Q&A: BUYING May 27, 2010 Camilla Dell MANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK Q.Dear Camilla, Hips were originally introduced to protect buyers, now that they have been abolished what protection do buyers have? A. HOME Information Packs (Hips) were initially put in place to help buyers find out important information about the properties they were buying and to stop sales falling [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 26, 2010 Otkritie Securities Otkritie, the UK subsidiary of Russian financial services giant Otkritie Financial Corporation, has appointed Howard Snell as chairman. Snell joined the broker last year as an executive director, having previously been UK chief executive of Russian investment bank Troika Dialog. He was also previously co-head of the London emerging markets desk at UBS, [...]
HOW THE AGREEMENT AFFECTS THE CITY May 20, 2010 BANKING • The coalition has agreed to impose some kind of levy on the banking industry, although its exact form has yet to be decided. The Tories want to introduce a fee on banks’ wholesale funding, while the Liberal Democrats would prefer a tax on profits. • There is a vague commitment to tackle “unacceptable [...]
Stylish, affordable new homes for a brave green world May 20, 2010 THE UK is committed to ensuring that all new homes meet an ambitious zero-carbon standard by 2016. And with only a smattering of them in the country to date, there’s a long way to go. Indeed, Barry Morgan, of Morgan Restoration, an ardent eco-developer who has just installed solar panels on The Boatyard development overlooking [...]
Capello: 2018 bid not hurt by Triesman May 19, 2010 FABIO CAPELLO insists England remain the “perfect” hosts for the 2018 World Cup despite the controversy surrounding Lord Triesman. Triesman resigned as chairman of the bid – and indeed from the Football Association – on Sunday after he accused rival bidders Spain and Russia of conspiring to bribe referees at this summer’s showpiece. World governing [...]
BA halts strike in court victory May 17, 2010 BRITISH Airways (BA) last night won an eleventh-hour reprieve in its bid to stop cabin crew from walking out, after the High Court granted an injunction on grounds that the strike was unlawful. The judgment ruled that Unite, the union representing cabin crew, did not communicate ballot results to members, meaning the strike – which [...]
Mozzarella in Mayfair goes glam May 17, 2010 Cielo/Luxx 3 New Burlington Street W1S 2JF 020 7297 2893 www.cielorestaurant.co.uk, www.luxx-london.com FOOD *** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £50 THESE days, being a restaurant plain and simple just isn’t good enough. Since the credit crunch bit, we have entered a new realm of added value, and if you like to [...]
Crossrail hails decision to finish the link May 13, 2010 CROSSRAIL hailed the decision by new Lib-Con transport secretary Philip Hammond not to scrap the £16bn east-west rail link across the capital yesterday. Terry Morgan, chairman of Crossrail, said: “This is welcome news. To get such early and firm support from the government means the project can go forward with confidence.” Morgan added: “This construction [...]
Gatwick firm eyes second buyout fund May 10, 2010 GATWICK airport owner Global Infrastructure Partners is understood to be preparing to raise a second $5bn (£3.4bn) fund, braving a still-tough market for infrastructure fundraising. GIP, which also owns London City airport, is thought to have held informal discussions with existing and potential investors about its plans and will kick off fundraising in earnest in [...]
TfL acquires Tube Lines in £310m deal May 9, 2010 TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has purchased Tube Lines for £310m, bringing all of the maintenance on three of London Underground’s lines in-house. The deal now means that the public private partnership (PPP) contract to maintain the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Northern lines will now fall under TfL’s remit. Tube Lines, a subsidiary comprising Amey and Bechtel [...]