Rightmove moves to add school Ofsted ratings and catchment areas to all property listings May 19, 2015 Nine in ten parents in London say they consider the quality of local state schools when deciding where to move, according to a new survey from property website Rightmove. Eighty-four per cent of parents surveyed told Rightmove they would consider moving to be near a good school. More than a third of Londoners without [...]
Sainsbury’s Bank to partner with Western Union on money transfer service May 19, 2015 Sainsbury’s Bank has joined forces with Western Union to offer money transfer services in 170 of the food retailer’s stores across the UK. The supermarket chain has been ramping up its presence in financial services since taking full control of its banking arm last year, in a bid to boost profits and expand its [...]
TK Maxx owner’s thrill at the tills as savvy shoppers seek bargains May 19, 2015 TJX Companies, the US-listed firm behind discount fashion retailer TK Maxx, said sales increased by six per cent to $6.9bn (£4.5bn) in the first quarter, as demand for its cut-price products continued to grow. TJX runs 3,441 discount fashion and homeware shops across the US, Canada and Europe, and trades under brands including TJ Maxx, [...]
Land Securities share price rises as property developer hikes dividend amid lettings boom May 19, 2015 Shares in Land Securities rose almost three per cent yesterday, after the property developer hiked its dividend by 3.7 per cent, saying a boom in demand for commercial property had boosted its net asset value. The FTSE 100 company, which jointly owns the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the City with Canary Wharf Group, said [...]
Crest Nicholson sees trade rise in a competitive housing market May 19, 2015 Housebuilder Crest Nicholson said yesterday that revisions to stamp duty and increasingly competitive pricing in the mortgage market led to strong trading in the six months ending 30 April. Sales per outlet per week for the six-month period were at 0.93, a 12 per cent increase on 0.83 in the first six months of 2014. [...]
WPP buys stake in Ascot and Liverpool FC sports marketers Two Circles May 19, 2015 WPP has gained a majority stake in Two Circles Limited, a London-based, data-driven sports marketing agency. After the deal, Two Circles will become part of ESP Properties, GroupM’s newly launched company serving rightsholders in the worlds of sports and entertainment. Founded in 2011, Two Circles has become the market leader for a data-driven approach to [...]
Yahoo’s share price plummets as IRS gets ready to make it harder to sell its Alibaba stake May 19, 2015 Shares in US tech giant Yahoo plummeted 7.5 per cent as trading finished in New York, after reports suggested the US' Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is getting ready to introduce new rules which might make it more difficult for the company to shed its stake in Chinese online retailer Alibaba. Yahoo has already made it [...]
As UK enters deflation, Asda boss Andy Clarke calls 2015 supermarkets’ “most challenging year yet” May 19, 2015 On the day the UK was pushed into deflation for the first time since 1962 by a dive in food prices, Asda chief executive Andy Clarke has called 2015 the "most challenging year" of the recovery for supermarkets. Read more: Analysts say deflation will not be here to stay In the supermarket's first quarter results statement [...]
HMRC wins challenge over Next’s “artificial” tax avoidance scheme May 19, 2015 HMRC has won its challenge against high street retailer Next over an "artificial" tax avoidance structure. The First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) has ruled in favour of the government, which brought the case against Next Brand, part of the wider group. The FTT found the scheme, known as a rate-booster, allowed the business to artificially [...]
Quindell share price dips slightly after it issues more shares May 19, 2015 Shares in the embattled insurance outsourcer Quindell were trading down 0.2 per cent at 127p today after it said it had issued over four million new ordinary share. This was after Quindell said it had issued 4,012,694 new ordinary shares, being remainder of deferred equity consideration payable to sellers in respect of acquisition of iter8. [...]