Redefine International raises £115m to fund property deal February 16, 2016 Redefine International has raised £115m via a share placing to help fund its £437m acquisition of a portfolio of properties from insurer Aegon's UK Property Fund. The retail and commercial property investor, which is listed in both the UK and South Africa, bought the first tranche of the AUK Portfolio in October for £203.5m using existing cash resources and a [...]
Circle Property makes £42m debut on London’s junior market February 16, 2016 A regional property company chaired by former Land Securities boss Ian Henderson has listed on London's junior market with a market value of £42m. Circle Property, which was founded by a group of family investors in 2002 and also counts banking heir Jamie Hambro and the Duke of Roxburghe as non-executive directors, owns 16 commercial properties across the country valued at [...]
Merlin Entertainments poaches finance chief from Dechra Pharmaceuticals February 16, 2016 The finance chief of veterinary pharmaceuticals giant Dechra is hopping onto a new ride after agreeing to join Madame Tussauds and Alton Towers owner Merlin Entertainments. Anne-Françoise Nesmes, who has worked for Dechra for three years, will take over the reins from Merlin's current chief financial officer Andrew Carr, who is retiring after more than 16 years with the company. Merlin [...]
Zoopla injects £1m into four property technology start-ups February 16, 2016 Zoopla is throwing its weight behind the next generation of property technology firms after investing £1m in four start-ups. The FTSE 250 firm, which owns uSwitch, Prime Location as well its eponymous property search firm, said it has agreed exclusive partnerships with four "promising and innovative property technology start-up companies" to help ramp up their expansion and improve [...]
Shoe chain Brantano bought out of administration by previous owners Alteri February 15, 2016 Alteri Investors has bought back most of shoe giant Brantano's stores less than a month after calling in administrators and three months after acquiring the brand. PwC, the administrators, said 140 of Brantano's stores and concession have been sold back to a company controlled by the Mayfair investment firm, preserving 1,372 jobs, after interest from a number of buyers. [...]
Upmarket hostel owner Safestay says it is on track to hit forecasts as visitor numbers rise February 15, 2016 Safestay, the Aim-listed property developer of upmarket hostels, said its performance for the year was on track after increasing the number of beds in its portfolio by over 1,000 during the past year. The company, which was founded five years ago with the idea of sprucing up the hostel market, added a fourth hostel to its portfolio in September after [...]
Homes owned through companies falls below 4,000, HMRC figures show February 15, 2016 The number of high-end homes held under company names has fallen to just 0.2 per cent of the UK's total house stock, according to new figures by a leading asset manager, in a sign that government efforts to clamp down on owner-occupiers using vehicles to buy property is paying off. London Central Portfolio (LCP) chief executive [...]
Sportswear brand Skins launches £2m crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs February 15, 2016 A company that makes tight-fitting sportswear aimed at boosting athletes' performance is seeking to raise £2m using crowdfunding site Seedrs. Founded in Australia in 1996, Skins has become popular with runners and professional athletes thanks to its compression tights aimed at boosting the circulation and speeding up recovery. The Swiss-based company, which is majority owned by its chairman Jaimie Fuller, currently sells in 43 countries worldwide and [...]
Hammerson goes halves with Canadian pension fund over Birmingham’s Grand Central shopping centre as profits jump February 15, 2016 Retail landlord Hammerson has struck a deal to sell half of Grand Central shopping centre in Birmingham to one of Canada's biggest pension funds, as it reported a jump in full-year profits. The FTSE 100 company, which already owns Birmingham's other well-known shopping centre, The Bullring, bought Grand Central last month for £335m from Birmingham City [...]
Retail footfall bounces back in January to reach two-year high February 15, 2016 Retailers enjoyed their biggest jump in footfall last month in almost two years after disappointing Christmas when shoppers shunned the high street in favour of buying online. Traffic to stores on the high street, shopping centres and retail parks rose by 1.2 per cent in January compared with a year ago, figures from retail analysts Springboard [...]
