HS2 to base construction HQ in Birmingham July 21, 2014 The construction headquarters of the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line will be based in Birmingham it was announced yesterday, with a number of jobs to be moved from London. The new HQ is due to open in phases starting from 2015 and will employ around 1,500 staff. Ben Ruse, lead spokesman at [...]
Crossrail to be run by Hong Kong Metro operator MTR beating British rail firms to £1.4bn contract July 18, 2014 Hong Kong transport company MTR has been awarded the lucrative contract to run London’s new Crossrail train service by Transport for London. MTR already runs London Overground in a partnership with British firm Arriva, which it triumphed over in the bidding. Keolis with partner Go Ahead and National Express were also in the running. The [...]
Maggie’s cancer centre has green light at St Barts July 17, 2014 Plans to build a new cancer care centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital were passed by the City of London Planning and Transportation Committee yesterday, having received support from City figures such as Sam Laidlaw of Centrica and HSBC’s Stuart Gullliver, with backing from City A.M. Building of the centre, designed by architect Steven Holl and [...]
City delays vote over renaming of Heron Tower July 17, 2014 THE CITY of London has delayed a controversial vote over whether to grant the Heron Tower permission to rename itself after its biggest tenant, Salesforce, in a new twist to the saga. The City’s Planning and Transportation Committee said yesterday that the decision would be debated at a meeting later this year after members felt [...]
Uber launches in Hong Kong as global expansion gathers pace July 17, 2014 Uber launched its service in Hong Kong yesterday, as the mobile app for hailing private hire cars continued its fast global expansion to cover 150 cities in 41 countries. The official launch in Hong Kong comes after a successful four-week trial period, and follows the recent launch of its Beijing service. Uber is now available [...]
Heron Tower won’t become Salesforce Tower – at least not yet July 17, 2014 The City of London has decided to delay a controversial vote over whether to grant the Heron Tower permission to rename itself after its biggest tenant Salesforce, in a new twist to the saga. The City's planning and transportation committee said that the decision would be reviewed at a special meeting in August after members [...]
Boards win day despite investor revolts July 16, 2014 Three major UK companies suffered significant shareholder revolts yesterday on a busy day for annual general meetings – and, inevitably, the City grandee Sir John Peace was at the centre of one of the dramas. Peace, who has been at the centre of two shareholder battles already this year, found himself under fire again after nearly [...]
Heathrow City in pictures: Designs for airport redevelopment include new homes and tech hub July 16, 2014 Heathrow airport could be replaced by 190,000 new homes, a factory or swathes of parkland, according to plans revealed by architects. London mayor Boris Johnson is especially keen on the plans to develop a "Heathrow City", given his backing for a new airport in the Thames estuary. The designs were backed by Johnson and commissioned by [...]
City Matters: Why the frustrating rejection of Smithfield redevelopment helps no one July 14, 2014 In 2018, the first Crossrail trains will come roaring in to Farringdon Station and commuters will spill out along its 200m platform. Some of them will be working in the new office buildings going up on Farringdon Street, as the railway helps revitalise the area. None will be working in the new Smithfield Quarter building [...]
The sharing economy and VCs: A marriage made through money July 13, 2014 Hitchhiking once meant a compassionate driver picking up a rain-sodden stranger for nothing more than heartfelt gratitude. Today, its modern equivalent is “ridesharing”. Drivers now list journeys on their smartphones and sell seats in advance to offset the cost of petrol. Passengers book a seat online just like booking a train ticket, except that [...]