Renters mull move back to central London to experience city buzz after lockdown lifts March 10, 2021 Renters are flooding back to central London in hopes that life will return to the capital when lockdown restrictions are lifted this year. The latest research showed that online searches for properties in Zones 1 and 2 have surged, as people look to take advantage of falling rental prices. According to property platform Rightmove, all [...]
Pandemic wipes almost £1bn off Covent Garden landlord Capco’s portfolio March 9, 2021 West End landlord Capital & Counties suffered a sharp drop in its property values last year, wiping almost £1bn of its portfolio. Capco, which owns Covent Garden, reported this morning that its total property value last year was £1.9bn, down from £2.8bn in 2019. The total property value of Covent Garden fell 27 per cent [...]
Marks & Spencer unveils plans to replace retail space with offices at Marble Arch store March 9, 2021 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has unveiled plans to redevelop its Marble Arch store, with some retail space set to be replaced by offices. Under proposals announced this afternoon, M&S said the lower levels of the West End store would remain as retail space offering its food and clothing and home ranges. However, the upper floors [...]
Kingfisher shares jump on plans to launch B&Q stores in Saudi Arabia March 9, 2021 Shares in Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, jumped this morning after it announced plans to expand the DIY chain into the Middle East. Kingfisher said this morning that it has signed a franchise agreement with the Al-Futtaim Group, with the first Middle East stores to launch in Saudi Arabia. It marks a progression in the [...]
Oprah-backed Oatly to open first UK factory with 200 new jobs March 9, 2021 Oatly, the plant-based milk alternative backed by Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, has announced plans for its first UK factory, which it said will create at least 200 jobs. The factory, in Peterborough, is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2023 and will produce 300m litres of the vegan milk [...]
IWG swings to £650m loss but sounds optimistic note on future of offices March 9, 2021 Office space provider IWG swung to a £650.2m loss last year due to the impact of coronavirus on working habits, it announced this morning. Revenue fell from £2.65bn to £2.48bn and the company posted a loss of more than half a billion pounds, down from profit after tax of £77.3m in 2019. It reported a [...]
WH Smith reduces cash burn after beating lockdown trading expectations March 9, 2021 WH Smith said this morning reduced its monthly cash burn forecasts, saying its trading performance had beaten its expectations during lockdown. The firm reported to stronger than forecast revenue across its high street stores and “significant” online growth. The newsagent chain said revenue in its high street business in January 2021 reached 74 per cent [...]
Domino’s to open 200 new stores as pizza chain launches fight back against competitors March 9, 2021 Domino’s is planning to open 200 new stores in a bid to increase sales to £1.9bn, the pizza chain announced this morning. The firm, which reported that sales increased 11.4 per cent to £1.35bn last year, today launched a new strategic plan to beat competitors that have invested in online delivery capability during the pandemic. [...]
London house prices to boom over next five years, Savills predicts March 9, 2021 London house prices are set to boom over the next five years, estate agent Savills said as it upped its UK property market forecasts for 2021. House prices in London’s mainstream market are expected to rise 12.6 per cent in the five years ended 2025, the real estate firm said. Meanwhile prime central London house [...]
UK retail sales return to growth after lockdown exit roadmap announced March 9, 2021 UK retail sales returned to growth in February after the government revealed plans to ease the coronavirus lockdown measures. The Prime Minister set out the roadmap to exit lockdown on 22 February – with some plans reported in the preceding days – prompting shoppers to buy non-food items such as school uniforms and going out [...]
