London still outperforms the rest of the country June 28, 2012 Q What is happening to London prices at the moment? A London property continues to outperform the rest of the UK market. The latest official data showed that average house prices across the capital are up 5.1 per cent year on year, compared to a one per cent fall across England and Wales. The average [...]
Mortgage loans rebound from collapse in April June 21, 2012 MORTGAGE lending jumped sharply in May, rebounding from a weak figure in April and showing solid growth on the year, according to industry data published yesterday. However, analysts warned the overall level of lending is still well below that seen in the pre-crisis years, and said banks are facing regulatory pressures holding back the market. [...]
KKR CASHES IN AS BOOTS SOLD IN $16BN PLAN June 19, 2012 PRIVATE equity firm KKR yesterday confounded its critics by pulling off a deal to sell 45 per cent of pharmaceutical giant Alliance Boots to US firm Walgreens for an initial $6.7bn (£4.3bn). In three years Walgreens will have the option to complete the takeover and buy the remaining 55 per cent stake. The deal will create [...]
London’s housing boom keeps driving national price growth June 19, 2012 House prices in London and the south east rose quickly in the year to April 2012, contrasting starkly with stagnation or even deflation elsewhere, according to official data published yesterday. An increase of 4.9 per cent in the average London house price, to £388,000, and a 2.1 per cent rise in the south east, drove [...]
London needs a successful IPO of Direct Line Group June 18, 2012 WITH the future of Greece and perhaps the entire Eurozone hanging in the balance, now is probably not the best time to look towards a big initial public offering in the London market. IPOs themselves have had a dismal few weeks, what with Graff Diamonds postponing its listing in Hong Kong (the doubts over the [...]
Mortgage woes grow for older house owners June 18, 2012 THE NUMBER of over-60s struggling to keep up with mortgage payments is on the rise, a leading counselling group said this morning, while separate figures show that people hoping to buy a home are being squeezed out of the property market. Among people who have a mortgage, an inability to keep up with payments is [...]
Everything Everywhere faces a takeover bid from its ex-chief June 17, 2012 EVERYTHING Everywhere is the target of a private equity takeover bid fronted by its former chief executive Tom Alexander. Private equity firms KKR and Apax are understood to have put forward a collective £3bn to buy the British telecoms company – a hybrid of Orange and T-Mobile, the UK brands of France Telecom and Deutsche [...]
Housebuilder Bellway enjoys strong sales June 8, 2012 Housebuilder Bellway announced today that it had enjoyed a “resilient” spring selling season, with visitor levels and reservation rates having surpassed expectations. This successful period meant that Bellway’s target set at the beginning of the financial year of achieving 5 per cent volume growth is now “secure”. Reservations increased following the introduction of government scheme [...]
House prices weak as low sales volumes leave market volatile June 7, 2012 HOUSE prices rose in May, figures from Halifax showed yesterday, but remain volatile due to the moribund sales pace in the weak market. Prices rose 0.5 per cent in May, following April’s 2.3 per cent drop and March’s 2.2 per cent jump – volatility driven by the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers which [...]
FTSE jumps as Chinese rate cut and UK services stats hearten traders June 7, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares hit a three-week high yesterday as China’s surprise move to cut interest rates and firm UK services sector data boosted investors’ appetite for risk, although charts signalled strong resistance on the way up. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comments that her country stood ready to use the existing instruments already created in the [...]