Great Portland Estates offloads 20 St James’s Street for £54.5m December 9, 2013 GREAT Portland Estates has sold a prime West End site between Piccadilly and St James’s Park to a German pension fund managed by US property investor Pramerica for £54.5m. Chief executive Toby Courtauld said yesterday that the group had originally planned to refurbish the building in 2015 to exploit the lack of new space in [...]
CBI hires new office in the City after 30 years in the West End December 9, 2013 THE CONFEDERATION of British Industry (CBI) today revealed it is moving to the City in the New Year, a major symbolic move reflecting the important of financial services in the capital. The leading business lobby group has been based in Centre Point in the West End for more than 30 years, making its move east [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 6 December 2013 December 5, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Lew urges race to top on bank reform Jack Lew, the US treasury secretary, warned that US financial reforms aimed at ending the problem of banks that are “too big to fail” would fall short unless international regulators held global banks to the same high standards. The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is [...]
Family homes with a modern twist December 5, 2013 Townhouses are standing tall next to the increasing numbers of towers that are dominating the skyline TOWNHOUSES were once the reserve of London’s nobility, standing tall around the boundaries of the City of London. But as the population rose, so did residential buildings and now it’s not unusual to live 10 or 20 storeys above [...]
WWII victory site converted into new flats December 5, 2013 The 18th century former RAF mansion goes on sale as four luxury apartments A MANSION that served as the RAF’s headquarters during the Battle of Britain has been converted into luxury family homes that pay homage to its illustrious past. Bentley Priory Mansion House in Stanmore, north west London, overlooks vast lawns where two replicas [...]
Shaftesbury signs £125m loan December 4, 2013 Shaftesbury, the West End landlord, said yesterday it has signed a new £125m five-year loan with Lloyds Bank in a refinancing deal. The facility will replace an existing £125m loan which was due to expire in April 2016. “This will strengthen the group’s financial base by improving the maturity profile of its debt and diversifying [...]
Fulham’s new boss denies betraying Jol over sacking December 1, 2013 NEW FULHAM boss Rene Meulensteen last night denied that his recent arrival at Craven Cottage had triggered the departure of Martin Jol, insisting that he was shocked to hear of his fellow Dutchman’s sacking. Meulensteen only joined Fulham as head coach less than three weeks ago, prompting suggestions he was being lined up as Jol’s [...]
Awkward laughs prove to be just what the doctor ordered November 28, 2013 THEATRE IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY) St James Theatre | By Simon Thomson Four Stars IT’S THE dawn of the electrical age in a spa town near New York, and the enterprising Doctor Givings is treating hysterical patients. With vibrators. This is the West End transfer of Sarah Ruhl’s Tony-and-Pulitzer-nominated comedy In [...]
Shaftesbury to give Chinatown shops a facelift November 27, 2013 WEST END landlord Shaftesbury said yesterday it is looking to shake up Chinatown by refurbishing some of the buildings and bringing in new restaurant operators from the Far East, as the group posted strong full-year figures. Chinatown, which makes up 22 per cent of Shaftesbury’s portfolio, has the largest concentration of restaurants in the UK [...]
Gatwick boss: It’s between me and Heathrow November 26, 2013 GATWICK’S boss yesterday pointed to a growing number of new routes and rising passenger traffic as proof the airport is the best place for an extra runway in the south east of England. Stewart Wingate is “highly confident” that Gatwick will be on the aviation commission’s shortlist for new capacity next month, repeating yesterday his [...]