RIBA’s new exhibition looks at how architects have rebuilt cities destroyed by natural disasters February 25, 2016 Nobody knows how many people died in the fire. Six deaths were recorded, but many were thought to have been incinerated beyond recognition and many more cooked alive in temperatures exceeding 1,700 degrees Celsius. The streets resembled the lower circles of hell and the Great Fire, as it became known, was the second tragedy to [...]
Sales of £10m-plus London homes drop by a third as George Osborne’s stamp duty tax changes bite February 12, 2016 Sales of London's priciest homes slumped by a third last year as even the wealthiest investors balked at paying the higher rate of stamp duty introduced by George Osborne's tax reforms. The number of super prime properties – those costing £10m or more – fell from 195 in 2014 to 130 last year, down 32 per cent, according to [...]
Kate Moss, Cara Delevigne and Lily Cole are in Vogue at the National Portrait Gallery February 11, 2016 The National Portrait Gallery | ★★★★☆ The National Portrait Gallery’s Vogue 100 exhibition is an epic stroll through a century of photography from fashion’s undisputed powerhouse. The trail leads backwards, opening with vast prints of the most recognisable faces from today’s magazines; Cara Delevingne gives way to Lily Cole, who gives way to Kate Moss. The [...]
Time Warner revenues and profits up for full-year 2015 but fourth quarter not as favourable, and company agrees to increase quarterly dividend amount February 10, 2016 Time Warner has today revealed revenue of $28.1bn (£19.3bn) for its full year ended December 2015, up three per cent on the year before. The US-based media giant also reported a $6.9bn adjusted operating profit for its full year, up 19 per cent on 2014. "We had another very successful year in 2015, demonstrating once [...]
New buyer registrations for prime London homes jump as buy-to-let landlords rush to beat stamp duty hike February 10, 2016 New buyer registrations for prime London homes soared in January as buy-to-let landlords scramble to complete their purchases before the stamp duty hike comes into effect in April. Figures from estate agency Marsh and Parsons today show that the number of new buyers registering in January 2016 was 24 per cent higher than in the [...]
UK house prices: The government’s revenues from stamp duty fell £620m in the first nine months of 2015 February 9, 2016 Changes to stamp duty by the government caused it to lose out on £620m of stamp duty revenues between January and October last year – and that's before changes to rules on buy-to-let properties come into force… Research by Knight Frank found the amount the Treasury made from stamp duty decreased 0.9 per cent between [...]
Grainger joint venture goes on £57m west London buying spree February 9, 2016 Grainger and Dutch pension fund APG have bought a large residential estate near Kew Bridge in west London for £57.3m, as the pair continue to expand their presence in the private rental sector (PRS). GRIP, the residential property fund set up by Grainger and APG in 2013, has acquired the freehold of Kew Bridge House [...]
Chancellor George Osborne’s stamp duty reforms cost the Treasury £662m in 2015 February 8, 2016 George Osborne’s overhaul of the stamp duty tax regime has cost the taxpayer well over half a billion pounds in lost revenue last year, new research today reveals, as sales of high-end homes slowed and investors switched tactics to avoid paying huge premiums on purchases. In December 2014 the chancellor scrapped the old system, where the [...]
England’s Jos Buttler hot property at Indian Premier League auction and goes under hammer for £385,000 — and bought for more than Kevin Pietersen February 6, 2016 England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler was the subject of a bidding war during today’s Indian Premier League (IPL) before being bought by Mumbai Indians for £385,000. The fee made Buttler, who is playing for England in the second one-day international against South Africa in Port Elizabeth today, a more expensive commodity than T20 specialist Kevin Pietersen. Buttler, [...]
Stamp duty hike boosts rental demand for London’s top end homes February 4, 2016 The hike in stamp duty on top-end homes has sparked a surge in super-prime rental deals over the last year, new research shows, as well-heeled families put off plans to buy. Knight Frank said rental deals on properties charging £5,000-plus per week rose by 10 per cent in 2015 as people hold off buying following George [...]