The University of Law campus in Bloomsbury sold to Schroders funds in £68m deal December 18, 2014 Funds group Schroders has snapped up The University of Law campus in London’s Bloomsbury via two of its property funds for £68m. Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust said yesterday it has bought a 50 per cent stake in the West End site alongside Schroder UK Property Fund, also managed by Schroder Real Estate Investment Management. [...]
LondonMetric buys new shed December 18, 2014 LONDONMETRIC is hoping to tap into the booming online retail market after agreeing to buy a warehouse let to The Hut Group for £47.5m. The property group is buying the Warrington site from local developer Omega Warrington ahead of its completion next year. The new 690,000 square feet distribution centre has been pre-let to the [...]
NewRiver bags £20m bargain December 18, 2014 UK REIT NewRiver Retail yesterday said it has bought a portfolio of retail properties and a Lancashire shopping centre for £19m as it continues on its acquisition spree. The company said the Sands Portfolio changed hands in 2007 for £40m but because of a distressed debt situation, it had secured a good deal on the [...]
Airline SAS feels pressure from budget carriers December 18, 2014 SCANDINAVIAN airline SAS has announced a set of disappointing financial results for the fourth financial quarter and the full year. These results included a loss of 575m kroner for the year, with 352m of that figure coming in the fourth quarter alone. As a result, the company will now implement its sixth savings plan in [...]
DP World shareholders vote to de-list from London markets December 18, 2014 LEADING marine terminal operator DP World made the decision yesterday to delist its company from the London Stock Exchange after a nearly unanimous vote from shareholders. Last month, DP World said that it would delist from the London Stock Exchange because of thin trading volumes, citing that “the Dubai listing is a sound base for [...]
Buffett backed BYD plunges by one third December 18, 2014 BYD Auto, a Chinese mass producer of electric powered cars, has encountered its largest ever single-day drop since its 2002 listing, as it fell by as much as 47 per cent in afternoon trade in Hong Kong. The stock ended down 29 per cent. BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, lost [...]
City Moves for 19 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 18, 2014 FTI Consulting Clare Hartnell has been appointed senior managing director in the business advisory firm’s European tax advisory practice, focusing on real estate tax. She was most recently global leader of Grant Thornton’s real estate and construction practice, and has also worked at BDO. EY Monica Dimitracopoulos has been appointed principal and global knowledge transformation [...]
Best of the Brokers for 19 December 2014 December 18, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BRIT Numis reiterated its “buy” rating, stating that XL Group’s bid for Catlin has highlighted the potential attraction of the London underwriters. The broker said Brit is “well positioned in the current underwriting environment” and increased the target price by 20p to 310p. [...]
Santa rally in sight as FTSE jumps again – London Report December 18, 2014 THE FTSE 100 enjoyed one of its best days of 2014 yesterday, as the US Federal Reserve’s pledge for a “patient approach” to any interest rate increase lifted stock markets around the world. Financial services company Old Mutual and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) were among the best performers on the blue-chip [...]
Oracle and Yellen send S&P 500 up – New York Report December 18, 2014 THE S&P 500 closed out its biggest two-day advance since November 2011 yesterday, extending a Federal Reserve-fuelled rally from the previous session, while tech shares jumped after Oracle results. The Dow industrials recorded the best one-day percentage gain since December 2011. The S&P 500 posted its biggest daily percentage gain since January 2013 and is [...]