Browsing: / Home
Shortlink

Castles Up for Grabs from Von Essen Hotels

By Jessie Wilkens on April 26, 2011 in , ,

In case you are in the market for a castle – now might just be the best opportunity you’ll have. That’s because the Von Essen Hotels is collapsing, and leaving behind a debt trail of more than $383 million.

Let the Bidding Begin

Many are expecting a bidding frenzy, as incredible hotels like Ston Easton Park, the Royal Crescent in Bath, Amberley Castle, a 900 year old castle in West Sussex and others are about to be up for grabs.

Cliveden

The most famous of the offerings is Cliveden, a country home on the banks of the Thames in Berkshire. It has served as a home to an earl, two dukes, a number of viscounts and the Prince of Wales.

The Von Essen Hotels collapse comes after many attempts by chairman Andrew Davis to find an outside investor to help to cut the company’s debts. He has, at times, been in talks with Peter de Savary, the Mittal Steel dynasty, Turkey’s Sabanci family, the Qatari ruling family and others.

Ernst & Young Steps In

Now, administrators from Ernst & Young have been appointed at the request of Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group after Von Essen Hotels failed to make interest payments on the £250 million they had borrowed. They have also, apparently, breached a covenant governing the minimum level of underlying earnings after they have experienced difficult trading in recent months.

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter
Shortlink

Second Home Thoughts Vanishing for Brits

By Jessie Wilkens on April 19, 2011 in , , ,

While we might not feel badly for those second-home owners who are having issues in the UK, there certainly are a lot of them. More than 300,000 second-home owners who have euro-denominated mortgages are feeling the crunch. The first interest rate rise since July of 2008 is occurring now, which is causing rising mortgage rates and a fall in the value of the sterling against the euro.

Rising Rates

As a result, Adam Jordan, a senior currency expert at Moneycorp, for instance, said that their company has seen a 40pc rise in the number of people bringing large sums of money back to the UK during the first quarter of 2011, compared to what they saw in the last quarter of 2010.

With the expected increase in interest rates again in September 2011, Adam Jordan believes that the problem will only get worse. Many of those who are repatriating their money have only recently been able to sell their homes after the property crashes in Spain.

Economic Changes

Who will be hardest hit by these changes? These issues will most affect people with second homes abroad and pensioners who are living abroad but using their savings income and other sterling-denominated pensions.

For many people, the combination of the rise in rates and the slumping sterling has put their dreams of living in France or Spain on the back burner. Those who have invested in properties in these places are finding it very hard to keep up with the rising mortgage demand.

Investments Gone Sour

David Vindel, a senior public relations consultant from London, for instance, had bought two properties in Spain to rent out recently. His mortgage costs have drastically increased, however, and he can’t sell them because of the slumping property prices in Spain.

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter
Shortlink

Cashing In On the Royal Wedding…Or Maybe Not

By Jessie Wilkens on April 13, 2011 in , , ,

Everyone is excited about the royal wedding scheduled for April 29th, 2011. Some people see it as a chance to see a fairy tale wedding, others see it as a chance to glimpse the future king. Still others are hoping to cash in on the wedding buy purchasing memorabilia that will be of value someday.

Royal Wedding Memorabilia

If you ask many of the antique experts around, however, they may tell you not to hold your breath. Eric Knowles, an expert on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, explains that the vast majority of memorabilia will be worthless. A bit tongue in cheek he explains however, that “if you can hang on to it for 150 years, your great, great, great grandchildren may reap the benefits if it’s a rare piece. It is a test of time.”

Making the Right Purchase

Of course, there is always a chance that the collector’s item that you purchase will be worth something, but it’s probably much smarter to purchase items simply because you want to remember the special day. The market is awash at the moment in approved collection pieces such as a tankard, plate and pill box as part of the official Royal Collection and a first time ever commemorative £5 coin produced by the Royal Mint.

For beer drinkers, Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham has produced a traditional ale called “Kiss Me Kate” and many other companies are hoping to cash in on the big day.

Cashing In on Memorabilia

It’s always possible that the specific memorabilia that you purchase will be worth something. In 2008, a cleaner who was given a large piece of wedding cake from the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales managed to auction it off for £1,000.

It is much more likely, however, that the Will and Kate plate that you purchase will simply collect dust on the shelf, or be enjoyed by the family without offering anyone a chance to become a millionaire!

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter
Shortlink

It’s Not Easy Being Green…in the UK

By Jessie Wilkens on April 5, 2011 in , ,

While the UK may claim that it wants to be environmentally friendly and “green,” they are quickly losing the race on this front.  A report by the US Pew Environment Group shows that the UK moved from being third in the world in its green growth investments to being in 13th place.  13th place may not sound terrible – but it ranks the UK behind such locations as Brazil (6th) and India (10th).

