Neil Woodford dumps entire HSBC holding September 1, 2014 Neil Woodford, one of the City’s top performing fund managers, has sold his entire stake in HSBC just 16 months after buying into the group. Woodford sold his holding due to the rising number of fines HSBC faced, a trend he dubbed fine inflation. He bought the shares in May 2013. HSBC was fined $1.9bn [...]
London housing market is back to normal, says Berkeley chair September 1, 2014 HOUSE builder Berkeley’s chairman Tony Pidgley has said that London’s housing market is “stabilising”, in a trading update. “Since the start of the current financial year, the market has reverted to normal transaction levels from the high point in 2013, providing a stable operating environment. Demand for the right product with good design in the [...]
Whitbread boss takes seat on Dunelm board September 1, 2014 DUNELM Group, the out-of-town specialist homeware retailer, yesterday added the boss of Whitbread to its boardroom. Andy Harrison, who has been at the helm of the Costa Coffee owner since 2010, was named as a non-executive director earlier this year and formally took up his seat on the board yesterday. Harrison, a former chief executive [...]
British Land gets full house at Regent’s Place after Guinness Partnership takes 10 year lease September 1, 2014 PROPERTY giant British Land said yesterday that its 13-acre Regent’s Place campus near Euston station is now fully let after securing The Guinness Partnership as a tenant. Regent’s Place was completed last summer and is made up of a cluster of buildings let to firms including Debenhams, Santander, Manchester City Football Club and Facebook. British [...]
Microchip willing to offer cash to sweeten CSR takeover offer September 1, 2014 MICROCHIP Technology, the US maker of memory and analog chips, has sweetened its bidding for British microchip firm CSR by revealing it is likely to pay cash for the firm should a deal be agreed. CSR confirmed it had knocked back a takeover approach from its US rival last week, saying Microchip would have to [...]
Tesco targets Walkie Talkie workers September 1, 2014 Tesco launched a new flagship store next to the City’s iconic Walkie Talkie building yesterday, in a bid to capitalise on an expected 8,000 thousand-strong workforce set to take over the building. The store, which houses a new Tesco-backed brand Fred’s Food Construction, is based on a New York style deli counter.
Satchel brand gets third shop September 1, 2014 THE CAMBRIDGE Satchel Company is opening a six-storey flagship shop in Covent Garden after receiving £12m funding from Index Ventures earlier this year. The traditional-style satchel company, which founder Julie Deane started as a kitchen sink venture in 2008, now has a turnover of around £15m. The new store, the second in London, will open [...]
Kier wins £50m contract to build luxury high-rises in Greenwich September 1, 2014 HOUSEBUILDER Kier has picked up a £50m contract to build luxury apartments at London’s Greenwich Peninsula development. Kier will design and build 224 luxury apartments in four blocks on the Thames riverside as part of the area’s regeneration project to deliver 10,000 homes by 2039. Kier was chosen as the preferred bidder for the contract [...]
Chariot Oil and Gas aims to shimmer with placement September 1, 2014 Chariot Oil and Gas hopes to have a sparking future after more shares were bought by Westward Investments Limited, which includes as a beneficiary Adonis Pouroulis, founder of Petra Diamonds and Chariot. With Petra owning the Cullinan mine, source of the largest diamond ever, Chariot will hope to get a shine as it hunts “black [...]
Uni Baggage’s luxury travel service rescues wealthy students from transport woe September 1, 2014 The young plutocrats, Britain’s last persecuted minority, can find life at university hard – set upon by lefty lecturers, student unions and worst of all, their state-schooled peers. Not only are the children of the UK’s elite forced to share quarters with young people who may have only accessed their places through merit – [...]