More overseas than UK buyers for City offices November 21, 2011 THE LEVEL of overseas ownership of City office properties has overtaken UK ownership for the first time. research by property group Development Securities has claimed. According to new research by the developer and the University of Cambridge, foreign investors now own 52 per cent of the Square Mile’s office stock, growing from 25 per cent [...]
Get roped into a climb at The Castle November 21, 2011 You can see The Castle climbing wall at Manor House long before you get anywhere near it. The gigantic Victorian building looks every bit the fortress it is named for – it’s slightly disappointing when you find out it started life as a lowly pump-house (it also makes you realise how much of a sense [...]
FIT IN THE CITY November 21, 2011 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT If you’re looking to rock your Christmas tux, or slide into your salopettes without a hint of Stella belly, you’ll need to work. Here’s how: Opt for high-energy workouts. In a study at Duke University in the US, 30 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise (the type where you’re sweaty and out [...]
Fornata joins Italian legion November 21, 2011 Fornata 15 Kingly Street, London W1B 5PS Tel:020 8181 8887 FOOD *** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £20-25 When Casanova came to London in 1763, Soho was his first port of call. At just 38, he was already renowned across Europe as a distinguished polymath. His spheres of expertise included mathematics, [...]
QUAFFER’S CORNER November 21, 2011 Soaking up the Alsatian tastes I had an interesting tasting here at Lutyens last week. Christophe Ehrhart from Josmeyer gave a talk with accompanying wines from the estate he runs in Alsace, the sliver of land between the Vosges Mountains and the Rhine that boasts some of the lowest rainfall in France and a complex [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 21, 2011 WINTER-WONDER COCKTAILS AT CASSIS The bar at Cassis, the popular French bistro in Knightsbridge has launched a new winter menu including a new range of dessert cocktails, perfect for those who would prefer a liquid dessert to one of their renowned Provencal tarts. Guests can choose from Tiramisu or Apple Pie cocktails. For a winter [...]
A weekend in Johannesburg November 20, 2011 THERE’S too much history in this town.” So says my tour guide Zac as we speed away from Johannesburg airport. He’s not wrong. Just 125 years old, South Africa’s largest city has developed as though on steroids. The often bloody events that mark its relatively short lifetime read like those of a much older city. [...]
Mortgage lending falls November 18, 2011 Gross mortgage lending decreased four per cent from September, down to an estimated £13.1bn in October, said the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) today. Though there was a 13 per cent increase from October 2010, up from £11.6bn, housing market activity is still low compared to long term averages, industry experts said. Housing prices are [...]
Savills buoyed by London and Asia amid Euro crisis November 17, 2011 PROPERTY agent Savills said it was on track to meet full-year expectations as its prime London residential and Asia Pacific businesses help offset its poorer performance in continental Europe. The group is cutting its presence in non-core markets as “macro economic issues have curtailed activity in many countries” and is instead focusing on stronger-performing France, [...]
South African billionaire in talks to take over Tower 42 November 17, 2011 SOUTH African billionaire Nathan Kirsh could soon be making a comeback to the City as the new owner of the Tower 42 skyscraper. Kirsh’s family office is understood to be in advanced talks to buy Natwest’s former headquarters on Old Broad Street, which would mark Kirsch’s first deal since selling a 29 per cent stake [...]
