I’ll be toasting International Tequila Day with a Maestro DOBEL July 23, 2021 National and international awareness days for foods and drinks might have begun as cynical marketing ploys, but some have evolved into annual events that the public have embraced with genuine enthusiasm. One of the most successful of these pseudo-holidays is International Margarita Day, which takes place on 22 February, and in pre-Covid times was widely [...]
Exclusive: London Mayor Khan warns lack of supply in capital pushes up property prices July 23, 2021 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, warned that London’s house price hikes are primarily caused by a lack of available properties. “The main reason is the lack of supply to meet demand. And so what we’ve got to do is increase the supply of all forms of housing in London to meet the demand,” Khan [...]
COVID-19 and the economic impact on UK businesses July 23, 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic has left a lot of business struggling, but how bad is the overall outlook for them? We’ve spoken to Michelle Elliot CA, partner at FRP based in Glasgow, about whether we can expect a tsunami of insolvencies or if UK businesses are coping better than expected. Michelle is a Chartered Accountant and [...]
Tokyo 2020: What Covid-19, no fans and public opposition mean for sponsors and the International Olympic Committee July 22, 2021 The 60,000 seats of Japan’s national stadium, built for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, are coloured in muted shades of green, brown, beige and grey. Architect Kengo Kuma chose those tones to fit his vision of the stadium, which he wanted to look as natural and organic as possible. Timber is the most visible material and [...]
Property transactions surge to record high in June July 21, 2021 UK monthly property transactions hit a record high in June as prospective homebuyers scrambled to complete purchases before the stamp duty holiday tapered at the end of the month, new figures released today show. HMRC said seasonally adjusted monthly transactions in June reached 198,240, the highest since records began. Read more: House prices surge 5.7 [...]
Why off-street parking could add 20% to the price of a top London property July 20, 2021 When you think of the bleeding edge of the PCL property market, of the difference between a £3m flat in Chelsea and one that’s worth a mere £2m, you might conjure images of exquisitely-preserved period features or green rooftop oases. But the prime concern may be something a little more prosaic: off street parking. As [...]
Zurich UK switches $1bn into new ESG benchmark to cut its carbon emissions July 20, 2021 Zurich UK has switched almost $1bn (£73m) of its investment portfolio into a new ESG benchmark in a bid to reduce its carbon emissions. The insurance giant said, in an announcement today, the new benchmark will deliver a 30 per cent reduction in emissions as well as “enhanced” ESG outcomes, compared to its parent index. [...]
£15bn worth of London homes sit empty, as Londoners squabble over supply July 20, 2021 The value of London’s homes sat empty has racked up to £15bn, according to new data, as a rung on the property ladders edges further away from Londoners. London has made a name for itself as a destination for ultra-wealthy buyers to snap up prime real estate as assets and holiday homes, while prospective homeowners [...]
Companies boosted by Covid rank among the worst market performers July 19, 2021 Companies boosted by the onset of the Covid crisis rank among the worst performers on the market over the last year. Takeaway delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com has benefitted from a surge in orders since the arrival of the virus as a result of Brits rushing to find substitutes to dining out during lockdowns. However, [...]
Shortfall of 225,000 properties as average house price jumps to £338,447 July 19, 2021 Across Britain, the average asking price for a home is now £21,389 higher than it was just six months ago. The average price tag has jumped to a new record high for the fourth month in a row, reaching £338,447 in July, according to property website Rightmove. The website said the first half of this [...]