West End: Shaftesbury investor raises concern with £3.5bn merger with rival Capco WEST END Concerns have been raised over West End landlord Shaftesbury’s planned £3.5bn merger with rival Capital & Counties Properties (Capco), by a key investor. Shareholders could be left worse for wear, Chris Hills, chief investment consultant at Investec, which has a 1.65 per cent stake in Shaftesbury, told The Times. As Shaftesbury trades at just an [...]
Oxford St raid: Officers seize thousands of counterfeit and dangerous items from two retailers OXFORD STREET Trading standards officers seized £58k worth of vapes and unsafe toys from two Oxford Street retailers. Westminster City Council officers seized more than 4,000 items that were thought to be counterfeit or possibly dangerous to the public. Items seized in the 26 April raid included vaping devices containing excessive levels of nicotine and which had [...]
West End set for booming recovery as tourists flock back to capital WEST END Londoners can bet on a roaring West End comeback, after Peel Hunt analysts pointed to a resilient recovery in occupier demand and rental tone. In a note yesterday, Peel Hunt said that the future looked cheery for the central London shopping and theatre destination, “despite wider uncertainty and the cost of living squeeze.” It comes [...]
Swingers’ CEO: Offices splash cash on crazy golf with pent up budgets May 3, 2022 Corporate bookings have returned with a bang as bosses are eager to spend two years’ worth of social budgets, the CEO of Swingers said. The crazy golf chain has seen business come “roaring back” since Covid restrictions eased, co-founder Matt Grech-Smith told CityA.M. Work bookings make up 45 per cent of Swinger’s trade, its chief [...]
West End woes: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella cancelled as cast learn of news ‘by press release’ May 2, 2022 Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of Cinderella has been cancelled after less than a year, after the West End show faced a turbulent launch. Cinderella had faced a tumultuous run and is understood to have suffered heavy losses since its opening night last summer. Equity UK, the trade union for actors and singers, has written to [...]
New West End Company chief leaves role as chief of business group for down under April 28, 2022 The head of the New West End Company is departing to oversee improvements to Sydney’s Western Harbour shopping district. After six years at the industry body, Jace Tyrell is leaving to head Australia’s first business improvement district (BID), the New Sydney Waterfront Company. NWEC works across 80 streets in the central London heartland, representing 150,000 [...]
The show goes on: Olivier awards return in sign of West End comeback April 10, 2022 The West End’s biggest stars donned their gladrags to walk the ‘green carpet’ tonight at the 2022 Olivier’s following a three-year pandemic-forced gap. Cabaret was among the big winners of the day, with Rebecca Frecknall winning best director for the London Playhouse production and Eddie Redmayne taking best actor for his performance as The Emcee. [...]
London shoppers evacuated from Oxford Street after gas leak April 4, 2022 Shoppers have been evacuated from Oxford St after emergency services have shut down the West End shopping destination. The Met closed several streets in the area on Monday afternoon, including Poland Street, Berwick Street, Oxford Street, Noel Street, Wardour Street and Great Marlborough Street. In a tweet, the police force said: “Please can we make [...]
West End to fully recover in just two years following Covid-19 decimation, says report February 17, 2022 The West End will have fully recovered in just two years, according to a new report, after Covid-19 restrictions decimated London’s entertainment and hospitality industries. Some £8.6bn is expected to be pumped into the retail and theatre district, nearly double the £4.6bn it pulled in in 2021, property consultancy Colliers has forecast. It signals the [...]
Best of 2021: Hamlet at the Young Vic December 30, 2021 Playing Hamlet is still seen by many as the pinnacle of an acting career. When we think of the greats in the role we think of John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ian McKellan (twice, as of this summer). But Cush Jumbo inhabits the part so brilliantly in this new production at the [...]