Safe-haven seekers propel prime London house prices to new highs - The Independent
Last month's increase means the prices of prime London houses are now 47.3 per cent higher than at their post-credit crunch low in March 2009, according to research from Knight Frank, the estate agent.
The increase came despite an increase in the stamp duty rate to 7 per cent for properties worth £2m or more.
Liam Bailey, Knight Frank's head of residential research, said: "While it looks very much that the surge in Greek buyers has fallen off sharply since the beginning of the year – those who have had the funds to buy have done so – we are now seeing a noticeable uptick in interest from France, Italy, Spain and even German-based purchasers looking at the prime London market.
"If the crisis in the Eurozone leads to a break-up, will this flow of funds continue to London? The final form of the break-up will dictate that," Mr Bailey added.
Any country that seems to be at imminent risk of ejection from the Eurozone is likely to see a massive outflow of capital, some of which is ending up in expensive bricks and mortar in London, says Mr Bailey.
Last month's 0.7 per cent jump in prices means that prices are now 10.7 per cent than a year ago. It follows a 1.1 per cent increase in April and leaves prices 12.1 per cent above their previous peak in March 2008.
Analysts said the figures presented further evidence that the London property market was one of three safe havens for cash, alongside gold and the swiss franc.
On Saturday, upmarket estate agency Savills reported that it has seen web searches from France increase by 16 per cent, compared with six months ago, with Spain up 10 per cent and Italy rising by 9 per cent.
Furthermore, the falling value of the euro against the pound, making property purchases relatively more expensive, seems to have had little impact on rising prices, analysts said. Rupert des Forges, a partner at Knight Frank, said: "Recent weeks have seen an even greater influx of European buyers looking to purchase property in the Prime London market.
"We have recently sold examples including two substantial flats in a premier Knightsbridge block with asking prices in excess of £15m.
We have also seen a sharp rise in interest from French investors looking to move quickly before [new president François] Hollande's newly proposed wealth tax."
Queen's Jubilee wrapping up in London - United Press International
LONDON, June 5 (UPI) -- British Queen Elizabeth II's four-day Diamond Jubilee celebration in London began wrapping up Tuesday with a church service and procession.
Elizabeth, 86, is the second British monarch -- after her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria -- to reign for at least 60 years.
Wearing a mint-green silk tulle ensemble, the queen participated in a service at St. Paul's Cathedral where trumpeters lined the stone steps and the Archbishop of Canterbury paid tribute to her "lifelong dedication," the BBC said. Prime Minister David Cameron gave a reading at the service.
After the religious ceremony, onlookers outside the church sang the national anthem as the queen headed to a reception at nearby Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London, followed by lunch at Westminster Hall, the BBC said.
She and other senior royals then returned by carriage through cheering crowds to Buckingham Palace ahead of a planned Royal Air Force flypast.
Spotted at Tuesday's events were the queen's son, Prince Charles; his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; her grandson Prince William and his wife Kate; and her grandson Prince Harry.
The queen's 90-year-old husband Prince Philip missed out on the events after he was hospitalized Monday for a bladder infection.
Cancelling London 2012 Olympics would cost $5bn, warns insurer Munich Re - Daily Telegraph
The bill would cover the costs incurred and revenues lost by companies such as advertisers and media companies, according to reinsurer Munich Re. Other forms of cover, including employers and public liability insurance, would add to the industry's losses. However, policies will not cover cancellation or disruption caused by transport chaos in London.
London 2012: Olympic sponsors seek a winning performance - BBC News
As athletes hone their preparations to strike gold at the London Olympics, so companies and brands are hoping the time and effort they have put into their games sponsorship campaigns will also bear fruit.
From the big multinationals who make up the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) global TOP sponsor programme, to smaller UK-based suppliers to the games, all are gearing up their partnership programmes.
One new edition to that IOC tier of big name backers is Procter & Gamble, a worldwide manufacturer of products such as Head and Shoulders, Gillette, Bold, Duracell, Pringles, Wella and Max Factor.
