Pets at Home and new finance chief Graeme Jenkins part ways after Australia’s Wesfarmers admits to accounting errors at his former firm Target April 11, 2016 Pets at Home said that its incoming chief financial officer Graeme Jenkins will no longer be taking up the role after his former employer Wesfarmers this morning admitted to accounting errors at its Target Australia subsidiary where Jenkins was previously finance chief. The Australian conglomerate said that a probe into Target's accounting practices found that first-half profits at the department store had been falsely inflated by around [...]
Proptech: Aviva backs property tech start-up Opun with £3m funding April 11, 2016 An online property startup that helps homeowners find local contractors to repair their homes has secured £3m of funding from Aviva's new capital venture arm. Opun, which was founded two years ago by entrepreneurs Rod Brown and John Cushing, acts effectively like a broker by putting renters or landlords in touch with craftsmen in their area and [...]
Cranswick’s share price hops higher with £40m acquisition of East Anglian poultry farm April 11, 2016 Pork producer Cranswick has announced it is fattening up its operations with the acquisition of a family-owned poultry business for £40m, sending shares up by more than six per cent this morning. The FTSE 250-listed food producer, which supplies products ranging from sausages to pies to supermarkets such as Sainsbury's, said it has bought the entire issued share capital of CCL Holdings and [...]
Shiver me timbers: Architects propose plans for London’s first wooden skyscraper April 8, 2016 Forget steel and concrete. Wood is poised to take over as the construction material of the 21st century according to architects at the University of Cambridge and PLP Architecture, who have revealed plans for what London's first timber skyscraper could look like. Researchers at the university will today present London mayor Boris Johnson with conceptual [...]
London house prices: Here’s how living near a regeneration scheme can boost the value of your property April 8, 2016 Living close to a major regeneration scheme in the capital can boost the value of your property by an average of 4.7 per cent a year above the wider house price growth, research released today by CBRE has found. The property services giant has conducted a study across seven regeneration schemes in London and found [...]
Commercial property returns forecast to halve this year as slowing GDP growth and Brexit uncertainty bites April 7, 2016 Commercial property returns are forecast to halve this year, according to industry experts, as slowing GDP growth and Brexit uncertainty among other factors takes its toll on the market. Cluttons’ latest report on the outlook for the commercial property market predicts total returns will reach 6.5 per cent in 2016, which is less than half [...]
Dunelm’s share price jumps after bounce back in sales April 7, 2016 Dunelm shares rallied today after the out-of-town homeware giant posted a bounce back in sales in third quarter following a disappointing start to the year. The retailer grew sales by 5.9 per cent to £229m in the 13 weeks to 2 April, while like-for-like sales – including home delivery – increased by 1.1 per cent. That contrasted with the previous quarter, when Dunelm blamed the [...]
Roll up, roll up! Let’s play London office Monopoly April 7, 2016 Britain's looming EU referendum, the London mayoral election, the commercial stamp duty clampdown and other regulatory reforms as well as major infrastructure changes, such as Crossrail. These are just some of the factors that are making the dynamics influencing the London office market more complex than ever, according Bilfinger GVA. The real estate advisory firm has mocked up a Monopoly board [...]
Not your average kitchen: John Lewis launches smart home concept at Oxford Street flagship April 7, 2016 John Lewis has prepared for the day when homes will be crammed with Wallace and Gromit-style gadgets by launching an area dedicated to smart home technology in its Oxford Street flagship. The department store chain has today opened a 1,000 square feet space showcasing its most cutting edge range of futuristic inventions – from ovens that can controlled from your phone to smart [...]
