Housing construction is stuck in the dark ages – time to embrace modern methods September 20, 2018 Imagine if there were an off-the-shelf solution to London’s housing shortage. Well, imagination could become reality: the nine-metre-high structure built from cross-laminated timber on show during the London Design Festival this week highlights that the technology is there. But this impressive prototype design is far from the UK’s traditional approach to building homes. Read more: [...]
We’ve all learnt from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, but complacency isn’t an option September 14, 2018 As wenear the 10 year anniversary of the Lehman administration this weekend, there has been a vast amount of commentary looking back. At this huge milestone, it’s certainly worth taking a moment to remind ourselves of how far we’ve come. If I take myself back to that Sunday, when the prospect of Lehman Brothers going [...]
We’ve all learnt from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, but complacency isn’t an option September 14, 2018 As wenear the 10 year anniversary of the Lehman administration this weekend, there has been a vast amount of commentary looking back. At this huge milestone, it’s certainly worth taking a moment to remind ourselves of how far we’ve come. If I take myself back to that Sunday, when the prospect of Lehman Brothers going [...]
Holiday Homes: Morocco is re-fashioning itself into a hotspot for the international polo crowd with houses to match September 7, 2018 In pride of place on the wall of the Jnan Amar Polo Club in Marrakech is a picture of Sir Richard Branson. Taken in 2014, it shows the grinning Virgin mogul at the first British Polo Day, held at these Moroccan grounds for the first time and contributing a tidy donation to the Eve Foundation, [...]
12 Hay Hill in Mayfair shows shared workspaces are going upmarket to capture the professional crowd September 3, 2018 Coworking spaces seem to be taking over the city. Right now, the largest private-sector occupier of office space in central London isn’t a tech firm or major bank. It’s WeWork, a leading provider of shared workspaces. And coworking is big business: WeWork was valued at £27bn in June, making it the world’s second most valuable [...]
Persimmon produce stable 1H numbers August 23, 2018 Persimmon shares are higher this week after the company registered a strong set of first-half results on Tuesday. Revenue jumped by 5% and pre-tax profit rose by 13%. The average selling price of a new home rose by 1%, which is a slight decrease on the 1.2% growth achieved in the first-quarter. The underlying new housing [...]
Government takes over control of Birmingham prison from G4S August 20, 2018 Security firm G4S has been stripped of its contract to run a major prison after an inspection found conditions at the facility had slipped into a "state of crisis". The Ministry of Justice said it will take on the running of HMP Birmingham for a six-month period after an inspection found "squalid" conditions at the prison, as blood, urine [...]
Capital gains: London shrugs off Brexit blues with jobs boom August 8, 2018 London's economy has remained buoyant, with first quarter job numbers reaching an all-time high, a major new report has found. Job numbers in the capital reached 5.9m at the end of June, up 1.9 per cent on last year and the highest since records began. It compares favourably to the rest of the UK, where the [...]
Centre for London: Capital maintains buoyant economy despite Brexit – but housing crisis and quality of life are causing a brain drain | City A.M. August 8, 2018 London’s economy has remained buoyant, with first quarter job numbers reaching an all-time high, a major new report has found. Job numbers in the capital reached 5.9m at the end of June, up 1.9 per cent on last year and the highest since records began. It compares favourably to the rest of the UK, where [...]
Eight retirement planning traps and how to avoid them July 26, 2018 1. Not reviewing your pensions It is important to review your pension situation regularly. If you find you have a shortfall, you may still be able to take steps to increase the chances that your pension pot will be able to achieve the income you want when you retire. The Money Advice Service has a [...]