"There are three reasons why we are backing the Olympics," says Nathan Homer, P&G's UK and Ireland Olympic Projects Director.
"First it is to build the business. Anyone who does a partnership deal and says it is not to build their business, then you wonder what they are doing it for."
Brand awarenessThe firm aims to make $500m (£325m) in additional sales this year thanks to its London 2012 association.
"Secondly, we have made a clear decision to use the Olympics to launch Procter and Gamble as a corporate brand, as something separate from the individual brands that P&G owns."
Mr Homer adds: "The other reason for backing the games is that it can be a powerful tool within our workforce, in the UK and around the world."
The fact that so many different nations compete in the Olympics was used to highlight that P&G in the UK and Republic of Ireland employs 54 different nationalities.
"The next time we asked staff about whether they recognised diversity as an issue, the scores were much higher," says Mr Homer.
The firm's advertising campaigns are already up and running, on TV, public transport and elsewhere.
As well as supporting Team GB and Paralympics GB, the firm is also backing 150 athletes around the world, with the biggest names being used in ad campaigns.
"We thought we would see a steady build-up [in sales] from January, but we actually saw an early acceleration in business," says Mr Homer.
"We want to maximise our impact around the actual games and have separate campaigns there, too."
P&G is running campaigns with a social or sporting strand, including partnering the Mayor of London's office on the Capital Clean Up campaign, and it is also running its Gillette sports coaching programme.
Reputational gainNeil Crockett is the managing director leading the Olympic Games and Paralympics sponsorship at multinational IT and networking firm Cisco, a technical partner of the two events.
It is in the London 2012 Olympic Supporters tier of sponsors.
The firm recently opened Cisco House, a showpiece building just across the road from the Olympic Park in Stratford, which highlights the firm's work.
"It [sponsorship] is a great chance to showcase what we do every day, delivering mission-critical infrastructure projects," says Mr Crockett.
"It is also good for our reputation. We have been a supplier before to sponsors, but this is the first time we have been a sponsor of a major sporting event."
As a business-to-business company, Cisco decided not to go for mass publicity about its London 2012 partnership, although there was some targeted media work in select publications.
"As a sponsor, we have got to be disciplined in knowing what we are about, otherwise you can spend a lot of money that does not pay off," says Mr Crockett.
"We want to build a legacy for the Games that is meaningful and which ultimately helps the UK to grow. London 2012 has got to be a catalyst - not just an event - for business."
He said the technical and digital sector was one of the few growing in the UK, and the Games could drive that forward.
"It is what comes after the event that is important - innovation, entrepreneurship, skills and training," he adds.
Cisco's five-year investment plan also includes a programme called the British Innovation Gateway, to encourage skill and innovation.
And it has been working to help revamp the science and maths syllabus for 14 to 16-year-olds, based around an Olympic theme.
In addition, the firm will establish 30 "network academies" in east London, providing equipment and e-learning materials for students to study IT.
Staff benefitsFreshfields, one of the 2012 Games providers and suppliers, is a London-based law firm that has been involved with the Olympics project for the past nine years.
Back in 2003, it helped the Olympic Games company to put the London bid together.
Since hosting victory in Singapore in 2005, it has been working for both the games organising committee Locog and the Olympic Delivery Authority.
"We had been immersed in it and had a suggestion of the power of the Olympic Games and how it energises people," says the firm's Tim Jones, instrumental to its 2012 partnership.
"I had concluded that there were a number of things we wanted to do with the business, including increasing our corporate client base," he says.
"The Olympic Games sponsor group contains significant companies and has given us a chance to get closer to them."
Becoming a sponsor has also helped to enable the firm to leap up the brand awareness tables for its sector.
Sponsorship also allows the firm to take clients to the Olympic Park or test events, or to introduce them to athletes.
And on the internal side of the workplace, it has helped with staff interaction.
