Crown Estate sitting on £800m of vacant London properties December 11, 2015 The Crown Estate is sitting on over £800m worth of empty properties in London alone, a City A.M. investigation has revealed, exposing the scale of the developer’s property footprint in the capital. The monarchy’s portfolio of property and land includes 312 vacant properties in the Greater London area, according to a Freedom of Information request, [...]
How’s the hangover? Tesco launches hangover stations for all your post-office party needs December 11, 2015 While PRs at Buchanan and Lansons are already dealing with the hangovers from their Christmas parties this month, last night was one of the busiest evenings for corporate dos in the Square Mile this season. This can only mean one thing: a very hungover workforce on Friday. Tesco is giving London's financial district a helping hand [...]
What the SAS can teach even the hardest of City workers December 10, 2015 Matthew Ollerton and Jason Fox give examples from their life in the Special Forces "Team away day” normally puts the fear into people. Hotel function rooms, bizarre motivational speakers and the compulsory bonding football match. But what if the experience was completely different? As former members of the Special Forces, we’ve undertaken some [...]
‘Tis the season to slack off: Why your month-long Christmas holiday is bad for everyone December 9, 2015 "I will be out of the office travelling and attending events and seminars until 4 January 2016. I will only have intermittent access to email.” I received this remarkable auto-reply on 4 December from a senior marketing executive in a large bank. Unless you are an academic, why would you need to spend an [...]
Serco forecasts trading ahead of expectations for 2015 – but 2016 forecast pushes share price lower December 7, 2015 Is the iceberg-bound supertanker that is outsourcing giant Serco finally turning around? The company said this morning it expects 2015 trading "ahead of previous guidance". But investors weren't impressed: shares fell 8.6 per cent to 104.4p in early trading. Perhaps that was to do with expectations of a "further decline" in both revenues and trading [...]
Cumbria, Appleby and Keswick flooding: UK weather warnings issued as Storm Desmond hits December 5, 2015 Parts of the UK were plunged into chaos today as Storm Desmond swept across the country, bringing heavy rain, gale force winds and flooding. There have been 26 severe flood warnings, indicating a danger to life, issued by the Environment Agency. Read more: Insurers already ready for bad weather and Storm Desmond And the Met Office issued its highest red warning for [...]
San Bernardino shootings: US treating California attack as an “act of terrorism” December 5, 2015 The FBI is probing the San Bernardino shootings by a couple which killing 14 people wounded and 21 others, as an act of terrorism, with the wife is believed to have pledged her allegiance to the Islamic state in a Facebook post. "Based on the information and the facts as we know them, we are now investigating [...]
Sage Group’s share price slides despite hitting targets December 2, 2015 Sage Group's share price led the fallers on the FTSE 100 this morning, despite posting strong results and indicating further growth. Sage's share price was 4.06 per cent lower at 554.25p per share in mid-morning trading, after it posted revenue growth of six per cent for the year to the end of September. It said it expects [...]
Labour MP Diana Johnson claims to have received threatening email over Syria airstrikes as protesters gather outside Stella Creasy’s house December 2, 2015 Labour MPs have been sent threatening emails, faced crowds of protesters gathering outside their house, and even had their own councillors call for them to be deselected if they vote in favour of airstrikes in Syria today. Hull North MP Diana Johnson has received an email saying those who voted in favour of the government's plan would face [...]
Severn Trent share price rises as first half profit inches up as customer complaints fall November 26, 2015 The figures Utility firm Severn Trent's group turnover was broadly flat at £896.1m in the six months to September 30, from a restated £898.3m during the same period a year earlier. The FTSE 100-listed company's underlying profit before interest and tax – another measure of profitability – increased by 2.6 per cent to £281m, up from £273.8m a [...]