McDonald’s share price ticks up as company dismisses real estate plan and lifts dividend November 10, 2015 Mcdonald's shares edged up as the company announced a menu of items to satisfy investors. The company said that REIT transactions – turning some of its vast real estate portfolio into a real estate trust – were not in the interest of shareholders. Karen Short, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, believes the company's real estate is valued [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: John Lewis and Sainsbury’s leaders meet with Treasury ministers over £8bn business rates burden November 10, 2015 The leaders of two of Britain’s biggest retailers have held talks with the government to demand for urgent reforms to the burdensome business rates regime ahead of the chancellor’s Autumn Statement. Sir Charlie Mayfield, the chairman of John Lewis Partnership, Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe, and Helen Dickinson, the director general of the British Retail Consortium [...]
Rental rates on Central London office space soars at fastest pace since the financial crisis November 10, 2015 London office rents are climbing at their fastest pace since the financial crisis, according to figures published today by a commercial real estate company. Rental values in Central London rocketed 10.3 per cent in the year to October, CBRE said, the first double-digit growth since April 2008. Demand for office space is high with 3.6m [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index closes slightly down on miners November 10, 2015 The FTSE 100 fell marginally again today as miners continued to suffer losses. The blue-chip index closed the day 0.32 per cent down at 6,275 points. Tuesday's largest faller was Anglo American, which saw its share price fall 4.54 per cent to 492.22p per share. Glencore also shed 4.15 from its share price to close at 105.15 [...]
Pandora sales sparkle as Danish jeweller charms UK shoppers November 10, 2015 Danish jewellery brand Pandora has posted a 50.5 per cent jump in UK sales in the third quarter, after its rings, necklaces and charm bracelets flew off the shelves. The listed company, which has opened 179 stores in the UK over the last seven years, said like-for-like sales increased by 17.5 per cent compared to [...]
Ethnic minorities substantially more likely to go to university than their White British peers, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies November 10, 2015 Ethnic minority groups in England are now more likely to go to university than their White British peers, according to new research published today. Overall, 32.6 per cent of White British students end up at university, a lower rate than any ethnic minoritiy group. Indian and Chinese pupils are twice as likely to go to [...]
Poundworld secures £50m loan from Santander to fund its expansion November 10, 2015 Poundworld has secured a £50m loan from its banks to help fund its expansion, just months after private equity firm TPG snapped up a majority stake in the bargain chain. The value retailer said the five-year loan provided by Santander Corporate Bank will help the group meet its target of opening 60 new stores a year across the UK on top of [...]
German Microsoft HQ evacuated after bomb threat November 10, 2015 Almost 2,000 Employees have been evacuated from Microsoft's headquarters in Germany following a bomb threat. The alarm went off after the technology company's Munich office received a “threatening call” shortly after midday local time (11:06 GMT). Police used sniffer dogs to search for explosives at the site, but have since said they believe it was [...]
Vodafone chief exec Vittorio Colao clashes with BT over “re-monopolisation” of telecoms market November 10, 2015 Vodafone’s chief exec Vittorio Colao has gone head to head with BT, lashing out at the upcoming BT-EE merger, which he attacks as the “re-monopolisation” of the telecoms market. “We see attempts to re-monopolise European markets, and that isn’t good,” said Colao. His attack follows the by the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) provisional approval of the £12.5bn [...]
New Look on trend and first half sales jump November 10, 2015 New Look has hailed a jump in first half sales and profits, as the fast fashion chain stepped up its expansion in China and launched its first standalone menswear stores in the UK. The retailer, which was snapped up by South African retail mogul Christo Wiese in June, said sales at stores open more than [...]