House prices in London satellite towns expected to climb in 2013 January 30, 2013 HOUSE prices in commuter towns on the outskirts of London jumped in the final three months of the year, high end estate agent Savills said yesterday. Prices in the so-called “inner commute” area were up 0.5 per cent from October to December, compared to the previous quarter. Residential properties in these areas remained slightly down [...]
Top schools fuel house price hike January 24, 2013 AGOOD education can cost parents more than just tuition fees. Trends show that top performing schools drive house prices in their local neighbourhoods by nearly a third more than the national average. Little wonder, then, that developers are constructing luxury schemes in these sought-after areas. Wimbledon Hill Park is going down well with parents keen [...]
Cameron’s decision to call a referendum is absolutely right January 23, 2013 GOOD on David Cameron. He has finally listened to public opinion and agreed to seek a better, renegotiated EU membership deal for the UK. Nobody born after 1957 in the UK has ever had a chance to say what they think of an organisation that controls more of UK public policy than ever before. Of [...]
Cameron pledges to deliver in-out referendum on the EU by 2017 January 22, 2013 DAVID Cameron will today promise an in-out referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the European Union by the end of 2017. “It is time for the British people to have their say. It is time to settle this European question,” he will say in his much-delayed speech on the EU, which will be delivered this [...]
David Cameron to give delayed speech on EU links tomorrow January 21, 2013 DAVID Cameron will finally deliver his speech on Britain’s future relationship with the EU tomorrow morning, Downing Street confirmed yesterday. The speech was originally due to be delivered in Amsterdam last Friday but was delayed due to the Algerian hostage crisis. Although the Prime Minister’s aides wanted the announcement to take place on the continent for symbolic reasons, [...]
Death of the high street spells doom for retail property January 13, 2013 MORE than one in ten shops in Britain now stand empty. And the situation, the worst it has been in recent years, is unlikely to get better. Gone are the days when consumers spent like lottery winners, and investors could see any high street shop with a good covenant (and upwards-only rent reviews) as the [...]
We need an export-led revolution to save the UK economy January 3, 2013 HAPPY New Year, dear readers. Let me begin my first column of 2013 with a plea to economists, policy-makers, commentators, politicians, financiers, business folk and everyone else who wants more growth and jobs. Please, please, spend less of your time obsessing about fresh ways to subsidise mortgages, pump prime the economy with more quantitative easing [...]
London’s burgeoning skyline will complement expansion underground January 2, 2013 LONDON is emerging from recession as a beacon of hope for future British growth. It has the right mix of talents – in technology, creative industries, and finance – to establish a new benchmark for the few world cities that will dominate the next half-century. But it can also learn from past achievements to build [...]
Savills fund focusing on prime London with first investment December 10, 2012 ESTATE agent Savills has made the first two purchases through its prime London residential fund, betting on adjacent Chelsea properties as demand for high-end living space in the capital continues to grow. Cordea Savills, the international property fund manager owned by Savills, has paid around £40m for a former chapel and a former college building between [...]
Hedge funds’ employee cost overheads differ by thousands December 3, 2012 HEDGE fund overhead costs for individual employees differed by thousands of pounds between firms last year, with some funds spending up to £10,000 a day on each employee, research shows. Research obtained from Hedge Forensics shows the most cost-conscious UK hedge fund has managed to cut its overhead costs down to as little as 50p [...]