Canary Wharf to outstrip other London office districts in 2016 with strongest rental growth February 3, 2016 Canary Wharf’s gleaming office towers have lagged slightly behind rival districts last year, posting an eight per cent rise in rental growth against 12 per cent in the City and an astonishing 24 per cent leap in Shoreditch – thanks to the cool kids moving in. However, with rents becoming increasingly unaffordable for small to [...]
Why do entrepreneurs move to the countryside? Falling land values sparks rise of rural startups, says RICS February 3, 2016 There is an entrepreneurial revolution taking place it is happening among Britain’s green pastures, a new report claims. Rising property prices in city centres and falling land values have made buying a plot in the countryside increasingly attractive to those outside traditional farming communities, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), fuelling a surge in new business [...]
Poundland launches gardening range with celebrity TV presenter Charlie Dimmock February 3, 2016 Green-fingered shoppers and fans of a bargain rejoice. Poundland has joined forces with celebrity gardener and TV presenter Charlie Dimmock to create a new range of gardening tools, the retailer announced today. The Charlie Dimmock range, which launches on 29 February, will feature 130 lines of gardening essentials ranging from hand tools and heavy duty gloves to hanging bird feeders and [...]
Arthur J Gallagher reports jump in revenue driven by brokerage and risk management performances February 2, 2016 US insurance broker Arthur J Gallagher has posted 10 per cent growth in revenue for the final quarter of 2015, up to $1.03bn (£715bn) from $938.4m in the same period of 2014. For the full year, revenue was up 17 per cent, from $3.5bn to $4.1bn. The Illinois-based company, which has its UK headquarters in [...]
Yahoo announces job cuts and “aggressive strategic plan” February 2, 2016 Yahoo today announced plans to axe 15 per cent of its workforce, roughly 1,600 jobs, as part of an "aggressive strategic plan" to help transform the company. The job cuts will reduce its employees to about 9,000 by the end of 2016. The announcement of the cuts came as Yahoo reported a $4.3bn (£3bn) loss [...]
Match Group shares fall as profits plunge and revenue per user drops February 2, 2016 Shares in Tinder parent company Match Group have fallen 7.3 per cent in after hours trading, as the firm reported a 26 per cent drop in profit during the final quarter of 2015, from $48.3m (£33.5m) to $35.6m. Total revenue rose by 12 per cent, from $239m in the fourth quarter of 2014 to $267.6m. [...]
Recruitment firm Robert Half buoyed by “healthy” US jobs market February 2, 2016 US recruitment firm Robert Half continued to grow in the fourth quarter of 2015, buoyed by the booming US jobs market and a better outlook in its international markets. The firm, which has a UK office in the Shard, said net income rose 11.2 per cent to $93.4m (£64.8m) in the three months ended December 31, from $84m [...]
Property market upbeat on lending activity in 2016 despite Brexit fears February 2, 2016 Lenders are predicting an upbeat outlook for the European real estate investment market this year, despite fears of a Brexit and the China market slowdown posing greater uncertainty, new research finds. Cushman & Wakefield’s latest European lending trends report found that more 90 per cent of the 60 leading European lenders surveyed – who collectively provide over €80bn of [...]
HSBC’s Saudi Arabia subsidiary hired senior compliance staff with bogus business degrees February 2, 2016 HSBC Saudia Arabia, a subsidiary of the British bank, hired two senior compliance staff with unaccredited business degrees – meaning they are unqualified to apply for even an entry-level position at the firm. And an investigation by Channel 4 News has revealed that these are just two among dozens of Saudi staff working at international finance [...]
Volkswagen emissions scandal: VW sales continue to slide on fallout from the test rigging February 2, 2016 Sales of Volkswagen cars continued to slide in January as the fallout from the emissions rigging scandal deepened. Volkswagen passenger car sales fell 8.8 per cent in Germany in January, while in the US sales slumped 15 per cent compared on last year. Overall car sales in Germany, Europe's largest car market, were up 3.3 per [...]