Banks forced to compete hard for current accounts April 22, 2015 Britons have been shaken out of their traditional apathy towards their banks, as the switching scheme has successfully encouraged them to shop around, new data shows today. The seven-day switching service was used by 1.14m people to change current accounts, the Payments Council said, up seven per cent on the year. And the proportion who [...]
City Moves for 23 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 22, 2015 N+1 Singer The corporate advisory and broking firm has appointed Nic Hellyer as director in its corporate finance team. He joins from HSBC, where he was managing director and head of its UK mid-market advisory team. Hellyer has also held roles at UBS and KPMG. Standard Chartered Sir Iain Lobban has been appointed senior adviser [...]
London taxi drivers protest on Oxford Street: Everything you need to know April 21, 2015 Black cab drivers today staged a highly visible protest that caused significant inconvenience in central London. Here's everything you need to know about the action by London cabbies. Where and when did the protest take place? The drivers started the "go-slow" protest on Oxford Street in the heart of London at 2:00pm, bringing Oxford Street [...]
Ballance tips Test towards England win April 16, 2015 BATSMAN Gary Ballance celebrated a century that made up in value what it lacked in fluency after steering England towards probable victory in the first Test against the West Indies last night. Ballance’s resilient 122 helped the tourists to a second-innings tally of 333-7 declared and ultimately a lead of 339 at the end of [...]
David Cameron to unveil right-to-buy extension to housing association properties, which could benefit 1.3m families April 14, 2015 David Cameron is set to announce a bold extension of Margaret Thatcher's iconic right-to-buy scheme. In a move designed to appeal to C2 voters, the Prime Minister will pledge discounts of up to 70 per cent for around 1.3m families living in housing association properties towards buying their own home. Cameron will unveil the scheme as [...]
City Moves for 14 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 13, 2015 SunLife The financial services firm has appointed Emma Walker to lead its aggregator, digital, and customer experience teams. She joins from MoneySupermarket.com, where she was head of protection and non core insurance. LCH.Clearnet Steve Briscoe has been appointed group head of technology and operations at the clearing house. He joins from RBS, where he was [...]
Vinyl revival: See what the fuss is about and head to a record store April 13, 2015 FLASHBACK 50 Essex Road, Islington This scrupulously organised collection is set over two floors, with CDs on top and vinyl in the basement. Find new, second-hand and reissued classics ranging from rock to soul to reggae. SISTER RAY 34-35 Berwick Street, Soho No matter what music you’re into, you’re sure to find [...]
Focus on Bermondsey: Take a walk on the south side April 9, 2015 Affordable housing in Zone One is becoming something of a rarity in London, but look just south of the river and you’ll find one area in particular that’s still a decent prospect for first-time buyers looking for a good investment. Paul Bent, sales manager at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward’s London Bridge branch says young professionals [...]
Sport Comment: Future looks uncertain in Wild West of football agents April 9, 2015 IT WAS an astonishing Easter weekend of football, full of action and mouth-watering goals of the highest class. But after being persuaded by someone other than Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to spill his guts to the BBC, young forward Raheem Sterling was not one of those heroes. I am sure he will reflect on that [...]
A St James’s Square office development just smashed the UK’s rent record April 9, 2015 The crazy inflation of London office rents continues apace, after a gallery signed a record-breaking deal at a new development in St James's Square. The Helly Nahmad Gallery has signed a 15-year lease to pay £185 per sq ft across 2,959 sq ft on the sixth floor of 8 St James's Square, industry magazine Property Week [...]