Poundworld secures £50m loan from Santander to fund its expansion November 10, 2015 Poundworld has secured a £50m loan from its banks to help fund its expansion, just months after private equity firm TPG snapped up a majority stake in the bargain chain. The value retailer said the five-year loan provided by Santander Corporate Bank will help the group meet its target of opening 60 new stores a year across the UK on top of [...]
New Look on trend and first half sales jump November 10, 2015 New Look has hailed a jump in first half sales and profits, as the fast fashion chain stepped up its expansion in China and launched its first standalone menswear stores in the UK. The retailer, which was snapped up by South African retail mogul Christo Wiese in June, said sales at stores open more than [...]
Global construction market to grow by 85 per cent to $15.5 trillion by 2030 November 10, 2015 The global construction market is expected to grow by 85 per cent to $15.5 trillion worldwide by 2030, new research shows, with China, US and India leading the way and accounting for 57 per cent of all global growth. The latest study from industry analysts Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics predicts that growth in [...]
Cranes fill London’s skyline as office building activity hits seven-year high November 10, 2015 Building activity in central London has jumped by 28 per cent in the last six months to a reach a seven-year high, according to data released today. Deloitte Real Estate’s latest Crane Survey, which tracks building activity across the capital, said there were 26 new starts in the period totalling three million square feet and [...]
Merlin Entertainments appoints partner from Asian investment firm as non-executive November 9, 2015 Merlin Entertainments has appointed the partner of a major Asian investment management firm to its board, paving the way for the theme park owner’s expansion in China. The Madame Tussauds and Alton Towers owner said Yun (Rachel) Chiang will join the company as a non-executive director in 2016. Chiang is currently a partner at Pacific [...]
Palamon Capital snaps up majority stake in The Rug Company November 9, 2015 The Rug Company has been rolled up and taken home by private equity firm Palamon Capital Partners, netting its founders millions of pounds. Palamon, which also owns online beauty retailer feelunique.com, said it has bought a majority stake of over 50 per cent from husband and wife team Christopher and Suzanne Sharp and Piper Private Equity, which [...]
Scalpel tower in the City appoints CBRE as leasing agents as search for tenants kicks off November 9, 2015 CBRE has been hired as leasing agents on the Scalpel skyscraper in the City, as the search to find tenants for the 35-storey development in London’s insurance district gets underway. The property advisory firm will partner with Cushman & Wakefield, filling the gap left by the latter’s merger with DTZ, the previous joint agent. The 190m-tall [...]
Amazon Black Friday 2015 UK deals: 7,000 bargains to attract one in five shoppers as Amazon Marketplace joins the sales frenzy for the first time November 9, 2015 One in five British shoppers are expected to take part in this year’s Black Friday shopping frenzy on 27 November, data from business analytics firm SAS shows, as the UK’s gears up for its biggest online shopping day of the year. Meanwhile Amazon today revealed that it will feature more than 7,000 deals during the week starting at midnight [...]
Capital & Counties eyes sale of £300m Olympia exhibition centre November 8, 2015 The Olympia exhibition centre in West London is being prepped for a £300m sale by its owners Capital & Counties (Capco). The FTSE 250 property company, which is behind the £8bn regeneration of Earl’s Court, confirmed it has hired agents at CBRE and investment bank Rothschild to explore options for the events venue. “Following the successful [...]
Sainsbury’s counts the cost of supermarket price war November 8, 2015 Sainsbury's is expected to unveil a near 25 per cent slide in first half underlying profits on Wednesday, as efforts to compete with rivals and stay ahead in the supermarket price war hurt margins. Analysts at Barclays expect margins to fall by 60 basis points to 2.5 per cent and underlying profit before tax to decline by [...]
