EasyHotel IPO raises just half of £60m target June 25, 2014 EASYJET founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou announced plans to float the budget hotel chain easyHotel on Aim next week but has raised just half of the £60m it had hoped to gain. The company, owned by the Greek billionaire’s easyGroup holdings, has priced its initial public offering (IPO) at 80p, valuing the business at £50m and [...]
House of Fraser sales lifted by demand for own label brands June 25, 2014 DEPARTMENT store chain House of Fraser saw same store sales rise two per cent in the first three months of the year, as customers snapped up its own-label brands. House labels, including Linea and Kenneth Cole, jumped eight per cent in the 13 weeks to 26 April while branded and concessions sales both rose by [...]
Wind blows in record profits at Crown Estate June 25, 2014 CROWN Estate chief executive Alison Nimmo said the company had “hit a sweet spot” last year as the regeneration of its prized West London properties and offshore wind helped deliver record full-year profits. The Crown Estate’s net profit, which goes into the Treasury’s coffers, rose to a record £267.1m in the year to 31 March [...]
Land Securities buys Bluewater shopping mall stake for £656m June 25, 2014 LAND Securities has bought Lend Lease’s 30 per cent stake in Britain’s fourth largest shopping centre Bluewater for £656m after a heated battle for the site. The acquisition is a coup for property giant, which has been selling several of its regional shopping centres in order to make way for acquisitions in the south east [...]
Grainger hires ex-Segro boss as chairman June 25, 2014 BRITAIN’S largest residential landlord Grainger said yesterday it has lined up the former chief executive of Segro Ian Coull to become chairman. Coull, 64, will join the board as a non-executive director on 23 September and will be put forward as chairman at the annual general meeting in February next year. Robin Broadhurst will step [...]
Lord Harris puts off Carpetright retirement plan June 24, 2014 CARPETRIGHT founder Lord Harris announced yesterday that he planned to stay on as non-executive chairman, just weeks after announcing his retirement, as the retailer reported widening losses. Lord Harris will hand over the day-to-day running of the business to a new chief executive, Wilf Walsh, next month. He had intended to step down from the [...]
Analyst Views: What was your reaction to Carpetright’s results and the board changes? June 24, 2014 FREDDIE GEORGE | CANTOR FITZGERALD With Carpetright coming close to completing a number of initiatives (58 per cent of the store estate has now been modernised), it feels as though it is in a vacuum, awaiting new management to stamp its authority on strategy. We remain convinced that the concept is not in tune with [...]
Land Securities sells shopping mall in Sunderland for £152m June 24, 2014 LAND Securities yesterday sold The Bridges shopping centre in Sunderland for £152m as the property giant battled with two of its rivals to buy Lend Lease’s 30 per stake in the Bluewater shopping centre, in Kent. The firm said it had sold the 550,000 square feet shopping centre to clients of AEW Europe after owning [...]
Galliford Try seals Kent housing deal June 24, 2014 GALLIFORD Try said yesterday it has sealed a £100m contract with Kent County Council that will see it deliver seven housing schemes across the county. The FTSE 250 housebuilding and construction group will build around 240 homes across Kent providing supported living for vulnerable adults, as well as communal facilities. It will also invest in [...]
Shoe Zone’s maiden results show profits up but a step back in sales June 24, 2014 DISCOUNT footwear chain Shoe Zone yesterday posted a jump in half-year profits in its first set of results since floating on London’s junior market last month. The family-run chain, which has 554 shops, said pre-tax profits rose to £2.7m in the six months to 5 April, a large increase from £200,000 in the first half [...]
