Arsenal and Chelsea face Boxing Day fixture chaos December 19, 2011 THE PROSPECT of industrial action has forced Arsenal and Chelsea to consider moving their Boxing Day fixtures to 27 December, potentially providing a major inconvenience to over 100,000 fans. The mooted 24-hour Tube strike would impact on the safety of supporters planning to attend the game at Emirates Stadium, as well those fans travelling to [...]
Germans eye stake in UK’s air controller December 11, 2011 GERMAN air traffic controller Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) is preparing to make a bid for the government’s stake in British equivalent Nats, according to reports. The state-owned German business is believed to have approached London investment banks earlier this month about advising on a deal to acquire the government’s 49 per cent stake in Nats, which [...]
PROPERTY NEWS December 8, 2011 CITY IS BOOMING, SAYS REPORT Knight Frank has added the City of London and the City Fringe to its Prime London index, which includes neighbourhoods such as Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Chelsea and Kensington, citing an uplift in the supply of new high end properties, improved amenities and transport. Prices in the square mile have risen by [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 7, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES DUBLIN IS URGED TO SELL NAMA AS A SINGLE ENTITY A secret report into the operations of Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency, the state agency set up to purge Irish banks of their toxic property loans, has recommended that the government should consider selling it off as a single entity. FINANCING PROBLEMS WEIGH [...]
Ross bails Cosalt out – until his offer ends December 7, 2011 DAVID Ross, chairman of safety gear supplier Cosalt, rode to the loss-making company’s rescue yesterday with a deal to provide it with £5m of emergency working capital to keep it afloat. Ross, whose grandfather founded Cosalt a century ago, has made the funds available from his Oval investment vehicle but warned that he would only [...]
MPs to grill 2012 bosses over budget December 6, 2011 A HOST of top London 2012 officials face a grilling from MPs next week after a government watchdog warned the Olympics is in danger of exceeding its £9.3bn budget and requiring further taxpayer funding. A National Audit Office report published yesterday highlighted the “real risk” that a drastic reassessment of security costs left little spare [...]
Opening up the Oyster card beats charging ahead with TfL’s expensive alternative December 5, 2011 LAST week the London Assembly Transport Committee (LATC) released its report on the future of ticketing in the capital. No big deal, you might think – if you assume the Oyster card seems to function rather well. The heart of the problem is that Oyster is not only far too expensive, but has become so [...]
MTR eyes two UK rail routes December 4, 2011 MTR CORPORATION, the company that operates Hong Kong’s metro system, is believed to be working on plans to bid for two more British rail franchises. The Hong Kong group is keen to operate the c2c (Essex Thameside) and Thameslink franchises, according to weekend reports. The Department for Transport is understood to be inviting bids for [...]
Weak Europe knocks firms in the capital December 4, 2011 OPTIMISM about the state of the economy has plummeted among London’s businesses, the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) bi-yearly business prospects survey showed today. Most firms – 55 per cent – cited the threat of a double-dip recession over the next year as their major concern. Only 13 per cent of firms in the capital [...]
Keep a new Heathrow runway on the table December 4, 2011 GRIDLOCK is often the outcome of public sector walkouts so we can be grateful that last week’s strikes did not, as feared, severely impact upon Heathrow. Civil servants and others stepped in to prevent the lengthy queues and angry scenes that would have damaged our international reputation with both tourists and businesses. As a world-leading [...]