Author Archives: admin

The Thames Barrier, the 520 metre wide barrier on the river at Woolwich, has been raised more than 20 times in the last fortnight. The barrier is used or raised to block the flow of water.  It can be used to prevent a high tide flowing into London and flooding 125 square kilometres of Central […]

London house prices have now hit a new record at more than 20% above their pre-crisis peak! Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that annual house prices in London rose by 12.3% in December to hit an average of £450,000.  This is more than twice the 5.5% rate of increase seen across the […]

From 23rd January, new rules from OfCom, the telecoms regulator mean that customers on mobile phone, landline or broadband contracts who are told by their supplier about a mid-term price increase can now switch supplier without penalty.  The same rules also apply where TV is included a part of the package, and customers are also […]

London’s inconic Shard building, and also Western Europe’s tallest building, is to be joined by a smaller, junior Shard next door. The second Shard tower, also to be designed by Shard architect, Renzo Piano, will be 27 stories high and contain 150 flats plus retail space.  A formal planning application will be made for this […]

Homeserve, the emergency repair company, has been fined a record £34.5million by the City regulator for mis-selling of home protection insurance which covers the cost of domestic emergencies such as unblocking drains or boiler repairs. Homeserve insures 2million people in the UK.

Due to rising tuition costs, students are cutting back at the student bar.  Several years of high tuition costs have caused students to take on a more serious mood. Students are more cost conscious than ever before, looking at value generally and cutting back where possible.  There is one area though that students spend lavishly […]

It seems that finding student accommodation in London is set to get even harder! More than 250,000 students in London are not able to secure housing in either purpose built university accommodation or in private halls of residence. These students then have to share rented private-sector home or live at home with parents, thereby negating […]

The annual rate of UK house price inflation has reached 5.8% in October – the largest annual jump since July 2010. Nationwide say the price of the average house rose by 1% in October, coming on the back of a 0.9% increase in September. House prices are still 6.6% below the record high reached in […]

London’s high end property market has been fuelled over the past few years by foreign buyers. It is rumoured that the chancellor, George Osborne, may use his autumn statement to announce that Capital Gains Tax will apply to non-resident second home owners. Some fear this will reduce the attractiveness of properties in London, but this […]

Some think buy to let is morally repugnant, but the numbers look increasingly compelling. Buying property to let has never seemed so controversial. It is disapproved of and regarded as morally questionable, even repugnant. You only have to look on some of the related links below, where readers comment widely on the subject, to see […]