Singaporean investor praises London as it buys £385m City building

Business reporter,London(wp/es):

A Singaporean investor on Friday said London will remain a “global financial hub”, after paying £385 million for the former home of the London Stock Exchange.

Singapore-listed City Developments has bought 125 Old Broad Street from private equity giant Blackstone, in one of the biggest single-building deals in the Square Mile this year.

The 26-storey 329,000-square-foot office building, previously known as Stock Exchange Tower, overlooks the Bank of England and is let to businesses including law firm King & Spalding and China International Capital Corporation.

The property was home to the LSE for more than 30 years until it relocated in 2004.

Frank Khoo, chief investment officer at City Developments, which was advised by property agent Cushman & Wakefield, said: “We have confidence in the long-term fundamentals of London as a global financial hub with a robust office market.”

The weaker pound since the EU referendum has made the capital a bargain to international buyers compared with rival cities.

Man charged after Met Police officers stabbed with screwdriver

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A man has been charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm after allegedly attacking two Met Police officers with a screwdriver.

One officer was stabbed in the head and another in the arm during an incident in north London on Wednesday.

They had been called to reports of a burglary in Lawrence Gardens, Mill Hill, at 4.45pm, police said.

Roque Dos-Santos Sequerira, 29, of Lower Strand, Colindale, has also been charged with one count of burglary and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon.

He has been remanded in custody to appear at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Both officers have since been discharged from hospital.

Boy, 6, killed in house blaze as mother screams 'help me, help me'

Staff reporter,Derbyshire(wp/es):

A six-year-old boy has died in a house fire in Derbyshire, police have said.

The child was killed after a blaze ripped through a house in Ilkeston on Friday night.

His mother was reportedly heard screaming for help and neighbours apparently tried to force their way into the house to rescue the child.

One neighbour told Derbyshire Live: "I heard this commotion on the street, it was the mum screaming 'help me, help me'."

"Me and another neighbour tried to get in but we just couldn't."

Another neighbour named Jack Hill described how he tried to get to the bedroom to rescue the boy.

"I ran to the Chinese takeaway and grabbed their fire extinguisher and went into the house.

“I tried to get into the upstairs room but the smoke was too thick.

“Then I saw the young boy that lives there being brought our by the fire brigade."

The emergency services were called to an address in Shaw Street West at 10.40pm.

Firefighters pulled the boy from the house and he was taken to hospital where he later died. 

Derbyshire Constabulary said in a statement on Saturday: "We were called by Derbyshire Fire and Rescue to reports of a fire at a house in Shaw Street West, Ilkeston, at 10:40pm last night (26 October)

"Firefighters entered the property and found a six-year-old boy with serious injuries.

"The boy was taken to Queen's Medical Centre by ambulance, however, he was pronounced dead a short time later.

"Enquiries as to the cause of the fire are ongoing and a joint police and fire investigation will take place today."

Anybody with any information about the incident is encouraged to contact Derbyshire Constabulary, with reference 18*516997.

Hammond to increase road investment by 44 percent in budget

Staff reporter(wp/reuters):

British finance minister Philip Hammond will announce a 44 percent jump in roads and highways investment in his budget on Monday, the finance ministry said, offering a glimpse of higher public spending promised by the government.

The 25.5 billion-pound fund for the 2020-2025 period will be invested in projects in England such as motorway improvements and major new roads, the ministry said on Saturday.

A further 3.5 billion pounds would be earmarked for local routes.

The ministry said the investment would reduce congestion and help to improve Britain’s weak productivity growth.

Revenues raised by Britain’s Vehicle Excise Duty would be entirely earmarked for spending on roads for the first time.

Hammond is under pressure to show he can honour Prime Minister Theresa May’s promise to end nearly a decade of austerity while sticking to his plan to clean up high levels of public debt.

Although he has some room for manoeuvre after a fall in the budget deficit, uncertainty about Britain’s exit from the European Union in March, and its impact on the economy, is likely to restrict Hammond’s options on Monday.

On Friday, the government said Hammond was likely to give a 900 million-pound tax cut to small retailers to help them compete against online competition.

The finance ministry said on Saturday that Hammond would also launch a feasibility study into a no-interest loan scheme to help low-income households seeking to break their reliance on high-interest payday lenders.