London Report: Mortgage lending down but price of houses still rising June 29, 2014 MORTGAGE approval numbers are expected to fall to a 10-month low of 62,000 for May, after the introduction of tough new rules in the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) in April. Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said: “This would be down from 62,918 in April, 66,563 in March and a 74-month high of 75,838 in [...]
Bottom Line: Swann’s SSP could prosper in City’s search for quality June 16, 2014 THERE was a telling comment last week during a session held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain examining initial public offerings. “We’re going to go through a rather different period now,” EY’s Richard Hall, a veteran of last year’s bumper Royal Mail float, told an audience of private equity investors. “There are still some [...]
How B&M Retail IPO nearly beat Prada June 12, 2014 A budget department store founded by a shopkeeper in Blackpool during the late 1970’s has today become the biggest retailer to come to the stock market since fashion house Prada three years ago. According to fresh figures released this afternoon B&M Retail, which started life in the seaside resort in 1978, raised £1.1bn ($1.8bn) in [...]
How this UK discount retailer nearly beat Prada June 12, 2014 A budget department store founded by a shopkeeper in Blackpool during the late 1970’s has today become the biggest retailer to come to the stock market since fashion house Prada three years ago. According to fresh figures released this afternoon B&M Retail, which started life in the seaside resort in 1978, raised £1.1bn ($1.8bn) in [...]
Short sellers in dash to bet on Saga share price fall June 9, 2014 HEDGE funds are queuing up to bet on a further fall in the share price of newly-floated companies like Saga and AO World amid renewed scepticism in the new issues market, statistics show. Short sellers, who borrow shares from other investors to make gains when the price falls, currently have close to one per cent [...]
Best of the Brokers for 06 June 2014 June 5, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com POUNDLAND JP Morgan, which last month won the joint broking mandate for Poundland, has upgraded the retailer from “neutral” to “overweight” with an unchanged price target of 377p. The broker thinks the effects on Poundland of Tesco’s pound aisle trial are likely to [...]
Canaccord on top after IPOs June 4, 2014 BROKERAGE and advisory Canaccord Genuity yesterday said fourth quarter profits had risen four-fold since a year ago thanks to “exceptional” UK and US performance. The Canadian company, which has a strong brokerage presence in London, said net income rose to C$25.9m (£14.1m) from C$6.42m for the three months ending March. In London, the company has [...]
FTSE reshuffle promotes UK’s new listed firms June 3, 2014 SIX NEWLY-LISTED companies,including Just Eat and AO World, are set to join the ranks of the FTSE 250 index as part of the index’s quarterly reshuffle. The overhaul is a sign of the radical reshaping of the investment landscape sparked by this year’s stock market stampede. The two stocks will join Pets at Home, Poundland, [...]
Rival to estate agents launched June 2, 2014 The founders of Poundland and Match.com launched an estate agency firm yesterday that aims to challenge its high street rivals by replacing commission rates with a fixed fee. Steve Smith and Darren Richards said they plan to expand EstatesDirect.com across the UK after piloting the business since 2012 in Worcestershire, where it has sold and [...]
Saga nudges past issue price on its first day May 29, 2014 Over-50s insurance-to-holiday provider Saga yesterday joined a small band of newly floated firms trading above their issuance stock price, as it began trading in London. The group, which was listed on the stock market at 185p, rose to 188p during the day but ended up barely above its initial price, closing at 185.25p. Saga, which [...]