Thanks to Landmark Place, you never have to leave the Square Mile March 3, 2016 Two new glass structures are set to join the banks, law firms and sky gardens that line the City’s riverside in the summer of 2018. Only this time, they’ll be housing wealthy residents who want to live on top of the financial district. A nine storey block will interconnect with an 11 storey block to [...]
Mastercard plots £1bn bid for Vocalink after banks told by regulator to give up stakes in payments handler March 3, 2016 Mastercard is plotting a bid for bank-owned payments handler Vocalink, it has been reported. Sky News said the credit card issuer has approached the board of Vocalink over a deal that could be worth up to £1bn. The approach comes shortly after the new payments industry regulator said Vocalink’s current ownership structure is "hampering competition and [...]
EU referendum: British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) boss John Longworth says Brexit would make Britain better off March 3, 2016 Britain would be better off outside of the European Union, British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) director-general John Longworth has said, becoming the first major business group leader to back Brexit. "With the reforms that we have received so far, the UK would be better off taking a decision to leave the European Union," Longworth told [...]
London weather: Storm Jake to bring snow and ice to London, South East and South West on Friday, Met Office warns March 2, 2016 Storm Jake could bring snow and ice to London by Friday, with the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning for the capital as the latest weather front moves south this week. The storm has already caused havoc in parts of the country, with gusts of up to 70 mph felling trees and dislodging roof [...]
High street banks plan to help Treasury offload £17bn of Bradford and Bingley loans March 1, 2016 Britain’s largest high street banks are planning to help the Treasury offload £17bn of Bradford and Bingley (B&B) loans. The proposal would see Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide and Santander guarantee around £17bn of financing to the purchasers of the loans. It emerged at the beginning of this year that a sizeable part [...]
London’s housing market is failing the capital’s workers: We can’t make this crisis someone else’s problem March 1, 2016 With house prices a staggering 13 times the average London wage, and rents taking up on average 60 per cent of London tenants' incomes, the prospect of finding an affordable place to live is slipping further out of reach for many of the capital’s four million-strong workforce. As the housing crisis deepens, workers from across the [...]
Transferwise set for second round of fresh funding as expansion continues February 29, 2016 Online money transfer service Transferwise is closing in on a new round of funding, just 12 months after a $58m raising led by US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Transferwise still has around half of the previous rounds’ cash in the bank, City A.M. understands. Transferwise is in talks with big name investors including existing [...]
Mother’s Day 2016: Where to spoil your mum in London this Mother’s Day Weekend February 28, 2016 Mothering Sunday will soon be upon us, and we know you've probably left a few details till the last minute. To help you spoil your mum this year, we've found some of the best bottomless brunches, afternoon teas and events happening around the city this weekend. For the politically active maternal figure in your life, [...]
Barclays results: British bank expected to sell off African operations and pay former chief executive Antony Jenkins a £500k performance bonus as it announces full-year results this week February 28, 2016 Barclays' new chief executive Jes Staley is expected to announce plans to sell off the lender's African business when the British bank reports full-year results for 2015 on Tuesday. It was widely reported over the weekend that Barclays' board decided last week that it made sense strategically for the British bank to exit the continent and refocus [...]
UK weather: This winter has been one of the warmest but wettest on record, thanks to Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank February 27, 2016 Anybody wanting to flaunt an expensive winter coat or chunky jumper this winter has been out of luck, because it's shaping up to be one of the warmest on record. According the early statistics from the Met Office, the average temperature in the UK this winter was 5.6c, making it the third warmest year since 1910 and [...]