Grainger sales fall as it reshapes debt February 9, 2011 LANDLORD Grainer yesterday said its sales pipeline has dropped £20m year-on-year, and that it has taken steps to streamline its debt with a £100m facility with M&G Investments, an arm of Prudential. FTSE 250 member Grainger, the UK’s largest listed housing landlord, yesterday said that sales between October and January dropped 32 per cent by [...]
Quintain set to raise £2bn for property fund February 9, 2011 PROPERTY investor Quintain said it has made progress towards creating a new income-generating fund yesterday, and is on target to meet this year’s £1.25bn funds under management goal. The FTSE-listed firm’s plans to ramp up funds under management to £2bn by 2013 remain on track, and will focus on healthcare, student accommodation and science parks, [...]
BOOTS HEAD OFFICE UP FOR SALE February 9, 2011 TWO Irish property owners have put their prized buildings on Oxford Street on the market in a sale set to raise around £250m. A syndicate of Irish investors is selling the 145-year leasehold for Sedley Place, home to the Boots head office, for around £80m, with CBRE acting as agent. Family-owned Cosgrave Property is also [...]
Size matters: Smaller firms can still make large profits February 9, 2011 THE government is hoping to cast a spell over the banking sector with its Merlin deal with the banks. The growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) is thought to be vitally necessary to economic recovery, and getting the banks to lend to them necessary to promote their growth. Smaller companies usually lead economies [...]
Smartphone sales rocket as Apple bites February 9, 2011 GLOBAL smartphone sales grew an astonishing 72 per cent, with next-generation handsets now making up almost a fifth of receipts, according to new research by Gartner. BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) and Apple crept ahead of industry stalwarts Sony Ericsson and Motorola in total phone sales, with both claiming close to three per cent of [...]
Sipp at the cup of flexible savings February 9, 2011 A GROWING band of investors are taking the reins of their retirement planning, and are stashing their cash into self-invested personal pensions (Sipp). Forthcoming changes to pension rules, as well as the advent of auto-enrolment for lower-earners, will increasingly see people take control of their pension prospects, according to experts. “These [moves] are likely to [...]
Slow circulation offset by ads at publisher Future February 9, 2011 PUBLISHER Future said yesterday its first quarter revenues were largely in line with expectations after growth in commercial revenues compensated for pressure in circulation. Circulation revenue in the quarter fell four per cent while advertising revenue grew by seven per cent, driven by digital improvements.
Telecity sees massive rise in pre-tax profits February 9, 2011 Telecity reported a 45 per cent rise in pre-tax profit for 2010, driven by investment in new capacity. The group, which operates 24 data centres across Europe, said pre-tax profit rose to £51.4m compared to £35.4m a year ago.
DMGT revenue is up despite local slump February 9, 2011 Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) saw its revenue rise five per cent after its business to business (B2B) operations outweighed another sluggish quarter for local advertising. The results were in line with forecasts but its shares dipped almost three per cent to 577p. Advertising revenue at the group’s national titles rose six per cent [...]
Warning: new pension rules ahead February 9, 2011 SWEEPING changes to pensions are in the offing, with high earners being among the most affected. As always, there are winners and losers. “For some the new rules are an opportunity, whilst for others these impose further restrictions,” says Andrew James, advice policy manager at wealth adviser Towry. Since April 2009, people earning more than [...]
