Budget 2016: Chancellor George Osborne throws weight behind Crossrail 2 and HS3 with more than £300m in transport spending March 15, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne will throw his weight behind Crossrail 2 and the HS3 rail project between Leeds and Manchester when he delivers the 2016 Budget tomorrow. Osborne will use the Budget to commit to more than £300m in new infrastructure spending, including £80m to fund the development of plans for Crossrail 2 and £60m to [...]
London office rents may be high – but there’s still plenty of fuel in the tank for growth as businesses look outside the centre March 14, 2016 Central London’s property market has been booming now for half a decade. Values and rents for the capital’s offices have risen steadily, by 88 per cent and 44 per cent respectively between April 2010 and January 2016, and those investing in the market have enjoyed total returns of 140 per cent over the same period. As ever, many [...]
Budget 2016: The UK property industry’s wishlist for Chancellor George Osborne March 14, 2016 Stamp duty reform is at the top of the UK's property industry wishlist for when Chancellor George Osborne opens his red box to deliver the Budget on Wednesday. 1. Reversal of recent government stamp duty changes Recent UK stamp duty reforms are having a damaging impact on the housing market and should be reviewed. The Stamp [...]
City Moves for 14 March 2016 | Who’s switching jobs March 14, 2016 Accenture Professional services group Accenture has promoted Joydeep (Joy) Bhattacharya, pictured, to lead the Accenture Interactive business in the UK and Ireland. In addition to his new role, Joy will maintain his existing responsibilities as regional general manager for Fjord, Accenture’s design and innovation unit, in Europe, Africa and Latin America (EALA). With over 15 [...]
Fashion chain Jigsaw takes piece of West End after signing up to the Crown Estate and Oxford Properties’ £400m St James’s Market scheme March 14, 2016 Jigsaw has become the latest retailer to sign up to the Crown Estate and Oxford Properties’ £400m St James’s Market scheme. The fashion chain will open a 3,000 square feet shop last this year joining Swedish cycling brand Assos, Smeg and office tenants such as private equity Carlyle Group. Jigsaw's so-called Emporium will include 1,000 sq ft for its [...]
UK pension changes: Savers could shun pension pots in favour of bricks and mortar if chancellor George Osborne cuts lifetime allowance in his Budget on 16 March March 14, 2016 Middle and high income earners could turn their backs on pensions in favour of investing in property should chancellor George Osborne make further changes to the lifetime allowance at the Budget later this week, research out today has found. The study by Zurich found that a quarter (25 per cent) of all Britons would funnel their savings [...]
Cinven considers bid for part of Thomson Reuters as news organisation set for sale of intellectual property and science units March 13, 2016 Private equity group Cinven is considering bidding for part of Thomson Reuters, with the news organisation set to launch a sale of its intellectual property and science units. The divisions – which reported revenues of $1bn (£0.7bn) last year and an operating profit of $221m – have been valued at around $3bn by analysts. Cinven already owns intellectual [...]
Remortgaging activity: Homeowners slow to switch from standard variable rate mortgages to fixed rate mortgages March 12, 2016 Homeowners are failing to lock into low repayment rates by switching from a standard variable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage, research by high street bank Halifax has shown. Although housing transactions in 2014 exceeded the one million mark for a second consecutive year, and fixed rates continue to fall below the standard variable rate, remortgaging activity remains subdued, it [...]
From the best US barbecue restaurants to the Senior Bankers’ Regime: What got you reading this week March 11, 2016 1. US barbecue restaurants City A.M. readers are clearly experiencing wanderlust: our US roadtrip sampling 32 of the US' most mouth-watering barbecue restaurants stormed to the top of our rankings this week. Find out where was finger-lickin' good here. 2. Another supermarket sweep Asda and Morrisons' share of of the market fell further this week – while sales at [...]
EU referendum: Housebuilders, mid-caps, banks and retail will be the sectors worst-hit by a Brexit, says UBS March 11, 2016 The Brexit debate continues apace – and now UBS Wealth Management has waded in on the argument, pointing out some of the sectors most at risk if the UK votes in favour of leaving the European Union. The good news is fears around Brexit have already been priced into the market, said Caroline Simmons, deputy [...]