Forget nationalisation: UK railways need a radical dose of devolution August 12, 2015 It's been a torrid time for Britain’s railways lately. In the last six months – as many a hard-pressed City A.M. commuter will know – there have been bad tempered strikes on the Tube and commuter railways. Channel Tunnel trains have had to run the gauntlet of tyre-burning port workers in Calais as well as [...]
Tube mayhem rocks London businesses August 6, 2015 Retailers and leisure companies in London are braced for a multi-million pound hit as Tube workers go on strike for the second time in a month. On the day of the last strike on 9 July, London shopping malls suffered a nine per cent drop in footfall compared with the same day last year, according [...]
August 2015 TfL Tube strike update: Action could cost London retailers and restaurants millions as footfall tipped to fall 10 per cent August 5, 2015 Shops, restaurants and bars in London are bracing themselves for a sharp drop in footfall and bookings as a result of the Tube strike, which starts at 6:30pm tonight and will run throughout Thursday. The British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) said that on the day of the last strike on 9 July, London shopping [...]
Airport expansion: Forget Heathrow and Gatwick – only Thames Estuary can give more than a sticking plaster solution to the UK’s airport expansion needs August 4, 2015 Last week big business was on the march with 57 senior business leaders signing a letter urging the Prime Minister to give a third runway to Heathrow. This follows on neatly from the Davies Commission – a £20m report that has taken three years to recommend political suicide. The challenge for a future [...]
West End sees post-May poll sales upswing August 3, 2015 HOUSE sales in London’s upmarket West End have soared following the Conservatives’ election win, as buyers’ fears over Labour’s proposed mansion tax were allayed. Property advisers CBRE said enquiry levels rose by 25 to 30 per cent following the May poll outcome compared with pre-election figures. This led to an upswing in sales in the [...]
Almacantar buys Shell Centre offices on South Bank for £550m August 3, 2015 Centre Point owner Almacantar has bought part of Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar’s controversial Shell Centre scheme on London’s South Bank, which faced opposition last year for obstructing views of the Houses of Parliament. The developer, which owns other landmark buildings including CAA House in the West End, has spent over £550m buying One [...]
London house prices: First-time home buyers face nightmare market as deposits soar and supply lags July 31, 2015 We all know how tough the housing market is for first-time buyers, and one of the main reasons is lack of supply. Much has been said about how the government is looking to tackle this problem by encouraging housebuilders to ramp up construction of new builds. But figures out this morning show that far from [...]
Can we please just stop putting pop-up beaches everywhere? July 31, 2015 WHEN will this trend of making pop-up beaches in office courtyards end? This summer has seen beaches inexplicably appearing all over London’s financial districts, from Canary Wharf’s beach volleyball to Finsbury Park’s beach rugby today. Now even office estates out in the sticks are catching on. What have you done!? West London’s Chiswick Park is [...]
Gillette owner P&G shaves a bit off the Dow – New York Report July 30, 2015 WALL STREET ended flat yesterday as investors digested mediocre corporate earnings and new data showed that the economy grew more quickly in the second quarter. Procter & Gamble, owner of Gillette, Facebook and Whole Foods Market all fell after quarterly reports left investors wanting more. US economic growth accelerated in the June quarter as solid consumer [...]
A quiet tech revolution is happening – not in Shoreditch or Birmingham – but in Croydon July 30, 2015 I read Nick Holzherr’s recent article championing Birmingham’s Silicon Canal with a mixture of interest and a large degree of scepticism. As the founder of Croydon Tech City, I agree that the UK’s technological future doesn’t lie solely with the denizens of Old Street. But I argue vehemently with his alternative. If you want [...]