Mexican fast food chain Tortilla poaches rival Chilango May 23, 2022 London listed restaurant group Tortilla has snapped up rival Chilango, as it seeks to reap the rewards of office workers returning to London. The Mexican fast food chain dished out £2.75m to buy Chilango from the investment firm RD Capital Partners , it announced on Monday. Chilango’s estate of eight UK sites – six of [...]
Harrods hires new CFO as department store looks to recover from Covid with global expansion May 23, 2022 Harrods has appointed a new chief financial officer as the luxury department store continues the road to recovery after the Covid pandemic. Tim Parker will join the business after a ten-year stint at Jardin Matheson, a Hong Kong-based and London-listed conglomerate. Over the past decade, Parker held several senior finance top jobs across Hong Kong [...]
Ocado buys robotics start-up for $10.2m as online retail giant eyes automating grocery pick-ups May 23, 2022 Online grocer Ocado has inked a deal to buy a materials handling robotics start-up for $10.2m. In a deal worth the equivalent of £8.11m, Ocado has agreed to buy Myrmex, it announced on Monday. The UK supermarket snapped up a minority stake in the Athens-based firm in 2020. Myrmex was instructed to develop a programme [...]
US private equity titan Sycamore abandons bid for Ted Baker May 23, 2022 Private equity giant Sycamore has pulled out of the race to snap up iconic fashion firm Ted Baker.
Congratulations: Moonpig to snap up gifting group Buyagift in £124m deal May 23, 2022 Greeting card giant Moonpig Group has announced the proposed acquisition of Buyagift, the gift experiences platform, for £124m.
London developer swaps hotel plans for student housing in £173m forward fund May 23, 2022 London developer Dominvs has completed the country’s largest forward fund in the purpose built student accommodation sector for £173m, with Scape. Comprising 713-beds, the scheme will be one of the capital’s largest student accommodation developments, Dominvs exclusively told CityA.M. The university housing deal came after Dominvs had secured consent for two hotels on the Hammersmith [...]
Average house price surpasses £367k as first time buyers face increasingly difficult landscape May 23, 2022 It is now no longer significantly cheaper to rent than buy, in terms of monthly outgoings, new analysis by RightMove has shown. While average monthly mortgage payments (£901) outpace average monthly rental payments (£887), the gap in payments has slimmed over the past decade. The property platform’s new analysis tracking first-time buyer affordability is based [...]
Shops’ tax bill 755 per cent higher than online rivals amid war of words over sales tax May 23, 2022 Traditional brick and mortar retailers pay 755 per cent more – almost eight times – than their online rivals in business rates tax. The figures come after Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer execs have voiced differing opinions over the prospect of an online sales tax. Fresh analysis by real estate advisor Altus Group has found [...]
London office completions lag due to site delays as demand for projects surges May 23, 2022 Supply chain disruption and worker shortages mean the completion of office construction projects in London has lagged. New start activity dropped by a third to 2.3m sq ft over the six months to March. Completed construction also plunged by half to 1.7m sq ft, well below a long-term average of 2.5m sq ft, as projects [...]
Gymshark nets £45m profit as founder Ben Francis climbs up Sunday Times Rich List May 22, 2022 Sportswear brand Gymshark has pocketed a £45.4m pre-tax profit – a further jolt of good news for its young founder, who has risen in the Sunday Times Rich List. The e-commerce fashion retailer saw profit rocket in the year to July 2021, compared to 2020’s sum of £30.4m, according to accounts filed to Companies House [...]
