Tech set to help drive London’s rents up a fifth July 14, 2014 Tech-related firms are set to overtake financial services and insurance as London’s biggest employer for the first time in 2018, helping to drive residential rental values as more workers search for a place to live in the capital. According to research released by Savills yesterday, an extra 368,000 people will be working in London in [...]
Helical makes £37m of sales July 14, 2014 HELICAL BAR has pocketed £37m after completing a trio of sales that included the disposal of Guineas Shopping Centre in Newmarket. The property developer behind 200 Aldersgate in the City said yesterday it has sold the Suffolk shopping mall to Ignis Asset Management for £18.2m. The other two deals include the sale of its 53 [...]
Profits jump at Conviviality July 14, 2014 BARGAIN Booze’s owner Conviviality Retail yesterday posted a jump in profits in its first annual results as a listed company, although the closure of 61 loss-making stores hit sales. Pre-tax profits before exceptional items jumped 31.5 per cent to £9.3m while revenues were down 4.3 per cent to £355.7m after closures wiped £15.7m off sales. [...]
British Land wins second tenant at London’s Marble Arch House July 14, 2014 BRITISH Land said yesterday it has secured its second letting at Marble Arch House in the West End after signing a deal with an industrials group owned by the Ukrainian-born US tycoon Len Blavatnik. Access Industries, which also operates from New York and Moscow, has signed a ten-year lease for all 4,500 square feet on [...]
Ashley’s Sports Direct plans on Australia launch July 14, 2014 Sports Direct is set to make its first foray into Australia through a tie-up with MySale after buying a stake in the flash sales site last month. The sports retail giant, controlled by billionaire tycoon Mike Ashley, plans to open three stores in Australia and one in New Zealand through a joint venture with MySale. [...]
Family Building Society pledges to support young homebuyers July 14, 2014 A new building society that aims to help young adults onto the property ladder by allowing family members to share the financial burden has launched today. The Family Building Society, an offshoot of the National Counties Building Society, joins a growing list of lenders and “challenger banks” looking to take on the traditional high street [...]
Grocery website Farmdrop uses crowdfunding to raise £400,000 July 14, 2014 A company that aims to link local food producers with consumers by tapping into the soaring popularity of click and collect is seeking to raise £400,000 using the crowdfunding site Crowdcube. Farmdrop is an online platform set up last year that allows shoppers to buy directly from producers, such as fishermen or bakers, and collect [...]
Lindt in talks to buy American chocolate-maker Russell Stover July 14, 2014 Swiss chocolate-maker Lindt & Spruengli is said to be in advanced talks to buy Russell Stover, the US family-owned confectionary group. Russell Stover is America’s largest maker of boxed chocolates through its three main brands Russell Stover, Whitman’s, and Pangburn’s. The Ward family, which bought the company from its founders in 1960, has hired Goldman [...]
Burberry hopes to avert a pay row with forecast-beating sales July 10, 2014 Luxury goods group Burberry yesterday appeased investor concerns over its chief executive’s pay after posting bigger than expected rise in first quarter sales. Retail sales jumped 17 per cent to £370m in Christopher Bailey’s first three months at the helm, beating analyst forecasts for around £350m. Like-for-like sales were 12 per cent up from the [...]
Christopher Bailey: The Yorkshireman filling Burberry’s boots July 10, 2014 There was a big elephant in the room – or rather on the line – when reporters dialled into the Burberry first quarter conference call yesterday. The luxury group’s new chief executive Christopher Bailey was conspicuously absent, as he was in May during the preliminary results call, leaving finance chief Carol Fairweather to lead the [...]
