London tech sector sparks City building boom at Silicon Roundabout November 10, 2014 London’s thriving tech sector has helped to drive a resurgence in building activity in the City over the past six months as developers push the start button on a record number of schemes in areas such as Old Street. Developers kick-started work on 10 new schemes in the City in the six months from April [...]
Gherkin bought by Safra Group: Meet the Brazilian-Lebanese billionaire behind the £700m deal November 10, 2014 The City's iconic Gherkin has been snapped up for more than £700m by the Safra Group, the investment giant controlled by Brazilian-Lebanese billionaire Joseph Safra. Safra, which last month won a $682m (£430m) takeover battle for banana group Chiquita, said yesterday it had agreed to buy the 590-foot tower at 30 St Mary’s [...]
Football Comment: Footballers may be multi-millionaires, but they are still at risk of financial pitfalls too November 10, 2014 Ex-England keeper David James’ recent bankruptcy shows stars aren’t immune IF YOU find the sums of money swirling around in football unpalatable, then stand by your beds because, in the next 10 years, it will look like chicken feed. The growth in the bottom line of Europe’s elite clubs is now being driven by two [...]
10.8m jobs set to be replaced by robots in the next 20 years but here’s where humans may have the edge November 10, 2014 A third of Britain's jobs are under threat from technology and could be replaced within the next two decades, according to research by Deloitte and Oxford University. The initial diagnosis appears terrifying, with 10.8m jobs set be replaced by automation and robots, with low-paid jobs being five times more likely to replaced than high paying [...]
Gherkin sold: Safra Group buys one of London’s tallest buildings 30 St Mary Axe November 10, 2014 Brazilian investment group Safra is to buy the City’s iconic Gherkin skyscraper from receivers Deloitte, the two firms announced this morning. Deloitte’s real estate arm and Savills was appointed to sell 30 St Mary’s Axe this summer after its previous owners Evans Randall and German firm IVG failed to strike a restructuring deal over its [...]
25 years later: Remembering the fall of the Berlin Wall November 9, 2014 This weekend, the world observes the 25th anniversary of one of the most historic events in modern history, the fall of the Berlin Wall. The wall, erected by the German Democratic Republic of East Berlin in 1961 and fortified for nearly 30 years, was built to stem the flow of defectors from the Eastern bloc [...]
Qatar makes £1.6bn bid for Canary Wharf owner Songbird November 6, 2014 Qatar wants to buy up Canary Wharf in a £1.6bn deal, showing the oil rich state’s determined interest in snapping up vast chunks of valuable and iconic London property. The deal would be one of the biggest property sales ever in the UK, and will extend Qatar’s reach over London landmarks, which already includes the [...]
Buying slows as house prices fall in October November 6, 2014 THE HOUSING market is slowing down as high prices and strict mortgage regulations put off buyers. The average house price fell by 0.4 per cent in October, according to figures released yesterday by Halifax. Monthly data can be volatile, but growth in the three months to October also slowed to 0.8 per cent – the [...]
Rightmove stays bullish despite cooling down of housing market November 6, 2014 Property website Rightmove yesterday said it had a confident outlook for the full year, as more agents and developers used its service to advertise despite signs of a cooling housing market. In a trading update for the four months to 31 October, Rightmove said its membership had grown two per cent since the first half [...]
Landlords’ property wealth on track to climb to £1 trillion in 2015 November 6, 2014 Private landlords’ property is worth £930bn – and is set to reach £1 trillion next year on the sustained rise in UK house prices, according to estimates by Kent Reliance. London has seen the biggest rises in wealth over the past seven years. From 2007 to 2014, landlords in the capital saw the value of their [...]