Carles Puigdemont and Catalan ex-ministers released in Belgium pending ruling November 6, 2017 Five Catalan separatists including the ousted president Carles Puigdemont have been released in Belgium to await a court hearing in Brussels. Puigdemont handed himself into Belgian police early on Sunday. He will now appear in court within the next two weeks, so that the authorities can decide whether to yield him and his former ministers [...]
A new film studio in Dagenham East could add £35m to the economy, London mayor Sadiq Khan says October 30, 2017 The mayor of London has said a new film studio in Dagenham East could generate £35m for the UK’s economy and create hundreds of new jobs. Sadiq Khan and the leader of Barking and Dagenham council, Darren Rodwell, today announced plans to make Dagenham East a world-leading destination for blockbuster movie production. Khan revealed a [...]
Google parent Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs building its own smart city in Toronto. But why not London next? October 18, 2017 Google’s parent company Alphabet is building its own city, where it will tackle some of the most pressing issues facing London: urban growth, energy use, housing costs, and transportation. But it’s the Canadian city of Toronto where 800 acres of waterfront space will be built “from the internet up” by the tech giant, not the [...]
What needs to change about housing policy by UK property professionals ahead of party conference season September 15, 2017 Katherine McCullough, development director at Merchant Land “During the political party season, I would like to see some attention given to reviewing what Osborne’s stamp duty reforms have achieved and ideally, to have them reversed in order to help stimulate the housing market at the top end. It would also be encouraging to hear discussion [...]
New Queensferry Crossing creating a catalyst for investment September 13, 2017 The royal opening of the Queensferry Crossing, signalled the successful culmination of the biggest infrastructure project in Scotland for a generation. Exactly 53 years since Her Majesty opened the adjacent Forth Road Bridge, The Queen officially cut the ribbon to open the £1.35bn Queensferry Crossing on Monday 4 September 2017. World-class engineering The new iconic [...]
The future of shopping malls and what it means for property investors August 30, 2017 The growth of e-commerce is reshaping the retail world. Online sales have been growing globally at an annual rate of close to 25% in recent years. This holds ramifications for the world’s shopping centres and malls as retailers re-evaluate their ‘bricks and mortar’ store strategies. Investors in commercial real estate funds, which often own retail [...]
London house prices: Property prices in Hackney are 17 times the average wage May 12, 2017 How do your local house prices compare with your salary? Unpleasantly? The residents of one London borough are particularly badly affected, new research has shown – and it’s not one of the obvious ones. Yes, it is the trendy borough of Hackney which has the dubious accolade of being the part of the UK with [...]
Lloyd’s of London moving EU business to Brussels after Article 50 triggered, according to reports March 29, 2017 As the UK waits for Theresa May to trigger Article 50 and kick off the Brexit process, Lloyd’s of London has reportedly come to a decision on where to move its EU business. The insurance giant will locate its new EU subsidiary in Brussels, according to a report by The Insurance Insider, which revealed the [...]
Holiday Homes: The property market in Lisbon is so hot right now, it’s being called ‘the California of Europe’ March 17, 2017 One of Europe’s most beautiful cities is also now one of its most vibrant and dynamic. For decades Lisbon’s development and historic architecture was neglected, but things are looking better for the city, tourism is up, unemployment down, and foreign money is bringing in new investment. One of the drivers of this surge in vitality [...]
Moving clearing from London to Europe is no piece of cake March 17, 2017 "Britain cannot have its cake and eat it over Brexit negotiations.” Comments such as this from the Prime Minister of Luxembourg at the height of political tensions following the EU referendum have, perhaps unsurprisingly, become synonymous with the Brexit debate since 23 June. But with the triggering of Article 50 just around the corner, it [...]