Hammerson to start on office tower in April November 8, 2011 ANGLO-FRENCH property developer Hammerson plans to begin construction on its £485m Principal Place office scheme in April next year after the group said it expected to sign its first pre-let deal before Christmas. Hammerson said yesterday negotiations are progressing with law firm CMS Cameron McKenna to take up one-third of the 600,000 square feet of [...]
M&S predicts shoppers will flock at Xmas November 8, 2011 MARKS & SPENCER yesterday revealed a fall in first half profits after it chose not to pass on the full extent of spiralling costs to cash-strapped shoppers and battled with a “challenging” economic environment. Britain’s biggest clothing retailer reported underlying pre-tax profits of £315.2m in the six months to 1 October, 10 per cent lower [...]
Squeezed households to cut back on Christmas November 8, 2011 WITH experts increasingly predicting tougher economic times ahead now seems a good time to look at the public’s economic confidence from YouGov’s HEAT report. The October results show confidence about household finances remaining very low with 46 per cent expecting theirs to be worse in 12 months versus 15 per cent expecting an improvement. This [...]
FIT IN THE CITY November 8, 2011 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT IN an attempt to get us all to move more, Olympic equipment provider TechnoGym has joined forces with Team GB in the Our Greatest Team campaign – part of the 2012 project that aims to bridge the gap between those elite athletes and us mere mortals, and so to create a [...]
M&S profits fall by 10pc November 8, 2011 Marks & Spencer posted a 10 per cent drop in first-half profit after second-quarter underlying sales fell for the first time in two years, underscoring the pressure on UK consumers. The 127-year-old group, Britain’s biggest clothing retailer which also sells homewares and upmarket food, said on Tuesday it made a profit before tax and one-off [...]
Gloom on the high street as sales drop November 7, 2011 A WEAK end to the year looms for British shops, after consumer spending dropped in October. Spending was down 0.9 per cent last month compared to September, according to a report published this morning by Visa. Compared to October 2010, spending on Visa cards plummeted by 1.9 per cent. And retailers fear a bleak Christmas [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL RETAILERS SEE LOWER SALES THIS CHRISTMAS? November 7, 2011 PAUL CLAYTON | JRP UNDERWRITING “There must be a lot of pressure on people this Christmas, but personally this won’t affect what I buy. There is no doubt the retail industry is suffering, though.” PETER GODFREY | LLOYD’S OF LONDON “People will always try to find spare cash over Christmas, but with the state the [...]
Rentokil hit by slow City Link November 7, 2011 CLEANING and pest control firm Rentokil Initial missed third-quarter profit forecasts yesterday and said it was unsure if its struggling City Link delivery business would return to profit in its key Christmas period. Rentokil, which offers services from hiring work uniforms and tropical plants to catering and security, posted an adjusted pre-tax profit of £53.1m [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 7, 2011 TOP VIEWS AT REVAMPED BAR With 360-degree views across London, this bar is particularly stunning on a clear night over Oxford Street where you can see the Christmas lights. The revamped viewing gallery on the 33rd floor has extended its cocktail bar so you can enjoy well-crafted cocktails, such as the aged Barcardi 8 year [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GREEK BANKS ISSUE €6.4BN IN BONDS Three of Greece’s biggest banks have issued €6.4bn of government-guaranteed bonds likely to be used as security to obtain financing from central banks, a move that points to worsening market conditions amid talk of a disorderly Greek default. Alpha Bank, EFG and Piraeus on Friday issued the [...]