Legal & General buys Marston’s headquarters and pubs for £35m February 9, 2016 Legal and General has snapped up Marston's headquarters as well as a portfolio of pubs for £34.6m, in another example of buoyant M&A activity in the sector. The pension fund manager said its property arm LGP has completed a sale and leaseback of seven Marston's pubs for £25.32m, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.15 per cent. Read more: Pubs [...]
New Look third quarter sales jump as menswear stores prove a hit with shoppers February 9, 2016 New Look has shrugged off a tough Christmas trading period to post a jump in sales over the quarter, boosted by its website and the expansion of its new menswear standalone stores. The fashion retailer said revenue grew by 5.6 per cent in the three months to 26 December, taking revenues to £1.18bn for the year to date. Pre-tax profits rose by 38.9 per cent to £87.9m. [...]
Nearly five per cent of Britain’s shops have been empty for more than three years February 9, 2016 Nearly five per cent of Britain’s town and city centre shops have remained empty for more than three years, new research shows, in a stark reminder of the challenges still facing the high street. The number of empty shops dropped to its lowest level in six years in January, down 12.5 per cent year-on-year, according [...]
Thousands of Londoners flock to access government’s Help to Buy scheme February 8, 2016 A government scheme aimed at helping Londoners onto the housing ladder has already already been flooded with thousands of requests since its launch last week. Housing minister Brandon Lewis said London Help to Buy – an extension of the equity loan scheme that has been available to buyers around the country since April 2013 – [...]
Elegant Hotels buys its sixth Barbados resort for £12.5m February 8, 2016 Elegant Hotels has added another luxury Barbados resort to its portfolio after agreeing to buy Waves Hotel and Spa on the island’s west coast for $18m (£12.5m). The company, which floated on Aim last year, now owns six Bajan resorts including The Colony Club, Crystal Cove and Turtle Bay as well Daphne’s, the beachfront restaurant [...]
Marks and Spencer is narrowing the gap with high street rival Next, says Moody’s February 8, 2016 Marks & Spencer is closing in on its high street rival Next after boosting the profitability in its troubled clothing business by bringing more of its design in house and sourcing directly from suppliers, according to analysts at credit ratings agency Moody’s. In a note published the morning, Moody’s said Next’s credit profile is stronger [...]
Plans for revamp of Camden Lock Market and historic underground waterway given the go-ahead February 8, 2016 The owners of London's Camden Lock Market have won planning permission to push ahead with a £20m overhaul the iconic site that includes opening up a Grade II-listed underground waterway to the public for the first time. Market Tech Holdings, which owns around 15 acres of land in and around Camden, said Camden Council unanimously backed the [...]
European central bankers call for eurozone finance ministry February 8, 2016 The eurozone needs a stronger regulatory framework, including its own finance ministry, to deliver sustainable growth and create more jobs, the leaders of the French and German central banks wrote in a German newspaper this morning. In an article for the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann and Bank of France Chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau [...]
Chancellor George Osborne’s stamp duty reforms cost the Treasury £662m in 2015 February 8, 2016 George Osborne’s overhaul of the stamp duty tax regime has cost the taxpayer well over half a billion pounds in lost revenue last year, new research today reveals, as sales of high-end homes slowed and investors switched tactics to avoid paying huge premiums on purchases. In December 2014 the chancellor scrapped the old system, where the [...]
Clothing retailers bounce back in January as consumer spending returns to eight-month high February 8, 2016 Consumer spending returned to an eight month high in January as the freezing temperatures and discounts drove more shoppers to the high street to stock up on winter clothing. Spending rose by 2.7 per cent year-on-year in January from a 2.2 per cent rise in December and was the highest growth rate since May 2014, [...]
