Airbnb isn’t monopolising the homestay market, it’s popularised it for a new generation of business travellers July 27, 2017 A recent report by PWC found that hotel companies and peer-to-peer home swapping platforms account for the second largest share, in terms of volume of activity, of the UK’s sharing economy. With the meteoric growth of Airbnb in particular, most people assume that traditional rental and aparthotel operators, like myself, are concerned about the impact [...]
WeWork snaps up 280,000 square feet of space in South Bank for setting up the largest co-working space in the world June 7, 2017 US shared office group WeWork has agreed to lease 280,000 square feet near Waterloo station to set up the world's largest co-working space. Owned by property giant Almacantar, the space at Two Southbank Place was let as part of London's largest leasing agreement this year so far. WeWork has 12 locations in the capital and [...]
Google’s new £1bn King’s Cross HQ: 11-storey building will boast a swimming pool, gym, games area and a rooftop cafe June 1, 2017 Google has submitted planning permission for its £1bn King’s Cross HQ that will boast jazzy features including swimming pools and sleep pods. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and Bjarke Ingels Group, construction on the 11-storey building will commence in 2018. Spread across more than 1m square feet of space, the campus will house 7,000 employees. This [...]
NHS IT systems attacked: Hospitals across the UK have been hacked – reports May 12, 2017 A number of hospitals from 16 different NHS trusts across the UK have been hacked, according to reports. NHS Digital confirmed the attack, and said a number of NHS organisation have reported to NHS Digital that they have been affected by a ransomware attack. Some hospitals are having to turn patients away as they struggle [...]
Sedentary office lifestyles are as bad for you as smoking, so why do we all do it? April 19, 2017 “Sitting is the smoking of our generation,” you may have heard. It’s a maxim touted by health experts and the press alike, borne from our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. But why is it that, especially in London offices, many of us remain so inactive for hours at a time? A new report commissioned by Lendlease and [...]
London has attracted a tech fund led by Saudi Aramco, BP and other oil majors looking to collaborate and innovate March 15, 2017 A $1bn (£818.8m) energy fund backed by Saudi Aramco, BP and eight other global oil majors will make London its home in a new vote of confidence for the City post-Brexit. Oil and Gas Climate Initiative's (OGCI) Climate Investments fund aims to invest in and accelerate the commercial development of new emissions-reducing technology. It first announced its plan to push £1bn over [...]
Why the robotic workplace will always have humans at its core March 1, 2017 Raising productivity levels is essential to delivering stronger economic growth. But in an age where anything and everything seems to have already been tried and tested, it can feel like a productivity increase requires bottomless funds paired with Herculean efforts. Not so. We think part of the solution is looking at where and how we [...]
Airbnb isn’t only revolutionising the holiday market; it’s also changing the way offices are designed February 23, 2017 When Airbnb sent round a survey to its employees in Paris asking what they’d like in their new office, the request was for a petanque field. For the uninitiated, petanque is a form of boules played with a wooden ball. “We were like, ‘weeeelllll, that may not happen, it could be a little dirty and [...]
Apple just announced when its futuristic new $5bn campus will launch February 22, 2017 It's been years in the making – but today Apple said its shiny, new $5bn campus in Cupertino will finally open in April. The 175-acre campus features a giant donut-shaped building designed by Foster + Partners, which will be clad in the world's largest panels of curved glass. As well as the 2.8m sq ft building, Apple [...]
Here’s everything you’ll need to avoid Tube troubles during today’s Central line strike February 22, 2017 You may have heard there's going to be a Tube strike tonight. It's going ahead from 9pm tonight until 9pm tomorrow, Wednesday 22 February and is set to cause significant disruption to the Central and Waterloo & City Lines (with likely knock-on effects elsewhere too). So to prepare for the trouble, here's everything you'll need [...]