Miliband backs levy on payday lenders October 16, 2013 ED Miliband will today announce plans to introduce a levy on the payday loans industry in order to fund an expansion of credit unions. The Labour leader believes a charge on companies such as Wonga could raise £13m a year and double the amount of money available to credit unions that offer a “real alternative [...]
Tech and media firms pile into central London October 16, 2013 TECHNOLOGY, media and telecoms companies have come out in force this year, snapping up 24 per cent more office space than both 2012 and 2011 respectively, according to property consultancy Colliers International. Take-up across central London stands at 2.9m square feet (sq ft) in the year to date, driven by major deals such as Google’s [...]
Bottom Line: Small deals need to grow into the big ones October 16, 2013 THESE numbers show London can be proud of its status as a tech and media city. That said, the details are more complicated. In the core of the City, media and tech is just six per cent of total office stock, and an average deal size of 5,358 square feet (sq ft) indicates the relative [...]
European car sales rise above two-decade low in September October 16, 2013 EUROPEAN car owners bought 5.4 per cent more vehicles in September compared to last year, taking the market slightly off the two-decade low seen over the summer. New car registrations hit 1.16m last month, marking the third monthly gain in the last two years, figures from industry body ACEA showed yesterday. Having fallen to their [...]
Great Portland wins consent at Rathbone Place October 16, 2013 GREAT PORTLAND Estates has won planning approval to go ahead with redevelopment of the Royal Mail’s old sorting office in what is expected to be one of the company’s largest and most profitable developments to date. Westminster Council approved plans on Tuesday night to redevelop the 2.3 acre site off Oxford Street and build 42,000 [...]
Conviviality swaps Oriel for new broker October 16, 2013 CONVIVIALITY Retail, the owner of the Bargain Booze off-licence chain, has parted ways with Oriel Securities less than four months after hiring the firm as joint-broker ahead of its £64m stock market debut. The company said yesterday that it has hired Panmure Gordon as joint broker, working alongside Zeus Capital, after putting the position out [...]
JD Wetherspoon slams government’s tax policy as pub chain’s profits suffer October 16, 2013 THE chairman of pub chain JD Wetherspoon yesterday hit out at what he called excessive and unfair government taxes on pubs yesterday. “We believe that pubs are taxed excessively and that the government would create more jobs and receive higher levels of overall revenue, if it were to create tax parity among supermarkets, pubs and [...]
Met busts drug ring based at Heathrow October 16, 2013 THE METROPOLITAN Police arrested 11 people in dawn raids yesterday after uncovering a drugs smuggling ring based in the cargo operations of Heathrow Airport. The Met said the people, some of whom work for British Airways, were arrested in connection with a “well-established, organised criminal network responsible for importing and distributing millions of pounds worth [...]
Ubisoft shares slide as games delayed October 16, 2013 FRENCH videogames publisher Ubisoft saw its shares slump more than 25 per cent to an eight-month low yesterday after deciding to delay the release of two titles until next year, missing the holiday season in a hotly competitive market. “In a world of mega-blockbusters, we have now come to the conclusion that the team needed [...]
Rangers drama takes new twist as Mather quits October 16, 2013 RANGERS, the Glasgow-based football club, is without a chief executive after its present boss, Chris Mather, resigned yesterday after just six months. Rangers, which is listed on London’s junior stock market Aim, said it would work with advisers at Daniel Stewart to strengthen its board. It also said that non-executive director Bryan Smart is resigning [...]
