WeWork could move into Debenhams on Oxford Street as retailers seek solutions for excess space March 7, 2018 Debenhams is in talks to rent out space in its Oxford Street flagship store to co-working space provider WeWork, it has emerged. The retailer has put out feelers to find occupants for excess space in its large stores, according to Bloomberg. WeWork has become London’s biggest occupier of office space after rapid expansion in the [...]
Focus On Victoria: A £4bn investment has completely changed the area from dowdy offices to shiny penthouses and hip restaurants March 5, 2018 If the Queen’s getting a £369m refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, it seems only fair that the neighbourhood surrounding it should get a polish, too. £4bn should just about cover it, and that’s how much has been invested in the area by developer Land Securities over the last five years. Around £700m of that has gone [...]
Done deal: Tesco completes £3.7bn acquisition of Booker Group March 5, 2018 Tesco today completed its acquisition of Booker Group, creating the leading food group in the UK. The £3.7bn deal was given court approval on Friday after shareholders voted it through last week. Booker Group's shares have been de-listed from the London Stock Exchange. Each share has been exchanged for 42.5p in cash, and 0.861 new [...]
Done deal: Tesco completes £3.7bn acquisition of Booker Group | City A.M. March 5, 2018 Tesco today completed its acquisition of Booker Group, creating the leading food group in the UK. The £3.7bn deal was given court approval on Friday after shareholders voted it through last week. Booker Group’s shares have been de-listed from the London Stock Exchange. Each share has been exchanged for 42.5p in cash, and 0.861 new [...]
The Crown Prince’s UK trip shows Saudi means business March 5, 2018 The arrival of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week presents a unique opportunity for our two countries to usher in a new era of trade and investment. Relations between these nations have considerable history. Saudi Arabia and Britain have enjoyed a close friendship dating back 100 years. What makes the timing of Prince [...]
Provident Financial share surge makes it “a proper short again” as hedge funds sense a fresh opportunity March 4, 2018 Hedge funds have upped bets against Provident Financial, hoping to capitalise on any negative reaction to the sub-prime lender’s recent share price surge. Provident’s market value leapt over 70 per cent on Tuesday. While soaring to around 1,000p a share, its stock market value remains less than a third of what it was a year [...]
Last Week in the City: Trump threatens trade war March 2, 2018 This week US President Donald Trump threatened a trade war, a number of famous high street names, including Toys R Us and Maplin, got into serious trading trouble and upbeat assessments of the US economy from central bankers helped the US dollar to rally, reversing its recent trend. The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent [...]
Property gloom is not really justified February 28, 2018 The amount of construction going on in the City of London makes the British capital look like a boomtown. Yet, following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, the market has been distinctly downbeat on the value of London office space and the share prices of London-listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) has collapsed. [...]
Pious attacks on the finance sector are socially destructive February 28, 2018 Attacks on the financial sector are commonplace. The Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Jeremy Corbyn have all been critical of modern finance while demanding a financial sector that serves the “real economy”. Of course, religion and finance have always been uncomfortable bedfellows, and the extreme left now has a clear preference for a centrally [...]
Disruption is everywhere – but so are the investment opportunities February 27, 2018 I’m not usually a subscriber to “this time it’s different”, but when it comes to the emerging disruption in so many industries, “this time it’s more than average” doesn’t really seem to cut it. This time I have a feeling it really may be different, because today’s disruptions are everywhere, and that means that there [...]