fail: Soshi Games, which fundraised in January 2014 on the platform and pulled in £285,000 from investors, has now closed down. The first failure on an equity platform – the fair trade soap manufacturer Bubble & Balm, which raised £75,000 in 2011 via Crowdcube, went bust in [...]
Why Shoreditch is still so attractive for young firms – Investec Comment October 18, 2015 For a young business finding its feet, office space is a classic challenge. Alongside being a sizeable overhead, the question of how much space you take and how long you take it for is not easily resolved. Landlords will typically want to sign you up for as long as possible. But while your company is [...]
Hamleys poised to be sold to a relative of House of Fraser’s Chinese billionaire owner October 18, 2015 A Chinese investor is said to be closing in on a deal to buy the UK’s most famous toy store Hamleys in the coming weeks. Ludendo, the French family-owned toy group, is in advanced talks to sell the chain to a Hong Kong company run by a relative of Yuan Yafei, the billionaire owner House [...]
Walk London weekend October 2015 routes: The best free guided walks around the capital for TfL’s autumn ambling scheme October 16, 2015 This weekend sees the launch of Transport for London's Walk London weekend, a new initiative designed to get us city slickers off our backsides and getting out to see some of the best free sites the capital has to offer. There will be more than 40 guided walks for TfL's "Autumn Ambles", connecting parks, woodland, [...]