Philip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group ends business with House of Fraser September 5, 2018 The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group has ended business with House of Fraser due to lack of confidence in the business's future. The company, owned by retail tycoon Philip Day, said it had not been able to agree future trading terms with new owners Sports direct. Concessions for EWM's brands including Jaeger and Jacques Vert closed [...]
House of Fraser administrator faces complaint over Sports Direct sale September 3, 2018 House of Fraser's administrator is facing a complaint over its handling of the department store's collapse and sale to Sports Direct. In a letter seen by City A.M., businessman Paul Mckie claimed he was told by Ernst & Young on the morning of the administration that the firm had not been appointed. The official complaint, [...]
UK house prices suffered their biggest drop month-on-month since 2012 in August August 31, 2018 In August UK house prices suffered their greatest month-on-month fall since July 2012, according to new data released today. Building society Nationwide's house price index showed prices fell by half a per cent in August, as annual house price growth slowed to two per cent. The average price of a house slipped to £214,745 in [...]
City Moves for 31 August 2018 – who’s switching jobs at Reward Gateway, Vannin Capital, Helical and EY? August 31, 2018 Today's City Moves cover HR, legal finance, property and financial services. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Reward Gateway Elli Morii, a leading global finance executive has joined HR technology and employee engagement specialist, Reward Gateway, as its new chief financial officer. Elli, who is based in London, joins Reward Gateway to lead [...]
Mortgage approvals sink back down as housing activity grows thin August 30, 2018 Mortgage approvals suffered a renewed dip in July, underlining fears of stagnant activity levels throughout the UK’s housing market. Last month approvals for house purchases edged down to 65,000, bucking a slow rise to a five-month high in June, according to new bank of England (BoE) statistics. Remortgaging approvals also dropped 5.5 per cent to 45,000 [...]
Mortgage approvals drop as housing activity slump shows little sign of picking up August 24, 2018 Mortgage lending dipped in July, despite an uptick in homeowners seeking cheaper interest rates ahead of the Bank of England rate rise earlier this month. Approvals for mortgages fell 4.3 per cent year-on-year in July, having risen to a nine-month high in June, in a fresh sign that housing activity in the UK's property market [...]
House of Fraser owed millions to major brands before collapse August 18, 2018 House of Fraser racked up debts of almost £500m in the run-up to its collapse, owing major designer brands such as Gucci, Armani and Mulberry. Administrators Ernst & Young (EY) have reported that the chain’s creditors are owed sums totalling hundreds of millions of pounds, with more than 1,000 suppliers set to be out of [...]
House of Fraser could have been sold for £1, EY letter reveals August 17, 2018 Beleaguered department store House of Fraser could have been sold for just £1 ahead of its acquisition by billionaire Mike Ashley's Sports Direct brand, administrators EY revealed today. The retailer saw a £14.6m drop in profits in the 13 weeks to the end of April, four months before it entered administration. Turnover also declined 7.7 per cent [...]
House prices in the capital sink to lowest level since financial crisis August 15, 2018 London house prices have fallen at their fastest annual rate since the financial crisis, dragging the UK property market down to its lowest levels of growth in five years. House prices in London tumbled 0.7 per cent in the year to June 2018, marking the sharpest decline in annual growth since a 3.2 per cent [...]
Mike Ashley is now the high street’s emperor August 12, 2018 Events around House of Fraser moved so fast on Friday morning that people could have left their house to the news that the retailer had collapsed into administration and would have got to work in time to hear it had been rescued. Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct swooped to the department store’s aid, paying £90m for [...]