Focus on Notting Hill property: Prices may have fallen, but is it all down to stamp duty reform? May 19, 2016 Notting Hill hasn’t been having the best of weeks, if truth be told. On Tuesday, a report from estate agent Stirling Ackroyd revealed that average house prices had fallen in several prime central London locations. In W11, they’ve gone down by 10 per cent from the first quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of [...]
Enterprise Inns posts revenue growth and announces it will sell 22 commercial property sites in a £20m deal by mid-June May 17, 2016 The UK's largest pub company, Enterprise Inns, has made "good progress" in the first half of 2016 and is primed to sell 22 of its commercial sites in a £20m deal by mid-June. The figures Enterprise Inn's revenues nudged up by £3m in the first half of 2016, from £302m this time last year to [...]
London is still the world’s most luxurious property market while Auckland is the “hottest” city according to Christie’s International Real Estate May 12, 2016 This may come as little surprise, but London has retained its title as the world's most luxurious property market for the fourth year in a row, according to Christie's International Real Estate. The capital topped the list of 100 cities surveyed, beating Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles and Singapore to the real estate top [...]
Sainsbury’s beats forecasts on results, but profits and sales still slide as Mike Coupe warns of tough road ahead May 4, 2016 Sainsbury's share price fell this morning as full year profits came in ahead of analyst forecasts – but still show a hefty year-on-year decline as the price wars continue to take their toll. The figures The supermarket reported group sales of £25.8bn for the 12 months to 12 March – down 1.1 per cent on the same period last [...]
How Budget capital gains tax changes boosted attractiveness of startups to investors May 4, 2016 Changes to capital gains tax and entrepreneurs’ relief announced in the Budget have made startups and growing businesses more attractive investment prospects, a new survey of business leaders has found. Eight in 10 of the 1,224 Institute of Directors members quizzed in April over the changes said they would draw investment to entrepreneurial companies. Under the [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Clinton vs Trump – whose economic policy is better for markets? April 27, 2016 It is a momentous time in terms of geopolitics. A plethora of major events with potentially significant investment consequences will take place this year. They range from the Brexit hurricane in the UK, to tectonic shifts in the oil economy abroad. Even ostensibly local conflagrations, such as political deadlock in Brazil, may impact wider markets. But [...]
Brexit myths debunked: The Leave campaign shouldn’t fear arguing that leaving the EU would be good for the economy April 26, 2016 Conventional commentariat wisdom has it that the EU referendum pits those concerned about economics versus those concerned about immigration. But a quick perusal of the leading intellectual voices supporting Leave shows this is nonsense. Many have long thought the UK outside the EU would not only be more free and democratic, but more prosperous too. That’s [...]
ARM Holdings share price surges as it shakes off smartphone struggles with profit rise April 20, 2016 UK chip maker ARM has shaken off that smartphone slowdown with expectation-busting first quarter results. The figures Pre-tax profit surged 14 per cent to £137.5m in the three months to the end of March on revenues of £276.4m, a rise of 22 per cent and slightly ahead of expectation. It shipped 4.1bn chips, up 10 [...]
Sigma Capital profits rise ten-fold as push into private rental sector pays off April 19, 2016 Kuwaiti-backed property developer Sigma Capital has posted a jump in full-year profits after its push into the growing private rental sector (PRS) paid off. The Aim-listed company, which has offices in London, Manchester and Edinburgh, said revenues increased by 74 per cent to £6.72m last year while profit from operations rose 877 per cent from £1.63m to £1.82m. Profit before [...]
JD Sports’ share price climbs as it posts another set of record results as profits soar April 14, 2016 JD Sports Fashion is showing rival Sports Direct how to do it: sales and profit have soared to record highs in the full year, with pre-tax profits leaping 45 per cent. The figures Sales at the group rose 20 per cent to £1.8bn in the year to 31 January, while profit before tax jumped to [...]