"We are able to introduce Olympians and Paralympians to the staff," says Mr Jones.
"The Paralympians have really caught the imagination of people here, they have been so inspirational - even for people not interested in sport.
"It is very motivational for people to hear their stories. "
And being associated with London 2012 has also helped attract staff in what Mr Jones says is a competitive marketplace.
"We have been very pleased with the way this has turned out. In this Olympic year, we are really seeing the payback."
Protests disrupt London Olympic torch relay - Presstv
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Angry protesters have disrupted the planned route of the London Olympics torch relay with scuffles erupting between the police and demonstrators. Protesters in Londonderry, Northern Ireland’s second-biggest city, made the torch relay take another route ...London 2012 security operation investigating 500,000 people - The Guardian
The backgrounds of up to 500,000 people are being scrutinised in an unprecedented security screening designed to stop the Olympic Games being disrupted by criminals or terrorists, the Guardian has learned.
In what is understood to be the biggest vetting process since the second world war, the Home Office has so far refused about 100 applications for Games accreditation, mostly because of concerns about the extent of people's criminal records.
However, some people have been denied accreditation on the advice of MI5, which has to assess whether a person might pose a significant threat to national security.
The 500,000 figure includes anyone seeking employment at the Games, as well as athletes, coaches and officials from more than 200 competing nations.
The Guardian has been told the threshold for refusing accreditation has been set high, which means some of those working at the Olympics this summer will have "come to the notice of" the police or MI5 in the past.
"To be rejected, they have to pose a significant potential threat to the safety of the Games," said a source. "They won't be rejected on the basis that information is held about them.
"A judgment has to be made, not on the basis that there is an official record, but does this person pose a significant threat to security."
Police and MI5 have been taking a careful look at all those who may end up working at the Olympic sites. It is an obvious way for would-be terrorists to gain access to venues, and police are aware that terrorists may masquerade as casual workers looking for temporary jobs.
However, those involved in the security of the Games say they have found no evidence so far that al-Qaida sympathisers have tried to infiltrate the civilian workforce.
The vetting process began in earnest last October and officials are more than two-thirds of the way through the process, which is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
It has been one of the core tasks of counter-terrorism officials but the scale of the operation, and the depth of the checks required, has made it a drawn-out affair.
Among those still to be vetted are many of the 10,000 security guards who will be employed by G4S, the private firm which is contributing 23,700 personnel at the Olympic venues.
A big recruitment drive was launched by G4S when the number of guards it was expected to provide grew from 2,000 to 10,000, after it emerged that the Games organisers, Locog, had seriously underestimated the number required. The 70,000 volunteers recruited by Locog, who are considered crucial to the success of the Games, are also being screened.
Home Office officials said that many of the 10,500 athletes taking part in the Games and those accompanying them were used to travelling to international events and were unlikely to pose any security problems.
There remain outstanding questions surrounding a handful of high-profile individuals, including members of the Syrian Olympic committee with close links to the Assad regime.
It is believed that discussions are continuing over whether to bar General Mofwaq Joumaa, the president of the Syrian national Olympic committee, from entering the UK.
Scotland Yard and MI5 are understood to have hundreds of investigations "live", with the Olympic security operation likely to reach a new pitch as teams arrive for training before the event.
It is understood that the security service has not set up a separate Olympic security unit, believing it would be wrong to draw a distinction between terrorism and Olympic terrorism.
The security service is said to be bracing for a possible deluge of intelligence from foreign police forces and intelligence agencies, who will not want to sit on any information just in case it reveals a potential threat to the Games. MI5 remains confident it will be able to cope, and the Home Office said it will leave nothing to chance when it comes to security.
"We are undertaking stringent checks on all those seeking accreditation," a Home Office spokesman said. "This rigorous process has been designed to ensure those working at the Games are fit to do so. We will leave nothing to chance in our aim to deliver a safe and secure Games that London, the UK and the whole world will enjoy."
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