Lynch’s fund gives £8m to back biotech July 8, 2014 MIKE Lynch, the former Autonomy boss, yesterday backed a Swiss DNA analysis firm with an £8m investment. Sophia Genetics, which specialises in the analysis of DNA in order to diagnose patients, is the latest recipient of investment from Lynch’s $1bn technology fund. While the company specialises in preventative treatment, it also determines “where to fire [...]
Bovis sees property sales boom on back of Help-to-Buy housing scheme July 8, 2014 A boom in Britain’s property market and the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme have helped to boost house buying and have led Bovis Homes to report its best-ever first half sales. The Kent-based housebuilder announced yesterday that it had completed 1,487 sales in the six months to the end of June, a massive 54 per cent increase on the [...]
Pickles and celebs scupper plans for £160m Smithfields project July 8, 2014 Communities secretary Eric Pickles yesterday rejected as “wholly unacceptable” a £160m plan to develop London’s Smithfield market, siding instead with campaigners battling to save the site from becoming a new complex of offices, shops and restaurants. The campaign against the plans for the redevelopment of the Victorian fish and general market halls, derelict for 15 [...]
Average London house price to hit £500k next year July 8, 2014 The average house in London is likely to cost about £500,000 in just a year’s time, according to a forecast by professional services group PwC. PwC’s latest economic forecasts, to be released today, show that the average property price in the capital is expected to reach £565,000 by the end of this decade, with its [...]
Wanted: New £40m bridge across the Thames July 8, 2014 The search is on to find a suitable design for a new £40m bridge in west London. The emerging housing and commercial developments near Battersea Power Station, known as Nine Elms, would be connected to Pimlico under the plans. Wandsworth council is set to launch a global competition to design the bridge over the Thames.
Lok’nStore posts 10pc rise in sales July 8, 2014 SELF-STORAGE firm LoknStore yesterday announced a 10.2 per cent increase in its year-on-year sales and a 9.6 per cent rise in occupancy. Andrew Jacobs, the chief executive, said: “Trading this year has been very strong, with occupancy, prices, revenue and profit all moving strong ahead”, adding he was “confident we will continue to deliver significant [...]
H&T expecting to reach target July 8, 2014 PAWNBROKER H&T yesterday said that it expected to deliver full-year profit before tax in line with current market forecasts. The group said it had reduced debt, controlled costs and increased revenues. H&T said that trading conditions in the industry were improving. “The factors that impacted pawnbroking in the last year are abating,” it said, adding [...]
Rolls-Royce car sales motor to new record July 8, 2014 Luxury car maker Rolls-Royce yesterday announced that it had accelerated to a new sales record in the first half of this year, up one-third in comparison to last year. The company, owned by German carmaker BMW since 2002, sold a total of 1,968 cars worldwide, it said. “This is an excellent half-year result and demonstrates [...]
Best of the Brokers for 09 July 2014 July 8, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com WPP Goldman Sachs has maintained its “buy” rating on the ad giant, but reduced its target price to 1,535p from 1,555p. The broker thinks that while growth in the second quarter met expectations, greater currency headwinds may have an impact. DOMINO PRINTING SCIENCES [...]
London Report: Airline decline and M&S worries keep the FTSE in the red July 8, 2014 A PROFIT warning from Air France-KLM yesterday hit airline stocks and dragged the FTSE down by more than one per cent. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 1.25 per cent, or 85.06 points, to 6,738.45 points. International Consolidated Airlines Group – the owner of British Airways – slumped seven per cent to 335.90p, the worst-performing [...]
