Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras offers a “realistic” agreement to creditors June 2, 2015 After months of unpromising talks between Greece and its international creditors, could a bailout agreement finally be in view? Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras said today he had submitted a “realistic plan” for Greece to exit its current economic crisis, which includes a number of concessions, although the details are not yet known. Read [...]
Fitbit has priced its shares for its IPO June 2, 2015 Exercise tracker startup Fitbit is pricing its shares at between $14 and $16 when it IPOs. The company behind the cult fitness device that measures an individual's activity, plans to offer nearly 22.4m shares from its Class A common stock, while shareholders are selling a further 7.5m of their Class B stock. Fitbit [...]
UK house prices: Mortgage approvals have their biggest spike since April 2009 June 2, 2015 The number of mortgages granted in April for new homes grew at its fastest rate since April 2009, according to data from the Bank of England. The figures Some 68,076 mortgages were granted in April for house purchase, compared with 61,945 in March – an increase of 9.9 per cent – the biggest monthly percentage change [...]
UK construction industry shows signs of revival June 2, 2015 Construction bounced back in last month, new data has shown, with the Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index registering 55.9 in May. The figure beat forecasts and remained way above the 50 threshold which indicates growth. However, the sector still has a long way to go after April's dismal reading of 54.2 – although optimism is [...]
Canary Wharf owner Brookfield buys Center Parcs June 2, 2015 After all the effort Brookfield put into buying Songbird, the parent company of Canary Wharf, it's clearly in need of some leisure time: the Canadian investor has just bought Center Parcs from Blackstone. Read more: Brookfield – Center Parcs' next big owner Although its price was undisclosed, it is thought Brookfield paid somewhere in the region [...]
AO World share price crushed as retailer misses expectations with £2.2m annual loss June 2, 2015 The figures Online retailer AO World missed expectations in its first full year as a listed company, sending its share price down by more than six per cent. The online home appliance retailer delivered an annual loss of £2.2m, despite growing revenue by 23.8 per cent to £476.7m, from £384.9m last year. Read more: AO World [...]
British Land issues £350m convertible bond to fund One Sheldon Square Paddington and Surrey Quays acquisitions June 2, 2015 British Land, one of the UK's biggest developers, has launched a £350m convertible bond. The senior, unsecured convertible bonds, due in 2020, will be used to fund its acquisition of two central London properties and future spending. The developer splashed £210m on increasing its ownership of One Sheldon Square in Paddington in April, and bought [...]
Leaders in late night Greek debt talks fail to break deal deadlock June 1, 2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other high-ranking officials met in Berlin late last night to discuss the prospect of a deal for Greece. The country faces a slew of hefty payments in the coming weeks and a real prospect of defaulting on its debt if it is unable to secure a reforms-for-cash deal with creditors [...]
Energy suppliers defend pricing despite government criticism June 1, 2015 Energy secretary Amber Rudd has told the “big six” energy companies to cut bills for consumers, saying the firms can no longer claim they are burdened by the promise of a Labour-led price freeze. Rudd sent letters to the six suppliers – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.On UK, npower, Scottish Power and SSE – on [...]
Playtech makes £460m bid for Plus500: Boss Mor Weizer calls deal “immediately revenue enhancing” June 1, 2015 Playtech has announced that it is in the process of buying Plus500, in a deal worth nearly £460m. The online gaming firm said that it would pay 400p a share for the Israel-based and London-listed trading platform. The deal is expected to be concluded by the end of September. Plus500 has previously been [...]