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 [...]
The subprime mortgage crisis isn’t over – UK taxpayers remain liable June 7, 2012 THE subprime mortgage crisis isn’t over. On the back of misguided government policies, taxpayers in the US and UK remain on the hook for huge sums. The ideology of affordable housing must end. It took just 13 years to destroy the American mortgage market with devastating effects for the rest of the world. The process began [...]
House price rise 0.5pc in May June 7, 2012 House prices rose by 0.5 per cent in May, rebounding from a 2.3 per cent decline in April, but prices were still slightly lower on the year, figures from mortgage lender Halifax showed on Thursday. The Halifax house price index showed house prices were 0.1 per cent down in the three months to May compared [...]
Profit of £4m suits sellers of Moss Bros stake May 29, 2012 A TRUST headed by menswear chief Simon Berwin yesterday sold its stake in Moss Bros – the once ailing suit hire firm formerly owned by Sir Philip Green. The investment consortium landed a £4m profit, selling its 28 per cent stake for 43p a share, compared to a purchase price of just below 29p when [...]
Kia’s new Cee’d cuts quite a dash May 29, 2012 The first thing you’ll notice with this car is its styling. It’s a product from Kia, a car brand that used only to attract the most rational of buyers: one that excelled at value, rather than glamour. Their cars only appealed to drivers who were focused on budget, rather than image. But its latest Cee’d [...]