PROPERTY NEWS December 9, 2010 DEMAND FOR PROPERTY AT QUARTER’S HIGH Demand for property is on the rise for the first time in four months, according to the National Association of Estate Agents. House-hunters increased in November, attracted to falling prices, while supply remains static. Close to Christmas, there are usually fewer sales to avoid family disruption; people also tend [...]
Bloomberg asks Foster to design its new London HQ at Walbrook Square December 6, 2010 BLOOMBERG, the financial media giant, yesterday said it had reached an agreement with Legal & General for the purchase of the Walbrook Square site to build a new European headquarters located in the heart of the City. Bloomberg will construct two new buildings, one that will contain in excess of 500,000 square feet and one [...]
IRISH BOW OUT OF POWERSCOURT BASH AS DUBLIN FENDS OFF EU AID November 16, 2010 CITY comunications advisory Powerscourt last night held its annual bash in Paramount, the 31st-floor bar of Centrepoint, but there were a few old favourites missing from the crowd. CEO Rory Godson, originally from Ireland, said he could only pass on his apologies from his Irish chums: “Our friends in Dublin have stayed at home to [...]
The food entrepreneur who’s hitting the MARC November 16, 2010 MARLON Abela fits the international It-Boy bill perfectly. Born in Lebanon, he grew up among the rich and famous of London and the south of France, raised by a father who owned one of the world’s top institutional and airline catering businesses and a slew of four and five star hotels. Recently valued at £400m, [...]
British Land boosted by bounce back in office lets November 16, 2010 British Land said it had been boosted by an increase in occupancy rates in its buildings in the first half. The landlord’s Net Asset Value (NAV) rose 4.2 per cent to 525 pence a share in the six months to 30 September, against 504 pence at end-March 2010. In the previous half-year period, its NAV [...]
Learn He-Man’s recipe for great guns November 15, 2010 WHATEVER your feelings about the acting skills of Swedish action film star Dolph Lundgren, the man has guns. That is, insanely sculpted arms and a physique that suggests super-human strength. So when an opportunity arose to go and train with him while he was in London to promote his new film the Expendables, I couldn’t [...]
BUYING November 11, 2010 MANAGING PARTNER OF BLACK BRICK Q.Dear Camilla, how do you think the austerity measures put in place recently by the new government will affect UK house prices? A.We believe that house prices outside of central London are likely to be affected the most by the wave of spending cuts that are due to happen over [...]
William Asprey: the luxury king’s baby turns 10 October 26, 2010 IN a world in which global luxury giants like LMVH-owned Louis Vuitton have to close shop an hour early to preserve stock – so great is demand – it’s hard to imagine how a single family-owned shop in Mayfair can keep its head above water. And yet, thanks to the intuition and hard work of [...]
BUYING October 14, 2010 MANAGING PARTNER, BLACK BRICK Q.There has been lots of negativity surrounding house prices recently. Are prices in central London falling? A.There has been a recent wave of negative headlines surrounding UK houses prices recently. The unexpectedly large 3 per cent drop in the Halifax house price index in September has grabbed the bulk of the [...]
Central London homes hit as summer lull takes a toll October 5, 2010 HOUSE prices in central London fell for the first time in 18 months in the third quarter of the year, the property firm and chartered surveyor Cluttons said yesterday. Prices fell 0.2 per cent, reversing a 0.9 per cent increase in the previous quarter, as demand for property weakened and the number of properties offered [...]