Thorntons’ share price collapses 25 per cent following profit warning December 23, 2014 Chocolate maker Thorntons has ended the year on a disappointing note, warning falling sales will hit the company's earnings for the full year. The company's share price slumped a whopping 25 per cent when the market opened. Thorntons announced its UK Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) division had faced "challenges" that hit sales performance in [...]
From Quindell and Gotham City to Uber and the LDTA – five of the biggest business battles to watch out for in 2015 December 22, 2014 Rival camps have banded together, the lines are drawn, battle armour is on and adrenaline is running high. All that's left for spectators to do is grab some popcorn and watch from the ringside. From rival estate agents, to a business targeted by a Batman styled US fund and an influx of tiny new banks [...]
Lastminute.com sold for £76m to Swiss travel firm December 16, 2014 TRAVEL site Lastminute.com, founded at the height of the dot.com boom in 1998, has been sold to Bravofly Rumbo Group in a £76m deal. The sale will see current owner, US-based Sabre, swallow a big loss, having bought the holiday site for £577m in 2005. Swiss company Bravofly made the winning bid yesterday, following a [...]
Autumn cooling for the capital’s housing market December 16, 2014 UK HOUSE price growth slowed in October, official figures revealed yesterday, with the cost of housing in London falling compared to earlier in the year. Prices in the capital were 1.9 per cent lower than in August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The average residential property in London still costs in excess of [...]
The war on drugs began 100 years ago today: Let’s hope it doesn’t last another century December 16, 2014 One hundred years ago today, President Woodrow Wilson approved the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, the US’s first national legislation designed to control the manufacture, import and supply of opium and cocaine. Francis Burton Harrison, a Democrat representative, did little more than give his name to the law. The heavy lifting was done by Dr Hamilton [...]
In charts: UK house price growth slows but first-time buyers still feel the pinch December 16, 2014 First-time buyers are paying 12 per cent more this year than at the same point last year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS revealed house prices were flirting with stagnation in October, when they increased just 0.1 per cent on a month-on-month basis. After yesterday’s data from Rightmove showed [...]
Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Bellway among 16 national house builders to sign up to government’s Starter Homes initiative December 15, 2014 Some of the UK's biggest property developers have signed up to a new government scheme designed to help first-time buyers get a foot on the ladder. Avant, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Bellway are among 16 house builders to have put their name to the scheme, which offers first-time buyers under the age of 40 [...]
David Cameron launches 20 per cent discount scheme for new homes December 14, 2014 David Cameron will today launch a starter home scheme for first-time buyers, offering a 20 per cent discount on newly-built properties. The policy, announced by the Prime Minister at the Conservative party conference earlier this year, was set to be a manifesto pledge, but is instead being unveiled six months earlier than planned. Buyers under [...]
Which London street is the most expensive to live on? Belgravia beats Kensington and Chelsea December 12, 2014 Grosvenor Crescent, near Buckingham Palace, has been named London's most expensive street to live on, according to new research by Lloyds Bank. Home buyers who want to live in one of the prestigious crescent's white Georgian townhouses will, on average, have to shell out a whopping £16.9m. It's located in high-end Belgravia, one of the wealthiest [...]
UK house price lull could be over as lending picks up December 11, 2014 The recent slowdown in house price growth may have already ended, a new set of data shows. House price growth accelerated to 11.3 per cent in November from 11 per cent in October, according to figures released today by LSL property services. The growth rates were lifted by London and the south east. “After a [...]