While the UK invested $11bn in alternative energy and clean technology in 2009, they committed only $3.3bn last year.  This news comes just as an important cabinet discussion will convene  to discuss the UK’s climate change targets looking past 2020.

Green Energy Fighting

Fighting continues between the Department of Energy and Climate Change which wants targets to stimulate green growth and the Treasury and the Department of Business, which says that less stringent targets are necessary for ten years from now.

Now, Ministers are going to have to decide who they should listen to and follow.  The Committee on Climate Change said last year, for instance, that the UK should cut emissions by 60% by 2030, as compared to the 1990 levels.

Pushing Back Progress

Many are concerned about the lack of impressive efforts on the green front.  Meg Hillier, shadow energy and climate spokeswoman said, “If we do not move fast we will slip back even further, and companies will shut up shop here or go abroad.” The chief policy adviser for Greenpeace, Ruth Davis, added, “The Conservatives came to power promising to end dithering on energy decisions but instead investors face a continuing atmosphere of uncertainty.”

Businesses Get Into the Fight

Stepping up before the Cabinet meets to discuss these issues, 10 major UK companies met to write an urgent appeal to the Prime Minister to take a stand. These companies including Unilever, Kingfisher, Tesco, Thames Water, EDF Energy and Shell said that they support the Committee on Climate Change’s desire for steady progress and that they want a strong fourth carbon budget that would help them to reach the 2030 milestone of a 60% or more reduction.  They also urged more international action on greenhouse gas emissions with a focus on aviation and shipping sectors.

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter
Shortlink

Legal & General Investments Launches UK Fund

By Jessie Wilkens on April 4, 2011 in , ,

Legal & General Investments recently publicized the launch of the Legal & General UK Equity Income Fund. The fund will be headed by Richard Black.
Investments were made available at the fund just a few days ago, and the company has said that it hopes to reach a revenue in excess of the FTSE All-Share Index yield. They also plan to provide capital growth in the future.

The minimum investment in the fund is 500 euro, with no maximum limit. The investments will be available through large IFA platforms, as well as unit trusts or ISA.

Plans for the Future

Richard Black explained that “The fund will aim to produce a sustainable income and capital growth through investment in UK equities by adopting a flexible investment approach, building on the UK equity team’s proven and successful research and stock screening processes.” He added that “the fund is also able to use a covered call strategy to boost the income potential of stocks with strong dividend yields but low capital growth potential.”

The Team

Frank McGarry, sales director at Legal & General Investments said: “Under the leadership of Robert Churchlow, our UK team has built an enviable track record in equity fund management. The addition of the UK Equity Income Fund to the range provides investors with a fund that can fully capitalize on opportunities as they emerge.” He continued, “The Equity Income Fund has been developed to strengthen our existing range of equity finds. The fund aims to provide an income excess of the FTSE All-Share index yield and is designed to sit as a core holding in a balanced portfolio.”

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter
Shortlink

BlackBerry PlayBook Hitting the UK

By Jessie Wilkens on March 30, 2011 in , ,

UK consumers are much more keen on the idea of purchasing tablets in the next six months than are others across Europe. Figures show that the UK is actually the highest ranked Western country when it comes to using social networks on mobile devices. According to TNS, more than 11 million people have logged onto Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites from the UK through their mobile devices.

The Social Network Craze

The same research found that over 5.5. million people in the UK access social networks every single day from their mobile. In addition, the UK leads Europe with downloadable apps (31%), social video watching (29%), and game downloading (26%), according to TNS.

BlackBerry PlayBook News

With the BlackBerry PlayBook coming to the market, those in the industry are hoping that it will kick start interest in the tablet market. Stephen Yap, the group director of TNS said that they expect the BlackBerry PlayBook to do very well.

iPad 2 Brushed Aside?

The iPad 2, on the other hand, is not expected to do terribly well with the UK market, according to enterprises in the UK. There are many questions about the productivity benefits there.

Yap said that, However, tablets are about providing a rich multimedia experience and RIM’s core strength has been with messaging. To succeed RIM will have to get developers on board and deliver rich content through its ecosystem. ”

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter
Shortlink

Outrage Over the Arts in the UK

By Jessie Wilkens on March 29, 2011 in , ,

The British Prime Minister has recently received a memo asking him to join with leaders in the art world to discuss long-term policies for art investments. While the harsh economic climate in the UK today warrants spending cuts, these artistic directors urge the government to think beyond the current situation.

