Now Mercedes-Benz has launched its own London luxury apartments October 15, 2015 Now you can experience the feeling of being in the driving seat of a Mercedes-Benz without even stepping foot outside a front door. The carmaker is manoeuvring an unusual left-field turn into the luxury property business with a new concept of Mercedes designed serviced apartments in London. In a collaboration with Singaporean luxury serviced apartments firm Frasers Hospitality, six apartments measuring between 50 [...]
London house prices: Prime central property prices will drop this year, but the cool-down won’t last long, says Savills October 15, 2015 The price of London’s prime property will decline in price this year on the back of last 2015's stamp duty reforms, but they will climb by a whopping 21.5 per cent over the next five years, an estate agent has predicted. Prime central London property prices, which average at around £5m, will drop two per cent this [...]
Amazon Fresh launches in London: Some postcodes now get one-hour chilled and frozen food deliveries through Prime Now October 8, 2015 Amazon is delivering fresh chilled and frozen food in selected London postcodes for the first time, testing out the waters for Amazon Fresh. A fresh pint of milk, tub of Ben and Jerry's or a packet of fish fingers for tea can be on some Londoners' doorsteps in less than 60 minutes with the new delivery service [...]
London’s prime housing market bigger than New York’s, says new report October 7, 2015 London’s prime housing market now stands out both in terms of the volume of prime sales and the scale of expansion, against other global cities including New York, a new report has found. The global development report 2015 by real estate Knight Frank found New York and London continue to lead development trends, in terms [...]
List One Poultry? The government must not allow it October 4, 2015 One Poultry, the sand-coloured monolith standing on the junction opposite the Bank of England, has always been a building that has divided opinion. Prince Charles was relatively generous in likening it to a 1930s transistor radio. Others have been far less kind, and it regularly features in lists of London’s ugliest buildings. It’s [...]
The super-rich paying a £50,000 deposit to RENT in London August 20, 2015 With rising house prices placing home ownership out of reach for many and overseas investment rife, London’s lettings market is booming. But the commonly-painted picture of young professionals struggling to pay for their grotty house share in Dalston only tells one side of this increasingly complex story. For competition isn’t only fierce at the affordable [...]
London mayoral elections: Stephen Greenhalgh argues the capital needs a more joined-up approach to its emergency services August 20, 2015 London's ambulance service is in crisis. Last year Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to defend its performance, which was the worst in the country with only 66.5 per cent of ambulances reaching the most serious 999 calls within eight minutes. The NHS target is 75 per cent. This is because the ambulance service [...]
UK immigration: Businesses including Asda, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls-Royce, Siemens warn Tories over migration curbs August 14, 2015 Britain’s biggest businesses have warned the government against tightening rules for employing foreign workers, saying that new restrictions could increase costs, jeopardise graduate schemes and encourage firms to move their operations overseas. Asda, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls-Royce, Siemens and others made their case in formal submissions to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), a group of [...]
The rise of the posh burger: How London has fallen for Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Byron, Honest Burger, Five Guys and Shake Shack August 7, 2015 We’ve all seen them: on busy streets and in trendy back alleys, London has been invaded by posh burger joints. When did this invasion start? And who are the main protagonists? We’ve chosen five players in the influx and charted their progress in the capital. Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK), Byron, Five Guys and Shake Shack. [...]
Airport expansion: Forget Heathrow and Gatwick – only Thames Estuary can give more than a sticking plaster solution to the UK’s airport expansion needs August 4, 2015 Last week big business was on the march with 57 senior business leaders signing a letter urging the Prime Minister to give a third runway to Heathrow. This follows on neatly from the Davies Commission – a £20m report that has taken three years to recommend political suicide. The challenge for a future [...]