IHG seeks new bidders for its New York hotel November 6, 2012 INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels group said it is seeking new bids for its $300m (£187m) Barclay Hotel in Manhattan after exclusive talks with a prospective buyer, believed to be Qatari hotel owner Ghanim Bin Saad Al Saad, came to a halt. “We are still talking to the original interested party but we have decided not to do [...]
Knight Frank says house prices may not return to peak till 2019 November 6, 2012 THE DOWNWARD correction to house prices gathered pace in October, according to data out yesterday, while one estate agent today predicted prices would not reach their pre-recession peak until 2019. The UK’s average house price slid 0.7 per cent into October, according to the Halifax house price index, meaning prices are some 1.7 per cent [...]
BRC sees retail sales dip ahead of Christmas as food price inflation rises November 6, 2012 SHOP price inflation climbed in October, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed yesterday, as food prices boomed. Shop prices rose 1.5 per cent in the year to October, the data showed, up from the one per cent growth in the year to September. This increase was driven by a four per cent climb in food [...]
Car sales rocket up in booming October market November 6, 2012 NEW CAR registrations defied European gloom to soar upwards in October, data showed yesterday, adding to the picture of strength in the 2012 UK market. Consumers registered some 151,252 cars in October, an automobile industry body said, up 12.1 per cent on that month in 2011. This latest rise means total sales so far in [...]
Plan to let state pension funds pump more into infrastructure November 6, 2012 TENS OF BILLIONS of pounds in workers’ savings could be invested in infrastructure projects under new proposals announced yesterday by communities minister Eric Pickles. Businesses and the pensions industry welcomed the move, arguing that freeing up the funds’ investment opportunities should boost the economy in the long run. Current rules limit the amount the local [...]
Have you bought a car over the last year? November 6, 2012 GARY MIDDLETON LOTHBURY FINANCIAL SERVICES Yes I did buy a car – but it was a used vehicle, so it wouldn’t have affected the figures. ABBY VANN RIGHT MANAGEMENT No, I don’t need a car to get around as I live in London – I can just use the trains. The public transport in the city [...]
Royal London balances out mixed results November 6, 2012 ROYAL London Group, the biggest mutual life and pensions group in the UK, yesterday revealed flat new business growth for the year, with slower inflows for its fund managers offset by increased business for its pension and protection arms. The company, comprised of eight separate business, said total new life and pensions business flatlined at [...]
Tesco set for a Christmas tussle to win back customers November 6, 2012 TOWARDS the end of last year I discussed in this column how 2011 had seen Tesco’s brand perception scores fall throughout the year. As we would expect to see, perceptions proceeded sales. Tesco’s January announcement that its sales had dropped led to a sell-off that knocked around 100p from Tesco’s share price. This is a [...]
Advisers on track to be RDR-ready November 6, 2012 A majority of financial advisers are now compliant with the forthcoming Retail Distribution Review regulations coming into force in January, a survey out yesterday said. Insurer Aviva found two-thirds of advisers had already achieved qualifications to make them RDR compliant. A further 46 per cent said that they would also obtain qualifications beyond statutory requirements. [...]
First Derivatives’ revenue boost November 6, 2012 Capital markets software provider First Derivatives yesterday posted a 23.3 per cent increase in revenues and 9.8 per cent increase in pre-tax profits after a bumper half year of contract wins. The Aim listed company, which also offers consulting services, increased turnover to £27.6m on the back of a 40 per cent increase in recurring [...]
