Alan Sugar puts his £120m Mayfair properties up for sale July 25, 2010 LORD Alan Sugar’s real estate firm is to sell off three properties in Mayfair, with a pre-crisis price-tag of £120m. Amsprop, managed by Lord Sugar’s son Daniel, has decided to finally cash in on climbing property values in the West End after several offers in recent months. Daniel Sugar said: “We have received unsolicited approaches [...]
Space shortage will push rents in the City until at least 2013 July 25, 2010 THE UPWARD squeeze on City rents is set to continue until at least 2014, according to recent figures. Office vacancy rates stood at 8.9 per cent in the three months to June, but demand should outstrip supply from 2011 and space will remain scarce until several skyscrapers are completed towards the end of 2013. In [...]
CITY SKYSCRAPERS UNDER CONSTRUCTION July 25, 2010 20 Fenchurch Street The Walkie Talkie Developer Land Securities Predicted completion 2014 Estimated construction cost £300m Size 500 feet high; 639,000 square feet of space 122 Leadenhall St The Cheesegrater Developer British Land Predicted completion at least 2012 Cost £286m Size 736 feet high; 612,000 square feet of space 22 Bishopsgate The Pinnacle Developer Arab [...]
Private client sales to soar at St James’s July 25, 2010 ST JAMES’S PLACE (SJP), the upmarket wealth manager, will try to dispel bad publicity around former partner Peter Carron when it announces soaring first half sales on Wednesday. The FTSE 250 firm is expected to say new business was up 31 per cent in the six months to June to £266m. Operating profits will increase [...]
How to invest if you fear another recession July 25, 2010 IN THE aftermath of Friday night’s announcements on the stress tests, the big issue remains whether they will make any difference to confidence and to the fragile recovery. We won’t know immediately. But Pau Morilla-Giner, senior portfolio manager at London and Capital, says the probability of a double dip is growing, regardless of the health [...]
Strand Hanson in legal claim over £7.6m fee paid to firm’s founder July 25, 2010 CORPORATE advisory firm Strand Hanson has initiated legal proceedings against its founder and former chairman, claiming he owes the firm a share of £7.6m in advisory fees he raked in last year when working for oil company Sibir Energy. Richard Fenhalls, who launched Strand Hanson – then named Strand Partners – 17 years ago, is [...]
UBS seeking 2,200 bankers in Asia region July 25, 2010 SWISS bank UBS, the top wealth manager in Asia, plans to hire 2,200 new staff in the region, the head of UBS in Asia Pacific said in an Swiss magazine interview, a move that would return it to its pre-crisis splendour. Chi-Won Yoon, who became chief executive of UBS Group Asia Pacific in June 2009, [...]
Brit Insurance turns up heat on Apollo with £48m profit July 25, 2010 BRIT INSURANCE, the Lloyd’s of London reinsurer, will turn up the heat on US private equity suitor Apollo on Wednesday when it says it bounced back into first-half profit. Brit, which sponsors the England cricket team, is expected to say it generated a pre-tax profit of £48m in the six months to June compared with [...]
Pay for IT staff in hedge funds surging because of regulations July 25, 2010 PAY for IT staff working in hedge funds and asset managers has surged 13 per cent in the last six months as businesses face extra pressure to comply with banking regulations. The figures, from a survey by ReThink Recruitment, also reveal some funds are increasing their IT staffing by more than 50 per cent. Post [...]
Interest rates will be low for long time yet July 25, 2010 INTEREST rates will need to stay at their historic low of 0.5 per cent until 2014 to offset the coalition government’s ambitious austerity measures, leading economic forecaster the Ernst & Young ITEM club will say today. Though consumer price index (CPI) inflation will remain above target over the next 18 months, it will be necessary [...]