Conforama drops out of the race for Darty, paving the way for Fnac April 27, 2016 French furniture chain Conforama has dropped out of the race to buy Darty, leaving the track clear for rival bidder Fnac to takeover the electricals retailer. The company, which is owned by South African retail conglomerate Steinhoff, said would not improve on its third and final offer of 160p per share because "it would no longer create [...]
EU referendum: Wetherspoon boss warns European Union is “doomed” because it lacks democracy April 26, 2016 The European Union is "doomed" because it doesn’t have the level of democracy required to make it a great economic region, the boss of one of the UK's biggest pub chains has warned. Tim Martin, the chairman of JD Wetherspoon and a staunch supporter of the Leave campaign, said that just as the euro could [...]
Salaries are soaring among building firms as pressure mounts to find skilled bricklayers, says Federation of Master Builders April 26, 2016 More than two-thirds of small UK building firms forecast a jump in salaries and wages over the next six months as competition for skilled bricklayers intensifies. Brickies are already able to command wages of up to £60,000 per year in London and around £45,000 a year in the north of England. However these salaries could be even higher in the future [...]
Empiric buys student property in Manchester for £30m April 25, 2016 Empiric Student Property has bought a 561 bed scheme in Manchester for £29.5m as well as the 50 per cent stake it doesn't already own in a student accommodation in Southampton. The listed student housing provider said the Manchester scheme, which it acquired from MCR Property Group, comprised of six separate blocks of accommodation, which have been [...]
UK house prices: Hundreds of thousands of homeowners who bought in 2007 are still stuck in negative equity April 25, 2016 Average house prices in more than half of UK towns and cities are still below 2007 levels, new research has claimed, trapping hundreds of thousands of people who bought at the top of the market in negative equity. Around 1.5 million property transactions were completed at the top of the market before the banking collapse [...]
Cinven in talks to buy Tui’s €1bn Hotelbeds online booking business April 25, 2016 Private equity firm Cinven is reported to be advanced talks to buy travel company Tui AG's online booking business Hotelbeds, in a deal that could fetch up to €1bn (£780m). Hotelbeds provides rooms to travel agencies, tour operators and airlines through a database of more than 75,000 hotels worldwide. It was put up for sale last year after Tui hired Deutsche [...]
Hinkley Point decision delayed until September, France economy minister Emmanuel Macron says April 24, 2016 EDF has delayed its final investment decision on the building of a new £18bn power plant at Hinkley Point until September, four months after it was due to give its verdict on the project. France's economy minister Emmanuel Macron told French newspaper Journal du Dimanche that three conditions had to be in place before the part state-owned energy [...]
Premier Foods’ top shareholder criticises board for “arrogance” over failed bid talks April 24, 2016 Premier Foods’ third biggest investor has criticised the company’s board for its “arrogance” and backed the idea of its chairman resigning after bid talks with US suitor McCormick collapsed. US hedge fund Paulson & Co. said: “We have not written a letter asking for his resignation but would certainly support the idea.” The firm added [...]
Chinese billionaire in talks to sell House of Fraser stake to Hamleys owner April 24, 2016 The Chinese billionaire owner of House of Fraser is in talks to sell a stake in the department store chain, two years after buying it in a £480m deal. Sanpower, the Chinese conglomerate chaired by Yuan Yafei, bought House of Fraser in 2014 through its subsidiary Nanjing Xinjiekou, which operates a chain of department stores in China's Nanjing province. The [...]
