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 [...]
Five reasons why Hampstead is still tops December 1, 2011 1.HISTORY To live in Hampstead is to share cobbled streets and gourmet bakeries with the likes of Emma Thompson, Ricky Gervais, Peter O’Toole and Judy Dench. But the village’s place in the literary canon makes it one of the most historically evocative places in London. Keats lived next to South End Green, while an epic [...]
ANALYSIS l SOME OF THE PROJECTS November 29, 2011 SCOTLAND ■ Rail, roads, local transport, water, flood and waste powers all devolved Edinburgh: Super-connected city funding NORTHERN IRELAND ■ Transport, energy, water, flood and waste powers all devolved ■ Belfast: Super-connected city funding NORTH WEST ■ Mersey Gateway Bridge ■ Manchester Cross City Bus ■ Reinstating Todmorden Curve WEST MIDLANDS ■ Evesham Bridge Maintenance [...]
WHAT DOES THE CHANCELLOR’S BUDGET MEAN FOR YOU? November 29, 2011 PWC’S BUDGET TEAM SAYS: The restricted rises in tube fares will help Catherine’s travel costs and so too will the fuel duty increases being less than expected. The bank levy increase from 1 January 2012 may hit Catherine’s clients in the financial services sector although they will be buoyed by the chancellor George Osborne’s reluctance [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW IMPORTANT IS TOURISM TO THE LONDON ECONOMY? November 23, 2011 DAVID WHITE | MIZUHO “It’s very important, because everything else in the economy is a bit of a state. I think it should be interesting enough to attract people without the government promoting it, though.” MICHAEL PORTER | DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS “There is big money there, billions. It may get crowded, and public transport may [...]