Covent Garden owner Capco reports strong rental demand as West End gears up for its £3.5bn merger with Shaftesbury January 30, 2023 Trading conditions across the Covent Garden estate have been positive, in particular a successful Christmas trading period with like-for-like customer sales in aggregate exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Ian Hawksworth, chief executive of Covent Garden estate owner Capco, said: “There is continued momentum at Covent Garden with robust trading conditions, in particular a successful Christmas period,” said [...]
House prices: Zoopla says UK property market is off to ‘slow burn start’ with London flats in most demand January 30, 2023 The housing market in the UK has got off to a slow in 2023 with demand for cheaper, smaller properties on the rise as recession fears continue to wobble the market, according to estate agent Zoopla. Zoopla’s house price index appeared to show that buyers were holding off from entering the market and were biding [...]
FCA to take swift action against firms flouting consumer duty rules, lawyers warn January 29, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority is expected to take swift action against firms that fail to comply with new rules to protect savers and retail investors, City lawyers have warned. The City watchdog announced a major overhaul to consumer regulation last summer in the new Consumer Duty, which is set to shift greater onus onto companies [...]
London asking rents hit record high with fierce competition set to persist into 2023 January 27, 2023 Average asking rents in London have hit a record £2,480 per month amid fierce competition for properties in the capital, according to property website Rightmove. The average asking rent in London jumped 15 per cent annually to reach £2,480 at the end of last year, while asking rents in inner London climbed even higher to [...]
A Russian billionaire, the Dyson family, Gym Shark founder and Sting are among 100 of the richest Brits who paid nearly £5.2bn in tax during 2022 January 27, 2023 A Moscow-born billionaire is the UK’s top tax payer, paying more than £487m in just 12 months, according to the Sunday Times’ annual tax list. Alex Gerko, boosted the Treasury’s coffers by more than £1.3m a day or £55,639 an hour during 2023. Gerko, who became a British citizen and renounced his Russian citizenship late last [...]
Bank of England expected to raise interest rates by 50 points to post financial crisis high of four per cent January 26, 2023 The Bank of England is set to hike interest rates 50 basis points to four per cent next week, jacking them up to the highest level since the financial crisis, markets expect. City traders reckon its governor Andrew Bailey will lift borrowing costs for the tenth time in a row, something the UK central bank [...]
House sales set to tumble this year on recession jitters, experts warn January 24, 2023 House sales are set to tumble due to owners waiting until the recession passes to cash in on their homes, estate agents have predicted today. Homeowners are expected to adopt a wait and see approach during the first six months of 2023 for fear they will have to sell their property at a lower-than-demanded price. [...]
Will the global economy avoid a recession? Some people think so January 24, 2023 The global economy will narrowly avoid a recession this year due to China dismantling its zero Covid policy, forecasters have predicted today. A boost from the world’s second biggest economy re-entering the global community is set to power world GDP 1.9 per cent this year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Beijing’s surprise scrapping of [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on Chinese New Year, air fares and edible economics January 24, 2023 The notebook is where interesting people say interesting things. Today it’s Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at Interactive Investor, on Chinese New Year, why air fares are on the increase and what we can learn about economics from food As the Chinese New Year begins, investors are increasingly turning their attention back to markets in [...]
KERB: How London street food giant behind Seven Dials Market aims to make Berlin taste better January 23, 2023 The London street food favourite behind Seven Dials Market, KERB, is expanding via a venue in Berlin’s famous Potsdamer Platz. German foodies will be able to indulge their palates across a two-story street food market which is set to open in the Sony Centre by next year. The market will showcase 12 independent food vendors [...]