City set for office boom with 15 Shard’s-worth of new space required June 21, 2023 THE CITY OF LONDON could need as much as 20m square feet of additional office space by 2042, according to a new report, as corporates continue to invest in higher-quality headquarters. The report, conducted by Arup and Knight Frank, finds that office tenants are “seeking a step-change in the quality of space” that they offer [...]
Berkeley warns planning rules and ‘regulatory uncertainty’ weighing down housebuilding goals June 21, 2023 Housebuilder Berkeley has warned the delivery of new properties is under threat from the planning environment and regulatory uncertainty, as it reported near 10 per cent profits before tax this year. More than 4,000 homes were delivered by the firm with over 85 per cent being on regenerated Brownfield land. It also said it’s delivering [...]
WH Smith, M&S and Argos among hundreds fined for failing to pay minimum wage June 21, 2023 Hundreds of businesses including high-street heavyweights WH Smith, M&S and Argos have been named and shamed after being fined for failing to pay workers the minimum wage. Firms from sole traders to household names were ordered to repay 63,000 staff lost wages totalling close to £5m, after breaching National Minimum Wage (NMW) law. WH Smith [...]
Claim of supermarkets profiteering doesn’t pass ‘basic smell test,’ says former Sainsbury’s boss June 21, 2023 The former boss of Sainsbury’s has roundly rejected claims that British supermarkets are profiteering during the cost of living crisis, arguing that the government and regulators should focus on helping those in need instead of considering “interfering in markets”. “This idea that [supermarkets] are somehow profiteering in these circumstances… it doesn’t even pass a basic [...]
We’ve overegged the power of interest rates and now we’re paying the price June 21, 2023 Interest rates aren't a policy tool for central banks, but rather an important pricing mechanism. Yet since the 1080s central bankers have been doing it all wrong, creating crisis after crisis, writes Max Rangeley
Westfield’s bailed on San Francisco, but it won’t in London, say experts June 20, 2023 Westfield will hand back the keys to its flagship San Francisco mall following nearly two decades of ownership after it was battered by crime and the exit of its 350,000 ft flagship Nordstrom site. In recent years, the shopping centre’s occupancy level plummeted dramatically to around 55 per cent, with a host of household-name retailers [...]
The SEC’s previous rejections of a Bitcoin spot ETF raise concern over BlackRock filing June 20, 2023 Susie Violet Ward pays close attention to BlackRock's ETF filing, but ponders the wider geopolitical ramifications it may trigger.
Hybrid hinders London commercial space as John Lewis slashes head office value by £15.6m June 20, 2023 The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has slashed the value of its London head office by £15.6m in the latest signal that hybrid working trends continue to hinder the capital’s commercial work space. It comes as last month the retail group revealed that it was ending the lease on its head office in Victoria, London as [...]
Labour owes the City more detail on its plans for business June 20, 2023 Well, that’s clear as mud, then. Labour’s big policy pronouncement yesterday confirmed that the party would stick by its pledge not to allow any further North Sea oil and gas development in the UK – but it wouldn’t change any decisions made by the Tories. With a straight face, the party said the triangulation was [...]
I’d love to be an MP, but Britain is still too ashamed of open political ambition June 20, 2023 When I was asked if I wanted to be an MP, I fudged an answer because I knew it would be met with scepticism . But our stifled laughs mean we're stuck in a doom loop of bad politicians, writes Adam Hawksbee