GVA merges with Scottish agency October 7, 2013 Property agency GVA has bought Scottish rival James Barr for an undisclosed sum, in a deal that will create Scotland’s third largest property advisory firm by sales. All of GVA’s businesses north of the border will be renamed GVA James Barr. The firm, which posted profits of £7.8m in the year to April, outlined plans [...]
M&G buys £32m student housing October 7, 2013 M&G Investments said yesterday it has bought the freehold of three student housing blocks in Bournemouth for £38m from Spectrum Housing. The sites, which have 704 en-suite rooms, are let to student housing provider Campus Living Villages, which in turn has an agreement Bournemouth University. M&G said the assets will help provide a long-term income [...]
Kensington block sold for £40m October 7, 2013 Mountgrange Real Estate Opportunity Fund said yesterday it has sold the Warwick Building in Kensington to fund manager Cordea Savills for £40m. The building forms part of the Kensington Village office campus and is let to Publicis Groupe, which is working on a merger with Omnicom. Cordea said the building was well placed to exploit [...]
Berlin lines up National Express for rail contract October 7, 2013 TRANSPORT firm National Express said yesterday that it has been shortlisted to run the Berlin Ringbahn, the dilapidated railway line around the city centre of Berlin. The 15-year contract is estimated to be worth around €2bn (£1.7bn) and is set to start in December 2017. The line is currently being run by state operator Deutsche [...]
Audi says September sales rise 10 per cent on growing demand October 7, 2013 GERMAN car maker Audi said yesterday its sales in September increased 10 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier to 150,300 luxury cars and sport-utility vehicles, on demand from the US, China and Europe. Nine-month deliveries rose 7.6 per cent to 1.18m vehicles, the Volkswagen-owned division said, citing the Q3 and Q5 [...]
Petra’s output update shines October 7, 2013 SHARES in FTSE 250-listed Petra Diamonds rose more than two per cent yesterday after a production update beat analysts’ forecasts. Despite recent strikes at the diamond explorer’s South African mines, which temporarily stopped operations, the company produced 816,735 carats for the three months to 30 September. This beat broker Canaccord Genuity’s estimate by eight per [...]
Rolls-Royce wins two new US deals and Japan Airlines order October 7, 2013 FTSE 100-listed aerospace firm Rolls-Royce yesterday unveiled two contracts with the US government worth up to $496m (£308.5m) and a new order from Japan Airlines. Under a $406m six-year contract, Rolls-Royce will provide parts and engineering support for T56 engines on US government aircraft. The company has a separate five-year contract with the US Navy [...]
Metal theft insurance claims halve following crackdown October 7, 2013 METAL theft claims have halved following a concerted effort to stop thieves and scrap dealers profiting from stealing, new figures show. Church of England insurer Ecclesiastical said it saw 480 claims costing £1.4m during the first nine months of 2013, against 960 claims in the same period last year. This is good news for the insurer, [...]
Sentiment dips across Eurozone but still positive October 7, 2013 EUROZONE sentiment fell in October after surging to its second strongest level ever in September, but it remained in positive territory for a second consecutive month, a survey showed yesterday. The research group Sentix said its index tracking investor morale in the Eurozone dropped to 6.1 points from 6.5 points in September. The reading fell [...]
World Bank boosts outlook for Sub-Saharan African economies October 7, 2013 SUB-SAHARAN Africa’s economic growth should increase to 5.3 per cent next year, with strong private and public investment underpinning the region’s robust performance, the World Bank said yesterday. The bank lifted its forecast for 2014 from the 5.1 per cent projected earlier this year. The region was expected to grow 5.5 per cent in 2015, [...]
