Business minister Matthew Hancock’s fury over Airbnb crackdown by Westminster council November 20, 2014 Business minister Matthew Hancock accused Westminster council last night of “over-zealously” clamping down on holiday rental sites, after it emerged that the Tory authority has been tracking down Airbnb users in the borough and taking enforcement action against them. The discovery comes as the government prepares plans to sweep away the legislation that bans [...]
Land Securities snaps up former News UK Wapping headquarters November 20, 2014 Land Securities has bought the half stake it doesn’t already own in Thomas More Square, in Wapping, for £85.3m, the property firm announced yesterday. The building was home to News UK, publisher of The Times, Sunday Times and the Sun, until its parent company News Corp moved all of its businesses into new offices at [...]
Grainger posts surge in profit November 20, 2014 RESIDENTIAL landlord Grainger posted a rise in pre-tax profit and revenue for its last financial year thanks to a jump in the value of its portfolio. Pre-tax profits surged 26 per cent to £81.1m in the year to 30 September from £64.3m in 2013. The company said its residential assets “outperformed” as the market value [...]
Conversions threaten jobs November 20, 2014 OFFICE-to-residential conversions could “irreparably” lead to thousands of job losses in the heart of central London, the Westminster Property Association (WPA) warned yesterday. The White Paper published by the WPA has found that Westminster has lost enough office space for 78,000 workers as a result of the government relaxing rules on the conversion of offices [...]
Baby goods retailer Mothercare sees UK turnaround plan pay off November 20, 2014 MOTHERCARE posted a small rise in first-half profit and said lower losses and improving sales in the UK provided early encouragement for its new turnaround plan. While Mothercare’s overseas business is profitable, fierce competition from supermarkets such as Tesco and internet retailers like Amazon has hit it hard at home. This has left the baby [...]
Pub industry says end of beer tie system could lead to closures and job losses November 19, 2014 Britain’s pub groups woke up with a hangover yesterday after MPs voted in favour of a shake up of Britain’s nearly 400-year-old beer-tie system, warning that a change to rules could lead to further pub closures across the country. Companies. including Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns – two of the UK’s largest tenanted [...]
D&D signs deal with Land Secs to open first Scottish restaurant at Glasgow Concert Hall November 19, 2014 D&D London is to open its first restaurant in Scotland after signing up to Land Securities’ Buchanan Galleries development in Glasgow. The restaurant group, which owns Coq d’Argent in the City and The Grand Café at the Royal Exchange, said yesterday it would open a 7,500 square feet restaurant on the upper two floors of [...]
Big Yellow raises £79m in share placing to purchase more storage November 19, 2014 Big Yellow raised £79m via a share placing yesterday to help buy the remaining 67 per cent stake in a self-storage business it did not already own. The company said it would use the proceeds to buy out its partner Pramerica Real Estate Investors from their joint venture earlier than planned for £39.25m in cash. [...]
In pictures: M&S hopes for summer of love with 2015 spring clothing line November 18, 2014 Winter has arrived and the temperature has finally dropped but the weather felt distinctly summery last night in Marylebone, west London, where Marks & Spencer was showcasing next season’s collection. Speaking at the event, style director Belinda Earl said the 2015 spring/summer ranges, which will start hitting the stores as soon as February, [...]
Ocado’s Royal warehouse November 18, 2014 OCADO is to move into Segro’s new warehouse Origin at Park Royal, in west London, after signing up for 68,393 square feet of space. The online grocer, which joins other retailers such as John Lewis also moving to the site, said it would use the warehouse to deliver groceries in central London. It already has [...]
