Stanlow refinery faces uncertain future despite Essar’s denial over closure March 10, 2014 Essar Energy yesterday denied plans to close the Stanlow refinery in north west England, after City A.M. reported the plant’s long-term future was under threat due to weak margins. “Essar Energy and the entire transport fuel supply industry are working together with the UK government to improve the resilience of UK refineries and importers,” said [...]
Sorry greenbelt: London has a housing crisis and needs to build out and up March 10, 2014 IF YOU think London’s housing crisis is bad, house prices are too high, or rents are extortionate, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The capital’s population is forecast to increase by a further 1m by 2021, yet only 18,380 new homes were built in 2012-13. This is not just a social problem, with increasing numbers struggling [...]
Mix it up: From the ashes of prohibition rose the phoenix of The Last Word March 6, 2014 @philip_salter ALTHOUGH cocktails are a global passion, there can be no doubting which country has dominated over the years: the good ol’ US of A. This is despite the highly destructive prohibition on the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933. The unintended consequences of prohibition were profound – dodgy [...]
Developers secure £44m to start Shepherd’s Bush Market revamp March 3, 2014 DEVELOPERS regenerating Shepherd’s Bush market in west London have secured £44.1m from Pramerica Real Estate Investors to help kick-start the first phase of the development. Orion Shepherds Bush, a joint venture set up by Development Securities and Orion Land & Leisure, said the funds will be used to buy the market site land from Transport [...]
City Moves for 04 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 3, 2014 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer The law firm has named London-based corporate partner Martin Nelson-Jones as co-head of its infrastructure and transport sector group. He joined in 1991 and became a partner in 2001. BNY Mellon The investment management firm has announced the appointment of Frank La Salla as chief executive of its alternative investment services business. He [...]
Capita rockets on swathe of new contracts February 27, 2014 OUTSOURCING firm Capita yesterday pleased the market with a 14 per cent rise in full-year profit, boosted by a £5.5bn bid pipeline. The FTSE 100-quoted company posted a 15 per cent rise in underlying revenue to £3.85bn and pre-tax profits of £475m in 2013. Shares rose over four per cent in the morning, before closing [...]
Capco property values up by a fifth to £2.3bn February 25, 2014 CAPITAL & Counties (Capco) said a strong performance from its sprawling Covent Garden estate helped push the total value of its property up by 20 per cent to £2.3bn last year. The developer, which has been bringing in new upmarket tenants including Dior, Laduree and the restaurant Balthazar, said the value of its west end [...]
TfL staff who kept services open during strike handed £25 bonus February 24, 2014 TRANSPORT for London staff who volunteered to help at stations during last month’s Tube strike have been given a £25 bonus, in a move derided as “gesture politics” by one of the trade unions. Hundreds of workers will be handed high street vouchers to recognise their efforts “over and above their day jobs”, said London [...]
Volunteers who kept the underground running during strike awarded £25 voucher February 24, 2014 London Underground Tube staff who volunteered to keep services running during this month's strike have been awarded £25 "by way of thank you." The strikes were called in response to the closure of London ticket offices and plans to cut 750 jobs. The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said the volunteers were awarded £25 for [...]
Heathrow noise row stoked by new claim that 1m are affected February 23, 2014 HEATHROW is braced for a noisy argument this week as a new report is set to state that more than 1m people are irritated by plane noise from the west London airport, far more than the figures claimed by the airport and the government. Academics will say that people are annoyed by noise above 50 [...]