Office rents will start to rise September 21, 2009 Rent for premium offices in the City and the West End will start to rise in 2010, following the correction seen in 2008 and much of 2009, according to Knight Frank. This reflects less than expected distress in the market in 2009, a significant recovery in demand recorded in the summer, the recent rally seen [...]
CABLE’S PLANS?FOR 1M HOME TAX SLAMMED September 21, 2009 PROPERTY experts yesterday ridiculed Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable’s pledge to introduce an annual levy on homes worth more than £1m, warning that the measure would lay waste to an already fragile housing market. The so-called “mansion tax”, proposed by Cable at the Lib Dem annual party conference yesterday, would see some 250,000 households [...]
A QUEST FOR FINE WINES September 16, 2009 JEFF GALVINWe follow the Galvin brothers as they count down to the opening of their new City restaurant SOME parts of opening a restaurant are arduous, but others are pure fun. One of the most important things about our new restaurant La Chapelle will be the wine. Our quest for the best wine we can [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 15, 2009 Conduit Capital MarketsThe mid-market institutional derivatives and securities dealer has appointed Rakesh Chhabra as its new chief financial officer. Chhabra qualified at Moore Stephens and joined Coopers and Lybrand in 1994. He worked at Mesirow Europe before being appointed to his most recent role as finance manager at Knight Equity Markets International Limited, where he [...]
Regulators in force in City women list… September 13, 2009 MARGARET Cole and Verena Ross lead a quartet of women from the financial regulation sector making their first appearances on the Financial News’ list of 100 most influential women in finance, released today. The pair, both from the Financial Services Authority, are joined by Jane de Lozey from the Serious Fraud Office and Barbara Ridpath [...]
Knight Frank payouts fall as profits dip September 13, 2009 ESTATE agent Knight Frank yesterday insisted it was looking ahead to a “period of stability” after revealing a near 50 per cent fall in full-year pre-tax profits. The group, which advised on Nomura’s move to Watermark Place – the City’s biggest property deal this year – revealed underlying group profits had fallen to £33.2m in [...]
FOCUS ON: BOW, E3 September 10, 2009 CHISENHALE ROAD, E3Price: £799,950This large three-bedroom house is located in a quiet residential street but within walking distance of the amenities of Victoria Park and Mile End Tube station. Set over three floors, the property has a spacious open-plan living room, family bathroom, separate shower room and a large kitchen. The rear garden backs onto [...]
City attacks Osborne over bonuses veto September 7, 2009 HIGH-PROFILE City figures including British Bankers’ Association chief executive Angela Knight yesterday hit out at shadow chancellor George Osborne’s suggestion that regulators should strip bankers of their bonuses this year. The man who most commentators expect to be the next chancellor of the exchequer said yesterday that regulators should axe bonuses in the banking sector [...]
In an ecclesiastical home, heaven is a place on earth September 3, 2009 OKAY, so it might involve sleeping where an altar once was. Or perhaps a belltower, nave or vestry. It sounds ever so slightly scandalous, but ecclesiastic properties are recession-busting favourites, with architectural features that can’t be rivalled. In London, there’s a range of options – many of which are considered hip as well as high-end, [...]
Boris battles Brussels bureaucrats September 2, 2009 STRIDING down the European corridors of power in Brussels yesterday, Boris Johnson looked every inch the City’s knight in shining armour. The London Mayor has styled himself recently as one of the lone champions of Britain’s financial services industry, with his outspoken views on abolishing Labour’s new 50p tax rate, his vehement support of the [...]