By: Helen Cahill

I report on retail and property for City A.M. I have covered the investigation into BHS and London's housing crisis. You can email me on helen.cahill@cityam.com with tips or commentary.

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First-time buyers beat off Brexit fears and paid record prices for property in May

June 29, 2016

Brexit fears didn't put first-time buyers off from mounting the property ladder, as data out today shows they spent record sums on their homes in May. First-time buyers paid an average of £173,282 on their first ever home in May – a record high – according to data from estate agents Your Move and Reeds [...]
Remortgaging in May was at its highest level since 2008 – but experts predict Brexit woes will hang over the market until aumtumn

June 29, 2016

Remortgaging hit £5bn in May, the highest value for May since 2008, according to research released today. At 32,334, the number of remortgage loans was 31 per cent higher in May than in the same month last year, according to research from Legal Marketing Services (LMS). The average amount of equity withdrawn was £33,600, up 43 per [...]
Fraudster who wanted to buy BHS denies he said Sir Philip Green avoided a sale to retail rivals

June 28, 2016

Convicted fraudster Paul Sutton today denied that he said Sir Philip Green refused to sell BHS to a competitor who could have turned the business around. Evidence from Larry Verge, a partner at LEK consultants, who advised Paul Sutton on his business plan to acquire BHS, reveals Sutton said Green was "unwilling to sell out to [...]
Retailers’ share prices are on the up as markets recover slightly

June 28, 2016

Shares in retailers including Next, M&S and Associated British Food were on an upward trend this morning as stock markets recorded their first gains since the UK voted to leave the European Union. In morning trading, M&S' share price was up 5.10 per cent, Next's rose 8.40 per cent and Associated British Foods' shares climbed [...]
Here’s how the supermarkets were doing just before the Brexit vote

June 28, 2016

In the immediate run-up to the EU referendum, supermarket sales were strong, according to data released today, but in the three month period before the vote, sales slipped. The figures from Nielsen show that in the four weeks ending 18 June, UK supermarkets had their first increase in year-on-year takings since July 2015. Sales were up 0.4 [...]
Carpetright’s share price drops by a fifth as company warns knock to consumer confidence likely due to Britain leaving the EU

June 28, 2016

Home furnishings specialist Carpetright warned consumer confidence would be hit by last week's referendum. The company's shares were down 8.40 per cent this morning after it announced sales in the UK fell one per cent in the eight weeks to 25 June. Chief executive Wilf Walsh said today that "the outlook has been further complicated by the [...]
Berkeley Group’s share price looks up as Tony Pidgley spends £800,000 on shares

June 28, 2016

Berkeley Group's share price went up this morning after it emerged the company's chairman, Tony Pidgley, had bought another five per cent of the firm's shares for just under £800,000. In a statement this morning the company said Pidgley has bought 35,061 shares, a 4.7 per cent stake, at £22.69 a share yesterday, its share price plummeted. Director Glyn [...]
Evening tube chaos: Flooding hits Circle, Bakerloo, District, DLR, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan, Waterloo and City, and overground lines as some stations are shuttered

June 23, 2016

Flooding is causing chaos across the London underground this evening as commuters battle against the elements to reach polling stations. Monument Station remains closed and has been for much of the day due to flooding as the heavens opened on the day of the EU referendum; engineers are working to fix the problem. The Circle line still has sever delays [...]
Chappell took an early “hardship” salary and treated BHS’ money as his own, says former BHS chief executive Darren Topp

June 23, 2016

Former BHS chief executive Darren Topp accused Dominic Chappell of treating BHS' money as his own, taking his salary early as a "hardship payment", evidence released by MPs today shows. In a letter to MPs on 21 June, Topp lists occasions when Chappell tried to take the company's money, saying that three-time bankrupt Chappell tried to buy family holiday flights from [...]
MPs want Dominic Chappell to explain the funds he took out of BHS, and his salary payments

June 23, 2016

The joint select committee inquiry into the collapse of BHS wants to know about Dominic Chappell's bonus and why he was given one. MPs are also demanding more information from Chappell on the money he took out of the company, and the salaries of Retail Acquisitions directors, who "cannot escape scrutiny for the plight of BHS". [...]

The Masters delivers food now, and it’s desire wrapped in identity

The Masters delivers food now, and it’s desire wrapped in identity

Barbican Centre: the brutalist landmark weaving art into everyday London life.

By: Helen Cahill

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