Business rates from the 16th century are ruining the high-street and an online sales tax isn’t enough February 23, 2021 The pandemic is in many ways not a break from the past but a rapid accelerator, and nowhere has the world sped up as much as in our shopping habits. In the last year, more retail sales shifted onto the internet than had done so in the previous decade. UK consumers spent £24 in every [...]
Foxtons confirms talks to buy rival Douglas & Gordon February 22, 2021 London-listed estate agent Foxtons has confirmed it is in talks to buy West London-based agent Douglas & Gordon. In a statement, Foxtons said the discussions “reflect the company’s stated ambition to acquire high quality businesses with strong lettings books.” Douglas and Gordon, which is run by former Foxtons executive James Evans, has 17 branches in [...]
Student housing firm Scape signs £500m joint venture with pension investor APG to fund expansion February 22, 2021 Student accommodation developer Scape has secured a £500m joint venture with pension investor APG to fund its expansion into mainstream housing. The joint venture is seeded with around 1,000 student rooms in London and the south east, a £250m mixed use residential and student development in Canada Water and the first Scape mainstream project in [...]
Onthemarket toasts pandemic property boom with strong hike in revenue February 22, 2021 Onthemarket has hailed a busy year of house-hunting during the pandemic, as the property platform reported a surge in revenue for the year to 31 January. Onthemarket said it expected full-year adjusted revenue to be around £22.5m, marking a 20 per cent year-on-year hike during the pandemic. It also expects adjusted operating profit for the [...]
Screenshot: Will Facebook regret going nuclear over Australian news? February 19, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: A jumbo jab mix-up **Will Facebook regret going nuclear in Australia? **Arm’s getting chippy Media Moment of the Week: A jumbo jab mix-up When Liam Thorp received a text inviting him for his first Covid jab he was confused, given the healthy 32-year-old is pretty low down the [...]
Dr Ben Goertzel: The crusade against the oligopolies February 18, 2021 SingularityNET CEO Dr Ben Goertzel explains how, once AGI is achieved, it must not fall into the hands of individuals with their own agendas.
Could the ‘circular economy’ be the answer to post-Covid growth? February 18, 2021 January’s third lockdown and fallout from Brexit have added insult to the injuries inflicted in 2020, and Britain’s economic outlook hasn’t been looking very bright in recent weeks. With the Chancellor continuing to pump money into relief schemes, with more desperately needed cash set to be announced in the March budget, those early pandemic conversations [...]
Sterling climbs to 10-month high against the euro February 17, 2021 Sterling reached a 10-month high against the euro following encouraging data fromthe UK vaccination program. The UK has jabbed nearly 16m people in the Covid-19 vaccination rollout. The pound rose to €1.150, surpassing yesterday’s record valuation and making it the highest since April 2020. However it did lose ground to the US dollar today, down [...]
UK’s tech stocks outperform main market by 19 per cent February 17, 2021 Interest in technology stocks has piqued during the pandemic and are now outperforming their FTSE peers, according to exclusive data shared with City A.M. The FTSE techMARK 100, London’s technology index, rose seven per cent last year as the FTSE floundered and shed 12 points, research by Bowmore Asset Management shows. After what has essentially [...]
UK house prices grow at fastest pace since 2014 – but London property slumps February 17, 2021 UK house prices grew at the fastest pace in more than six years in December, but property price growth in London slowed, according to the latest official data. The average price of a house in the UK increased 8.5 per cent in the year to December, up from 7.1 per cent in the previous months, [...]