Housebuilder Redrow posts record profits September 2, 2014 REDROW posted record sales and profits yesterday after government measures designed to stimulate the housing market boosted the firm’s number of completions last year by 27 per cent. The Flintshire-based housebuilder said it completed 3,597 sales in the 12 months to 30 June, compared with 2,827 the previous year thanks to the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme, [...]
Hello, hello, hello. Who will buy London’s New Scotland Yard for £250m? September 2, 2014 New Scotland Yard has been put up for sale with a price tag of £250m in the biggest shake up of the Metropolitan Police’s estate in more than 50 years. The 1960s office block in Victoria is being sold by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) as part of a strategy to sell [...]
Hammerson sells Mayfair HQ for £54m September 2, 2014 Hammerson has sold off its last remaining office building as part of a strategy set out two years ago to focus solely on retail property in the UK and France. The FTSE 100-listed company announced yesterday that it had sold its 50 per cent stake in 10 Grosvenor Street in Mayfair to its joint venture [...]
Conran feasts on profits from restaurant sale August 31, 2014 CONRAN Holdings, the design empire founded by Sir Terence Conran, has made a return to profit after selling its restaurant business last year. The company behind The Conran Shop and the design consultancy Conran & Partners, made a £6.4m profit from selling its 51 per cent stake in in D&D London, whose sites include Coq [...]
Iceland makes return to public markets after £950m refinancing August 31, 2014 ICELAND is set to report its first quarterly trading update to bondholders this month after completing a £950m refinancing that saw the frozen foods retailer return to the public markets for the first time in almost a decade. The grocer, which runs 833 stores and franchises in UK and Europe, placed £950m of high yield [...]
Emaar to launch biggest listing in Dubai since financial crisis August 31, 2014 THE OWNER of the world’s largest shopping centre is to float in Dubai next month in what would be one of the largest equity sales in the Middle East since the financial crisis. Emaar Properties said yesterday that it expects to launch an initial public offer of at least 15 per cent of its shopping [...]
Ocado share price slumps as City analyst slashes forecast August 28, 2014 Shares in Ocado tumbled 19 per cent yesterday after equities broker Redburn Partners took a knife to its forecasts and claimed the online grocer’s technology was less valuable than previously thought. Redburn’s retail analyst James Tracey downgraded the company from “buy” to “sell” and cut its 2015 earnings forecast by 57 per cent to £17.1m [...]
Bovis Homes, Direct Line and Pandora change guard at the top August 28, 2014 THERE was a changing of the guard yesterday as three high profile City figures made their move at Pandora Bovis Homes and Direct Line. The Danish jewellery designer announced that Allan Leighton would be stepping down as chief executive after a year at the helm. Anders Colding Friis, the chief of Scandinavian Tobacco Group, will [...]
End of student cap helps fill up rooms at Unite as universities prepare for surge August 28, 2014 Government measures to remove the cap on the number of students universities can admit has helped boost room reservations and lift rental growth at student digs provider Unite. A record 500,000 students are expected to start university next month after changes announced in last year’s Autumn Statement meant universities were able to admit an extra [...]
Snoozebox signs deal to provide pop-up hotels at 2018 World Cup August 28, 2014 Snoozebox said yesterday it had struck a deal to supply Saransk in Russia with pop-up hotels for fans attending the 2018 World Cup. The operator of portable hotels at events such as the British Grand Prix confirmed it had signed a preliminary agreement with organisers at the host city and said “a feasibility study and [...]
