The building where classic television shows Top of The Pops, Dad’s Army, Blue Peter and Fawlty Towers were recorded is being converted into flats and marketed in Dubai next month.
The Television Centre at Wood Lane, White City, W12 7RJ – an address which still comes tripping off the tongue of millions of Brits growing up writing stamped addressed postcards to Record Breakers and Blue Peter competitions – is to be exhibited at Cityscape Global.
The historic building, which was the headquarters of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 1960 and 2013, is currently being converted into 800 new homes as well as cafes and restaurants, an independent cinema, office space for up to 5,000 workers, and a private members’ club.
A first phase of 432 homes is due to be completed in 2018.
Property developer Stanhope bought the 14-acre site for £200 million (Dh971.3m) in 2012 on a 999-year lease, after the BBC decided to save money by selling off most of the site and moving many of its operations to Manchester.
The BBC will still lease some of the studios in the newly renovated building once the work has been completed. This means that buyers will be able to live above active BBC studios and may even get to brush shoulders with TV stars coming to record new shows.
Stanhope promises that the AHMM-designed building will include many other facilities including a gym, residents’ lounge with private screening room, private courtyard, gardens and a rooftop restaurant. And the building is located opposite Westfield London, Europe’s largest shopping mall.
Prices in the new development don’t come cheap. The ones being marketed in Dubai range from £700,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to £8m for a penthouse.
But the developer is hoping that a fall in the value of the pound following Britain’s referendum vote to leave the European Union in June will encourage investors from the Middle East to buy.
Q&A with Stanhope's sales and marketing director, Peter Allen.
How many properties had you sold to customers from the GCC before the Brexit vote?
There were seven sales at Television Centre from buyers in the GCC before the Brexit vote, which came via the London offices of our joint agents, Savills and Strutt & Parker. Five of these sales came from Dubai and one from both Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
How many have you sold to GCC buyers since the Brexit vote?
Since the Brexit vote, we’ve sold one unit to a buyer from Saudi Arabia.
How much cheaper are your properties in real terms for dollar buyers since the Brexit vote?
In real terms, our scheme is 10 per cent better value today than it was before the Brexit vote – so there is a clear opportunity for GCC investors to capitalise on this fact.
How much demand are you seeing from GCC buyers looking forward?
We’ve definitely seen a recent spike in enquiries from GCC buyers and have discussed the development at length with our local agent partner in Dubai, Elysian Global, which approached us via Strutt & Parker. This increased demand and the sales completed to date have given us the confidence that Television Centre resonates with buyers in the region. We’re really excited to introduce our product in person to the GCC market for the first time at Cityscape.
How much demand are you seeing from British buyers post Brexit?
We have been very encouraged. There was a period of uncertainty immediately after the Brexit vote but that is now passing we are returning to ‘business as usual’.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
When is VAR used?
• Goals
• Penalty decisions
• Direct red-card incidents
• Mistaken identity
Non-oil%20trade
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
The%20specs
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Klipit%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Venkat%20Reddy%2C%20Mohammed%20Al%20Bulooki%2C%20Bilal%20Merchant%2C%20Asif%20Ahmed%2C%20Ovais%20Merchant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Digital%20receipts%2C%20finance%2C%20blockchain%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%244%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Privately%2Fself-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.