Five of the UK’s coolest offices September 11, 2013 Google Located behind Tottenham Court Road station, Google’s UK headquarters features Union Jacks, allotments where employees can grow veg and outdoor workplaces called “secret gardens”. Mother London There’s only one desk at ad agency Mother: a 240ft concrete work surface that stretches through the entire building. Workers change positions every six weeks thanks to a randomly [...]
How the geography of global innovation is rapidly changing September 8, 2013 Liam Ward-Proud investigates the cities that are attempting to foster new startup cultures WIKIPEDIA founder Jimmy Wales has called on Britain to extend its entrepreneurship visa scheme to make London more enticing to startups. He joked that “nobody wants to live in San Jose, California – it’s incredibly boring”. But the geography of global innovation [...]
King of the supermarket: The long-serving boss of Sainsbury’s talks shop September 1, 2013 Justin King speaks to Elizabeth Fournier as he nears 10 years at the top of the UK’s third-biggest retailer IT’S not been an easy 2013 for Britain’s supermarkets. From January’s discovery of horsemeat in the UK food chain to the disastrous collapse of a Bangladeshi clothing factory in April, retail bosses have been forced to [...]
Innovation Diary: The Valley vs the Roundabout: London is starting to close the gap August 11, 2013 WHEN I met David Richards – the British founder of Silicon Valley success story WANDisco – last year, I asked him whether he thought London’s Silicon Roundabout could compete with its San Francisco equivalent. Richards replied: “It would be ridiculous to contrast the two.” Richards – who recently brought his product development team from the [...]
Remote working: A new approach to 9-5 January 30, 2013 LAST November, Nick Clegg hit headlines when he made a speech on flexible working. His proposal may only have extended the right to request flexible working hours to all employees, but this phenomenon is here to stay. And it won’t exclusively be for the benefit of those with children. Flexible working can be an appealing [...]
Workspace plans Tower Bridge building as pre-tax profits soar November 13, 2012 WORKSPACE yesterday posted better-than-expected half year results, driven by strong tenant demand for its trendy London office space and its focus on asset management. The company, which provides offices to some 4,000 businesses such as Moonpig, as well as the Metropolitan Police, became a stock market darling after posting stellar annual results in May and [...]
A look inside Google’s Tech City Campus for start-ups October 28, 2012 GOOGLE Campus is a seven floor work and event space in the City’s eastern fringe on Bonhill Street, EC2, designed to encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs. It’s an open-source building, with floors run by individual partners – each with a different take on what a start-up needs to thrive. Anyone can join the Campus [...]
Smart offices need stylish furnishings October 24, 2012 WHEN you have prestigious offices, you need an aesthetic to match. International law firm McDermott Will & Emery, which has offices in the stylish Heron Tower – the tallest tower in London at one point – were looking for an exceptional fit-out when they moved into the building last year. It was the first occupier [...]
Best of the Brokers September 25, 2012 CABLE & WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS Liberum Capital’s Lawrence Sugarman has downgraded Cable & Wireless Communications from “Hold” to “Sell” and recommends investors take the opportunity to lock in profits. The FTSE 250 telecoms group makes most of its money from operations in Monaco and island territories with historic connections to the UK. But Sugarman says “the [...]
FTSE 100 down on weak Chinese data September 20, 2012 The FTSE 100 fell in early trading this morning, as the miners that rose on the blue chip index yesterday fell on weak manufacturing data from China, which spurred concerns about demand for the oil and metals market. Miner Ferrexpo, steelmaker Evraz and Aquarius Platinum led the fallers, down 5.5, 5.37 and 4.92 per cent [...]