As SoftBank swoops for Arm Holdings – is the weak sterling making British firms more attractive to foreign buyers? July 18, 2016 The deal between Japan's SoftBank and London-listed Arm Holdings announced this morning could be just the first of many foreign transactions kicked off by the recent referendum. SoftBank's £24.3bn swoop for Arm, which is said to be the biggest ever technology acquisition in Europe, was probably helped by the fact that sterling is significantly weaker in [...]
British Land says investors will be cautious after the Brexit vote July 18, 2016 FTSE 100-listed commercial property giant British Land said this morning it expects investors and occupiers to take a cautious approach to property in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. The figures Since the EU referendum vote, British Land has secured the sale of Debenhams' Oxford Street store for £400m and the company has made 17 long-term retail leases totaling 58,000 sq ft, for [...]
Irvine Sellar’s £1bn “Shard of West London” skyscraper just lost 51 storeys – it’s now the Cube of West London July 15, 2016 Remember the so-called "Shard of West London", the £1bn, 65-storey tower in Paddington planned by Shard developer Irvine Sellar? That's just received a bit of a downgrade, after the company behind it unveiled new plans for an office block – which is 51 storeys smaller. The newly-styled, 14-storey Paddington Cube, on the site of a former Royal Mail [...]
Why Brexit will be no problem for London’s IPO market in the long term July 15, 2016 The UK has a new captain. In the immediate aftermath of the referendum vote David Cameron said he was not the captain to steer the ship. In among the volatility in the markets and with sterling, some said HMS UK was listing. Many also thought it meant the backlog of IPOs, which had been held [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 gives up its gains after Bank of England puts rate rise on hold until August July 14, 2016 The Bank of England dashed market hopes of a further rate cut for at least another month today, sending the FTSE 100 off its 11-month highs. Having rallied to a peak of 6,743.42 before the Bank of England's decision, the FTSE 100 crashed to earth, closing down 0.2 per cent at 6,654.47 points. Most analysts thought the Bank would [...]
OurCrowd’s Jon Medved gives his tips for crowdfunding investors July 14, 2016 Israel deserves its moniker “startup nation”. There are 3,000 tech-related startups based in and around Tel Aviv alone, and over $6bn flows into the country each year through exits, according to the IVC Research Centre. And this makes it ripe for the picking for equity crowdfunding and VC firms looking for strong deal flow to [...]
Yoga brand lululemon is opening a flagship store on Regent Street July 13, 2016 Yoga apparel retailer lululemon is opening a 8,200 sq ft store in Regent Street. The store at 187-189 Regent Street will be the European flagship for the Canadian lifestyle brand, and lululemon is letting the space from The Crown Estate, which owns all of Regent Street and much of St James's. Read more: Music trade body moves into [...]
Playtech plays ball with rival Best Gaming Technology July 13, 2016 Playtech has taken a punt on rival operator Best Gaming Technology (BGT) as it strives to digitise. Playtech said today that it had bought 90 per cent of BGT for €138m (£114.8m), with the option to buy the firm's remaining shares at a later date. It comes eight months after firm, which was founded by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, was [...]
Magazine Marie Claire is opening a beauty shop in Tottenham Court Walk July 13, 2016 Women's monthly Marie Claire is opening a beauty shop in central London, using its magazine brand to make a mark on the UK high street. Marie Claire is teaming up with Ocacdo – which will provide delivery for online orders – to create and online and physical retail business, "Fabled by Marie Clare". The flagship store in Tottenham [...]
Pay row: M&S accused of threatening to sack staff who reject new contracts July 12, 2016 Marks & Spencer has become embroiled in a dispute over staff pay as it grapples with a sales slide in its clothing division. Chief executive Steve Rowe told shareholders at yesterday's AGM that the retailer faces "tough decisions" in the coming months. M&S is consulting staff over the axing of premium pay on Sundays, and cuts [...]