Bashing landlords won’t bring down sky-high rents in London February 10, 2016 The proportion of households renting privately in London has more than doubled over the last 10 years. And with demand far outstripping supply, fears are mounting that London’s sky-high rents will rise even further. Some believe a simple fix would be for the winner of May’s mayoral election to introduce some form of rent control in [...]
New buyer registrations for prime London homes jump as buy-to-let landlords rush to beat stamp duty hike February 10, 2016 New buyer registrations for prime London homes soared in January as buy-to-let landlords scramble to complete their purchases before the stamp duty hike comes into effect in April. Figures from estate agency Marsh and Parsons today show that the number of new buyers registering in January 2016 was 24 per cent higher than in the [...]
China’s ghost cities symbolise the nation’s troubles: overspending, debt and wild speculation. Now the People’s Bank of China wants to devalue the yuan to boost the slowing economy February 9, 2016 Ghost cities dotting the landscape are an eerie reminder of China’s failed ambitions. Yujiapu cost billions. The buildings were modelled on Manhattan’s skyscrapers, as it was supposed to be a new centre of world finance. Sitting on the edge of the huge northern city of Tianjin, it’s mostly empty. There are scant signs of construction on [...]
City Moves for 9 February 2016 | Who’s switching jobs February 9, 2016 Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has strengthened its technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) team in London with the appointment of Natalie O’Byrne as mid-markets relationship director. With six years’ experience in corporate banking, she joins the nine-strong TMT team having previously worked in a similar role for Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking looking after clients [...]
UK retail sales climbed in January, according to data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG February 9, 2016 British retailers enjoyed some therapy last month as shoppers cast off the January blues and returned to the high street, according to new figures out today. UK retail sales rose by 2.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis from January 2015, when they had increased 0.2 per cent from the preceding year, according to figures from the [...]
Marks and Spencer is narrowing the gap with high street rival Next, says Moody’s February 8, 2016 Marks & Spencer is closing in on its high street rival Next after boosting the profitability in its troubled clothing business by bringing more of its design in house and sourcing directly from suppliers, according to analysts at credit ratings agency Moody’s. In a note published the morning, Moody’s said Next’s credit profile is stronger [...]
Margaret Thatcher’s former home on Chester Square, Belgravia comes to market – with a £30m price tag February 8, 2016 Margaret Thatcher once said that home was where you went "when you've got nothing better to do", but with a £30m price tag, whoever snaps up her former residence will presumably be happy to twiddle their thumbs in doors. Developer Leconfield has spent 18 months renovating the Chester Square property – where she lived from 1991 until [...]
Profiting from creative tension: MediaCom’s Josh Krichefski talks Coca-Cola, DNA and short-form video February 8, 2016 "People in advertising have always worked long hours, but I don’t think that is necessary to deliver great work,” says Josh Krichefski, MediaCom UK’s new chief executive. “You won’t get a promotion here for working late,” he adds. Last year, the agency launched a programme called Project Blend to allow employees to talk with their [...]
Chancellor George Osborne’s stamp duty reforms cost the Treasury £662m in 2015 February 8, 2016 George Osborne’s overhaul of the stamp duty tax regime has cost the taxpayer well over half a billion pounds in lost revenue last year, new research today reveals, as sales of high-end homes slowed and investors switched tactics to avoid paying huge premiums on purchases. In December 2014 the chancellor scrapped the old system, where the [...]
Six cities where house prices are more unreasonable than London February 7, 2016 Paris, Stockholm and Berlin are among the six capital cities where citizens consider property is less reasonably priced than London, despite it previously been labelled the most overvalued market in the world. Copenhagen, Helsinki and Amsterdam also scored under 10 per cent in a major survey when residents were asked if they agreed with the statement, it's [...]