Cutting Funding for the Arts

The signatures of the letter included director Sir Richard Eyre, Tony Hall of the Royal Opera House, Jude Kelly of the Southbank Centre and others. They warned, in their letter, that lasting damage will occur to the public if the level of cuts in the arts continues at this level in the UK.

The letter is in response to arts cuts that will be announced today by Arts Council England. Meeting at the Young Vic theatre in London, the letter writers and others discussed how to argue their case over the long term.

Future Art Goals

In their letter, they asked David Cameron to meet with them to discuss future goals. They added, “We hope you agree that [culture] is not an embellishment of democracy, but is essential to a creative and open society.” Sir Richard Eyre explained that, “Arts are not ethical medicine … they are weapons of happiness.” Jude Kelly offered the idea that a campaign like World Book Night where one million books were given away on March 5 might help people to gain enthusiasm for the arts.

Time will tell if the prime minister chooses to get into the debate and if the heavy hitters in the arts world are able to make their case persuasively for more arts funding, rather than less.

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter
Shortlink

Champions Series Supported by Middle East Royalty

By Jessie Wilkens on March 28, 2011 in , ,

The Middle East is getting involved in horse racing. How so? In recent news, the Qauari investment group Qipco is the title sponsor of the British Champions Series.

Champions Series Set

The Champions Series is hoping to become the leading horse racing organization in the world, and securing a title sponsor was an important part of this ambitious goal. Karl Oliver, the chief executive of the Series explained how Qipco’s involvement would help them to reach their goal. With their involvement, the British Champions Series will include 35 races in five categories with a climax at Ascot in October.

Royal Sponsorship

is an investment group owned by six brothers who are all members of the Qatari royal family. Oliver explained why the union is such a good one. As he said about Qipco, “They share the same values and vision as we do, they’re looking to establish themselves internationally and improve their profile. They see the British Champions Series as a great platform but they also understand horse racing.”

Horse Racing Plans

The plan is to have 35 races over 28 days which will include a clear finale at Ascot with the British Champions Day. The races will be covered by various organizations, with the BBC covering 19 races and Channel 4 covering 16.

The deal between the British Champions Series and Qipco states that Qipco will be the official partner for three main events: the opening day of the series at the Guineas Festival, the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood and the final day at Ascot.

Other sponsors, Oliver explained reassuringly, will still have their pull as well. The deal with Qipco is, at this time, for two years.

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter
Shortlink

Bringing Vietnam and the UK Together

By Jessie Wilkens on March 23, 2011 in , ,

Lord Mayor of the City of London, Michael Bear, was recently in Vietnam, where Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung expressed his pleasure in the two countries’ relationship. Vietnam is very focused on strengthening cooperation with UK enterprises as they learn from the UK market economy.

UK and Vietnam

The UK Enterprises Delegation met with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to discuss implementing public-private projects. The Vietnamese are hoping that the Mayor will help with the creation of a new financial and commercial center in Hanoi. Vietnam plans to help the UK to invest in aviation, petroleum and banking.

UK Pledging Support

Mayor Michael Bear thanked the Prime Minister for the warm reception and pledged that the British businesses would stay involved in Vietnam’s programs. The Mayor also attended a round table conference to help in Hanoi’s development of new trade and of the financial center.

The UK is using the development of the new trade and financial center in Hanoi as part of the double bilateral trade that they are developing between the two countries.

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter
Shortlink

Squatting Is the New Rage in the UK

By Jessie Wilkens on March 22, 2011 in , ,

If you’re interested in being a squatter in the UK, you may just have found a great field. Homeowners in the UK have found themselves highly frustrated lately because of a legal loophole that forces property owners to get a new eviction letter for every incident. This means that every time that a squatter is in their home, they need a new eviction order if they can’t prove that the squatter was previously on the property.

Professional Squatters

In addition, the legal loophole requires homeowners to go through a serious legal battle that usually lasts for many months. The threat is mostly coming for real estate investors in the UK who fail to keep steady tenants. Professional squatters will take over a vacant home, and it can become incredibly difficult and costly to remove them.

Blaming the Homeowner

To make matters worse, the homeowner may be blamed if the property isn’t properly protected. Of course, much of the time, the squatters insist that they are doing the homeowners a favor. They complain that properties in the UK shouldn’t remain empty when there is a housing shortage, and that rents are too steep.

Squatter Rights

For now, it is legal for squatters to enter unoccupied properties, as long as they don’t create any damage and as long as the property is vacant when they came. Once they are squatting, the owner actually has to take them to civil court to sue for possession. And – to make matters worse – if they have been in the home for 12 months, they can actually claim possession!

Mixx Delicious Digg Facebook Twitter