Derwent London buys back 1 Oxford Street as part of Crossrail agreement July 14, 2015 Derwent London has signed a new 150-year lease agreement with Crossrail on a £400m office and shopping development above Tottenham Court Road station. The developer is effectively buying back the site at 1 Oxford Street after having to surrender it in 2009 to Crossrail. Derwent will receive £55m on completion of scheme in around 2020. [...]
London rents climb higher as affordability falls across the UK July 14, 2015 London rents increased in the three months ending June, new figures show, as housing affordability continues to decline. Average London rents were 4.5 per cent higher over the period compared with the same period last year, according to figures released today from Rightmove. UK rents excluding London climbed 4.2 per cent. Rightmove’s head of lettings [...]
Building services group ISG is hit by another £10.5m of costs July 14, 2015 ISG warned yesterday that it expects to book another £10.5m in costs after problematic contracts forced the building services group to issue a shock profit warning in February. In a trading update for the year to 30 June, the Aim-listed firm said it has set aside £5.5m to wind down its luxury construction services arm [...]
IAG takeover of Aer Lingus given the green light by European Commission July 14, 2015 International Consolidated Airlines Group's (IAG) takeover of Aer Lingus has been given the final go-ahead by European competition regulators. Read more: Ryanair share price up after approving IAG’s offer for Aer Lingus stake The European Commission has cleared the €1.36bn (£960m) takeover following "commitments offered by the parties". British Airways owner IAG agreed to relinquish five daily slot [...]
Blockchain company Coinsilium will IPO on London’s Aim July 14, 2015 A London-based startup which invests in the technology behind digital currency bitcoin intends to float on London’s junior market in the first IPO of its kind. Blockchain investment company Coinsilium will become the first blockchain company to go public, as the burgeoning technology gains attention from high-profile investors such as Richard Branson, Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel and [...]
Gender pay gap: Why Cameron’s announcement is good news for the economy July 14, 2015 Like David Cameron, I want to look back at the gender pay gap in the same way we look back at women not voting and working – as something archaic, delusional and fundamentally wrong. Cameron’s announcement that large firms will have to disclose the average salary for both male and female employees will highlight the [...]
Gatwick Airport criticises Airport Commission’s backing for Heathrow expansion as unfair and “flawed” July 14, 2015 Gatwick has hit back at the Airports Commission, calling its report recommending a Heathrow expansion “flawed” and unfair. The airport criticised the report for falling short of requirements of balance and fairness. After three years’ deliberation led by Sir Howard Davies, the Airports Commission released its long-awaited report two weeks ago, backing a third runway [...]
Match Group buys free dating site PlentyOfFish for $575m July 14, 2015 Free dating site PlentyOfFish has found a new suitor in the Match group, with the group acquiring it today for $575m. With the acquisition Match Group, the dating business subsidiary of IAC which also includes Tinder and OkCupid, hopes to bag more digitally-savvy singles, as PlentyOfFish has 3 million daily users. Sam Yagan, chief executive [...]
Dollar dives as US retail sales unexpectedly shrink in June July 14, 2015 The dollar fell after the commerce department said US retail sales unexpectedly fell by 0.3 percent in June, missing economists' expectations for a 0.2 per cent rise. Additionally the retail sales figure for May was revised down by 0.2 per cent to show one per cent growth, down from the 1.2 per cent initially reported. This [...]
Oil giant Petroleum Development Oman plans huge solar farm to extract oil July 14, 2015 It sounds like the opening line of a gag: an oil giant is set to built the world’s largest solar project. An unexpected alliance will have Petroleum Development Oman, the country's state oil company, teaming up with Californian solar power startup Glasspoint to build a solar plant with capacity for more than a gigawatt of [...]