Ocado June 20, 2010 THE former Goldman bankers behind Ocado certainly have chutzpah. Trying to reach a £1bn valuation in a flotation is a tall order for pretty much any firm in these times; to do so without having turned a single penny of profit is nothing short of brazen. Ocado’s product is top-drawer in many respects, there’s no [...]
The bike and car parts retailer who wants to own Britain on the move June 20, 2010 Halfords and its chief executive David Wild are having a good recession. Earlier this month, the bikes and car maintenance retail chain posted a strong set of full-year figures: pre-tax profits rose 42 per cent to £110m, while sales rose three per cent to £832m. The FTSE 250 business said the trend for healthy living [...]
Get more bang for your buck in green, spacious Hackney June 17, 2010 THERE aren’t many areas of London where less than a million pounds can get you an original Victorian house with four bedrooms, close access to three parks, independent shops and a commute under 20 minutes. In London Fields, however, the asking price for such a lifestyle is often no more than £800,000. Despite its trendy [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES SONY COMMITMENT BOOSTS GAMES SECTOR Sony, one of the largest computer games developers in the UK, has committed to remaining in the country in a boost to a sector hit by an exodus to lower-cost countries. The Japanese maker of PlayStation, which has its European game design headquarters in Liverpool, is to receive [...]
Honeypot homes are luring buyers up to Stanmore June 10, 2010 STEPPING off the end of a Tube line seems like entering a vacuum to most Londoners. One imagines a tangle of motorways, perhaps. Some cows. A few car parks. Visitors to Stanmore might be surprised. Stanmore is a place whose name anyone who regularly rides the Jubilee line will have heard, but the town is [...]
Leahy checks out of the top job at Tesco June 8, 2010 TESCO shocked the City yesterday by announcing that boss Sir Terry Leahy would retire in March. Sir Terry has led the chain for 14 years, overseeing its rise to become the UK’s leading supermarket group and will be replaced by international and IT director Philip Clarke. The chief executive, who will be 55 when he [...]
Choosing the right lender is crucial in a tough market June 3, 2010 HOUSES are selling like hotcakes thanks to fierce competition among buyers. The latest monthly survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed that houses are shifting quicker than new ones could come on to the market, despite the number of new sellers increasing. Even the dreaded gazumping is back. In such a market, [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS May 27, 2010 MORTGAGES FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS The Yorkshire Building Society this week launched a new range of mortgages for first time buyers. The products have no up-front product fees and £500 cashback. You can also borrow up to 85 per cent of the value of the property. Borrowers will also get a free standard valuation and free [...]
Belle Epoque style enters the 21 century May 27, 2010 AT the turn of the last century a visit to the imposing Mont Pelerine Palace in the Swiss Alps was a favourite pastime among wealthy travellers. They arrived by train to the quiet commune of Chardonne before ascending by funicular to the elegant hotel, enjoying the famous local Charennes wine and mingling with New York [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 25, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG HINTS AT CURBS ON TARGETED WEB ADS Companies such as Google and Yahoo could face tougher scrutiny in the UK after the Office of Fair Trading said it could step in to regulate targeted advertising on the internet. The watchdog said that more needed to be done to ensure that consumer rights [...]