This giant credit rating agency has just issued a warning about Sadiq Khan’s plans to freeze TfL fares May 9, 2016 Hmm. Looks like things aren't getting off to a great start for London's new mayor, Sadiq Khan, after one of the world's largest credit ratings agencies warned his central pledge may hurt Transport for London (TfL). That didn't take long… In a statement that was as brief as it was punchy, this morning Moody's warned [...]
Parking mad: London parking spaces sold for over £200,000 May 8, 2016 LONDON is one of the world’s most expensive places to pay for parking space. On Brewer Street in Soho, for example, you could spend over £50 on just three hours of parking. That may be why some mysterious buyers have forked out as much as much as half a million pounds to buy a parking [...]
Sir Lynton Crosby: This is how people reacted to the knighthood May 6, 2016 The election guru for Prime Minister David Cameron and Boris Johnson has today received his knighthood. Sir Lynton Crosby has been knighted for his service to politics, and suffice to say most people aren't too impressed. When it was announced in the New Years Honours list, shadow home secretary (who coincidentally announced interest in running for Manchester's [...]
Knight of Cups review: Christian Bale stars as a traumatised Hollywood screenwriter in this faintly surreal movie May 5, 2016 Sporadic film maker Terence Malick is enjoying the most prolific period of his career, having made as many films in the last five years as he had in the previous thirty. His seventh film stars Christian Bale as Rick, a Hollywood screenwriter left hollow by success and tortured by family trauma, who embarks on a [...]
London house prices: Growth in prime postcodes has declined to lowest rate in more than six years May 2, 2016 Annual house prices in prime central London areas grew at their slowest pace in six and a half years in April, as the economic uncertainty and recent tax changes continued to unsettle prospective buyers. Knight Frank's latest monthly sale index released today shows that although viewings are up by a quarter over the year, the number of prospective buyers [...]
The Wizard of OS: Ian McKellen has made a Shakespeare app to bring the bard to a new generation April 29, 2016 "You can imagine what it’s like to kill someone. You have to, otherwise you wouldn’t be convincing as Macbeth," says knight of the realm and thesp extraordinaire Sir Ian McKellen matter-of-factly. He may have been performing The Bard’s work for the best part of 60 years, but this hasn’t dulled either his affection or his appetite. [...]
Why London’s position as UK centre for business and finance is under threat April 28, 2016 London stands as not only the symbolic centre of our country, but as the epicentre of the UK’s business and finance activities. However, recent analysis by Sungard of government and third party data has found that the capital’s position is coming under threat: in a ranking of ten of the UK’s major cities across a wide range [...]
BHS administration “more significant than Woolworth’s” as cost to taxpayer stacks up April 26, 2016 The collapse of BHS could be "more significant than Woolworths" – and the business is unlikely to survive in any meaningful form, experts have told City A.M. Parent company Retail Acquisitions called in administrators Duff & Phelps yesterday afternoon, a year after buying the debt-laden business from Sir Philip Green for £1. Managing directors Phil [...]
BHS is in administration: Here’s what analysts say was to blame (and what the future holds) April 25, 2016 BHS is in administration having notched up £1.3bn in debt, it has been confirmed this afternoon. Duff & Phelps has been appointed to handle the iconic retailer's administration, with managing directors Phil Duffy and Benjamin Wiles sounding confident about finding a new buyer. City A.M. understands more than 30 enquiries have already been made, and now [...]
“A plague on both your houses”: The Shakespeare property index April 23, 2016 "Money buys lands, and wives are sold by fate," wrote William Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor. But exactly how much land a wad of cash will get you is, as we know, different around the world. In the spirit of the 400th anniversary of the Bard of Avon's death, estate agents Knight Frank [...]