Dear Londoners — As I’m appearing in your inbox for the first time, introductions are in order. I’m Alys, the new editor of The Londoner. It’s day one for me and I’m still getting my feet under the proverbial table, but I would love to hear from you. Find me on X, LinkedIn, and alys@the-londoner.co.uk.
And what a first day it’s been so far, watching the reaction to Andrew’s deep-dive into the demise of Goldie Saloon, once the hottest new lesbian bar in East London. Hello to the new email subscribers who signed up on the back of that story – all 1,600 of you. Alongside our usual coverage, we're working on bringing you more updates on the crazy saga in the coming weeks so do keep your eyes on your inboxes.
Kathryn commented to say she wished she could “go back and read this all over again. Superb!” while Tasha, the original tipster that led us onto the insane saga, emailed to say “the piece was fantastic – extremely comprehensive, well researched and interestingly written”. So if you haven’t yet, read the full piece here.
Meanwhile, your London briefing today features juicy stories on empty boxes, parking wars and the scourge of foodie influencers. Catch up on it all below.
The central London office at the centre of a £1bn tax avoidance court case
2 America Square looks like every other non-descript office block near Aldgate. There’s a good chance you’ve walked right past it. But over the last few months it’s been at the centre of a seismic court case. You see, the building, owned via a Virgin Islands based company, has been empty for years. But go inside and you might notice that each of its sparse offices are filled with piles of empty black boxes. And those boxes have allowed the building’s owners to avoid paying some £111,475 in business rates it owed to the City of London, the local council for the area, in 2022-2023.
The “box shifting” loophole has cost councils a reported £1bn nationwide. In theory, building owners are allowed to claim a three-month business rate holiday every time a tenant moves out of the building. But now specialist companies, including the one managing 2 America Square, have started moving piles of boxes into the empty offices at the end of the three months, then removing them after a few weeks. In simple terms, it allows the owners to reset the building’s three-month rate holiday, and keep avoiding paying business rates.
Except now a seismic ruling in the Court of Appeal has seen judges side with the City of London, who took the owners of 2 America Square to court over the practice. The judges ruled that occupation of an office that “has no use, value or benefit other than rate saving” isn’t real occupation.
The Guardian covered the court case in depth. As the capital’s office owners struggle to find tenants, it’s likely more strange and surreal tax avoidance schemes will be popping up. We’re keen to cover them all, so if you know anything get in touch with andrew@the-londoner.co.uk.
Londoner Live: Who is the real Andy Burnham?
On Wednesday, we're hosting a special Londoner event about Andy Burnham and what he really believes. The Londoner's founder Joshi Herrmann will be joined on stage by four journalists who have covered our new prime minister closely over the years: Patrick Maguire from The Times, Helen Pidd from The Guardian and Jack Dulhanty from The Mill. The panel will be chaired by Beth Rigby from Sky News, and will tackle questions like: What actually is “Manchesterism”? And what will it mean for London?
It's on Wednesday 9 September, 6pm – 7.30pm, at London Scottish House, Westminster. Tickets are £15, or just £5 for paying Londoner members. Click the button below to get yours.
We're just a handful of tickets away from selling out the venue so make sure to grab yours now.
London’s supercar invasion
London just isn’t the same without your own supercar. For years, Gulf state visitors have been flying over their Lamborghinis and Bentleys — to the tune of £25,000 each way — to idle around central London in style, often leaving the luxury vehicles in taxi lanes and parked over double yellow lines.
The parking fees would be a sizeable (if annoying) source of cash for London councils, with a whopping 41% of Westminster’s parking tickets last year going to cars with Gulf state plates. It’s not like these visitors lack the means to pay. Yet an interesting story in the Wall Street Journal found that barely any of these parking fees are being collected.
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