Analyst Views: What is your reaction to Monitise’s last revenue growth downgrade? July 8, 2014 BRENDAN D’SOUZA | WH IRELAND The market has been quick to punish underperformance, however the trading update is not so much a sign of a slow down but rather a more grown up attitude, as management is more cautious and looking for optimal business opportunities, focusing more on profitability, not just revenue growth. ALI FARID [...]
Lynch’s fund gives £8m to back biotech July 8, 2014 MIKE Lynch, the former Autonomy boss, yesterday backed a Swiss DNA analysis firm with an £8m investment. Sophia Genetics, which specialises in the analysis of DNA in order to diagnose patients, is the latest recipient of investment from Lynch’s $1bn technology fund. While the company specialises in preventative treatment, it also determines “where to fire [...]
Bovis sees property sales boom on back of Help-to-Buy housing scheme July 8, 2014 A boom in Britain’s property market and the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme have helped to boost house buying and have led Bovis Homes to report its best-ever first half sales. The Kent-based housebuilder announced yesterday that it had completed 1,487 sales in the six months to the end of June, a massive 54 per cent increase on the [...]
Pickles and celebs scupper plans for £160m Smithfields project July 8, 2014 Communities secretary Eric Pickles yesterday rejected as “wholly unacceptable” a £160m plan to develop London’s Smithfield market, siding instead with campaigners battling to save the site from becoming a new complex of offices, shops and restaurants. The campaign against the plans for the redevelopment of the Victorian fish and general market halls, derelict for 15 [...]
Brent crude oil price slips as Iraq supply concerns ease July 8, 2014 Brent crude fell below $110 a barrel yesterday, taking the price back to the level it was before the crisis sparked off in Iraq almost a month ago. News that Libya is set to ramp up production after rebels ended an almost year-long blockade on oil exports from two major ports put further pressure on [...]
Average London house price to hit £500k next year July 8, 2014 The average house in London is likely to cost about £500,000 in just a year’s time, according to a forecast by professional services group PwC. PwC’s latest economic forecasts, to be released today, show that the average property price in the capital is expected to reach £565,000 by the end of this decade, with its [...]
UK’s economic performance led by London across the board July 8, 2014 London tops the country’s tables on almost every economic measure, according to statistics released yesterday that underscored the capital’s dominance. The Office for National Statistics’ latest regional breakdowns showed London led on predictable measures such as earnings. But the city is also in the lead on some measures of education – more pupils leave the [...]
Capital leading world tourism July 8, 2014 MORE international travellers will head to London this year than any other city in the world, according to a forecast released this morning. The city has retaken its top spot from Bangkok, which was the most travelled-to last year, according to figures from Mastercard. The capital is set for 18.7m visitors from abroad during the current [...]
UK stats need city analysts July 8, 2014 THE OFFICE for National Statistics (ONS) could benefit from doing more work in London, according to a review of the institution yesterday. Former monetary policymaker Kate Barker said “it might be worth establishing a small team of economists” in London to review data. When the ONS relocated partially from London to Newport in 2007, institutions [...]
Wanted: New £40m bridge across the Thames July 8, 2014 The search is on to find a suitable design for a new £40m bridge in west London. The emerging housing and commercial developments near Battersea Power Station, known as Nine Elms, would be connected to Pimlico under the plans. Wandsworth council is set to launch a global competition to design the bridge over the Thames.