British Land buys Virgin Active clubs in £179m deal July 8, 2011 Property investor British Land bought a portfolio of 17 freehold and leasehold Virgin Active premium racquet clubs from French bank Societe Generale for £179m. It said the clubs – about half of them within London’s M25 ringroad – would be let to Virgin Active on new, 25-year leases, pending its acquisition of Esporta. British Land [...]
ECB raises interest rate July 7, 2011 The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised interest rates to 1.5 [er cent from 1.25 per cent in a bid to stifle inflation rises in the eurozone. The rise was widely expected after ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet indicated last month that such a move was likely. Despite debt problems facing some smaller eurozone nations, the [...]
UK interest rate held July 7, 2011 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept UK interest rates on hold at a record low of 0.5 per cent. Economists had expected no move in rates as the latest data has shown the UK economic recovery remains weak. The committee’s decision comes despite the annual rate of inflation remaining at 4.5 [...]
Commuters hit by Tube chemical leak July 7, 2011 City Commuters faced long delays this morning after a suspected chemical leak at a tube station. Firefighters were called to Monument Underground Station 7.40am. The station was closed as the fire service made the scene safe. Station Manager, Daniel Alie, who was at the scene, said: “Firefighters carried out tests and found a small amount [...]
UK manufacturing bounces back July 7, 2011 Manufacturing output rose at its fastest pace in over a year in May as factories ramped up output after a Royal Wedding-related drop in April, official data showed. Industrial output, however, failed to fully recoup April’s losses and the figures are unlikely to alter expectations that the Bank of England will leave interest rates at [...]
Babcock mulls US defence sale July 7, 2011 British defence services group Babcock International said it had traded well in its first-quarter, helped by continued outsourcing activity from military customers eager to cut costs, and said it was considering selling some of its US defence operations. Babcock, which maintains Royal Navy submarines, on Thursday said its markets had remained robust in the last [...]
Hays bosted by overseas jobs market as UK slumps July 7, 2011 Recruitment firm Hays reported group net fee growth of 11 per cent in the quarter thanks to its international business. Overseas fees accounted for 67 per cent of the total in the three months to the end of June. Fees across Asia rose 30 per cent compared with the same period last year. But net [...]
WH Smith sales drop but profit holds up July 7, 2011 WH Smith said it was confident about the outcome for the full year as higher profit margins offset lower sales in a tough market. The group, which trades from over 570 high street stores and more than 500 outlets at airports, train stations, hospitals and motorway service stations, said sales at stores open over a [...]
Man Group sees record sales July 7, 2011 Man Group saw a stronger than expected influx of client cash in the three months to 30 June, as a recent bumper fundraising in Japan helped the world’s biggest listed hedge fund manager recover from the credit crisis. Man, the world’s largest hedge fund manager only began winning back investors earlier this year after two [...]
Cameron pledges probe into phone hack scandal July 6, 2011 David Cameron has promised to set up a public inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World. The prime minister said claims that the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler had been hacked, with some messages deleted, were “disgusting”. But he told MPs an inquiry could not take place until police investigations had [...]
