Clapham Buzz

It’s becoming more and more difficult for the younger generation to get into the property market, and it’s come to light that one of the factors is due to landlord loans, which are pushing property prices through the roof. People in their twenties and thirties are struggling as the cost of property is six times higher than that of the average annual salary.

Going Up

Britain has seen a massive property price leap in the past year, and it’s come to light that it’s due to the huge increase in landlord loans, which have escalated from 2.4 percent to 12.7 percent in the last decade. As the younger generation have been frozen out of the property buying market, many of them are turning to shared ownership as a means to get a foot in the door.

London’s Silicon Roundabout, the striving technological hub of the city, is attracting leading information and communication technology (ICT) companies from around the world. Giants Cisco Systems and Microsoft have already secured a spot at the Silicon Roundabout, and will operate from the new East London offices once developments are complete. The UK government has earmarked $81 million to revamp the area, which will act a hub for technology start-ups, mirroring California’s Silicon Valley. Any office to rent will hold a prestigious address at the Silicon Roundabout.

Location of Silicon Roundabout

The Silicon Roundabout is located in a neighbourhood East of London’s old city. According to the Tech City Investment Organization of the trade and investment department, the Silicon Roundabout will include a massive conference area complete with classrooms and working space, the largest indoor civic space in Europe, to host world class conferences and experts. The Silicon Roundabout is an effort to attract technology sector jobs to the city, to help drive investment and lower the unemployment rate.

With the UK Government’s Green Deal scheme coming into effect this autumn, property owners will get the chance to benefit from green loans allowing them to make energy-efficient, and the nation’s landlords have welcomed the development as an opportunity to save money, improve the value of their properties and improve the quality of life for their present and future tenants. This may sound straightforward at first, but for landlords dealing with shared ownership leases, the legal implications of applying for Green Deal measures on these properties can be a little more complex.

Limitations for Lessees?

It’s not yet clear whether shared ownership lessees will need their landlords’ permission to implement Green Deal measures. So far, it seems the Government plans to treat these lessees like all other lease holders (meaning that obtaining permission will not be necessary); however, industry insiders say the need for consent from landlords could possibly be determined by:

Building neighbours

Actor Hugh Grant is another addition to the list of homeowners in London affluent areas such as Hyde park property, that have had neighbours move in next door and commence construction. Hugh Grant’s neighbours in the upmarket area of London have started a large building project where they are digging out the basement and building an extension.

Disgruntled locals

The building on the multi million pound house has left a few locals disgruntled, as well as Hugh Grant. Hugh Grant surprised both fans and friends by doing his first romantic comedy movie in three years. One of the reasons Hugh Grant may have signed up for this new movie role may have something to do with the disruption just next door, with it providing an escape to Hollywood for a few months. There have been many residential developments sprouting up around the city with luxury homes still enjoying significant sales. The new stamp duty tax on homes over the £2 million mark may slow down sales a bit, but the area of Chelsea has a few extension projects commencing and already underway. The building not only creates noise pollution but also the occurrence of cranes and construction vehicles in the outside roads.

According to recently released figures, Britons purchased 12% more cars this October than during the same month in 2011, which indicates that consumer confidence is growing. A report by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed that new car sales and registrations in October reached 151,252 units. As a result of growing demand, optimistic car manufacturers raised their expectations for total car sales in 2012. For example SMMT increased its forecast for 2012 car sales figures to 2 million new car registrations, up from 1.92 million, which is good news for businesses and office space in London.

Be Your Own Boss is a BBC reality show focussed on contestants proposing various entrepreneurial ideas with a view to receive funding to pursue their project. There have been plenty of success stories that have developed out of the show, whether it be from those who were successfully granted the funding or for those who are being supported from external investors hoping to eventually hit the big time and secure office space in London some day. Here is one such entrepreneur who is proving successful through his own endeavours since he pitched his concept on 26 September 2012.

When it comes to the concept of a London conference, all bets are entirely off as to what is possible. Some amazing start ups, community initiatives and business endeavours have birthed from a well placed or timed London conference; some venues continue to pride themselves on that fact. Soon there will be one that we should all keep our eyes on; the Annual Global Conference 2012 in London which has its focus on bolstering exports for domestic and international Irish-owned companies. The brightest of the bright from Ireland are set to attend and some may even stay opting for office space in London; such is the power of conference facilities and events.

The debate over the United Kingdom’s airport capacity expansion continues, with some parties advocating a new airport in the Thames estuary, whilst others are vying for a Heathrow expansion. In the latter group, Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway has opposed relocation to the Thames Estuary, stating that the costs will be far too high. In his opinion, a Heathrow expansion is the only affordable option to improve Britain’s air links to key international markets, and is important in maintaining a robust market for office space in London districts nearby.

Virgin Accuses Government of Inconsistency

According to Steve Ridgway, government ministers support the aircraft manufacturing industry, but impose heavy tax and regulations on airlines, which create thousands of jobs and generate billions of pounds worth of revenue. Airlines should have more say in whether a Heathrow expansion is preferred or not.

Best disability employer award

One of the most prominent British Banks; Lloyds, has been voted the best disability employer in the UK. The bank that acquires London serviced office space, received the award of best disability employer due to their commitment to significantly improving opportunities within the bank as well as its accessibility for its staff and clients.

Lloyds credited

The exact award was for Business Disability Forum’s Best Employer and they were primarily selected because of their proactive initiatives in tackling the issue of disability. When receiving the best disability award that was also evidentially long term,were credited for their designs which looked at smart disability organisation. They were also commended as dedicated resources have been put into place to assist managers with the best employer disability plans, help in working with disabled colleagues as well as helplines for even more support. Lloyds operations director, Mark Fisher also won a employer disability award for his continued, personal commitment to integrating disabled staff into the bank, as well as logistically facilitating the disability recruitment process. Fisher was also selected and credit for great employer disability strategies as he evaluated Lloyd’s outside suppliers and they were encouraged to implement disability friendly policies.

The micro blogging site Twitter will go ahead with its plan to open an office in London, despite the fact that the UK address will bring the leading social media company under British injunctions, which are far stricter than those in the United States. With regards to the Twitter office, a recent example of British injunctions in social media centres around Ryan Giggs, who was exposed as the footballer who obtained a court order to demand the name of the Twitter user who published a partly false list of celebrities who had taken out injunctions, which included himself.

Twitter London Office a Possible Europe Headquarters

Despite the legalities, the head of Twitter’s international expansion has stated that the UK Twitter office expansion would continue, however the Twitter European headquarters is still to be confirmed. Since the end of last year, Twitter has posted scouts to search for the ideal Twitter office space in London. Prime Minister David Cameron has been advocating London’s ‘Silicon Roundabout’, which is the city’s hub for the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector.