Secret Escapes gets $60m Google Ventures backing for global expansion July 26, 2015 Deals website Secret Escapes has landed $60m (£39m) investment from Google's venture arm to fuel ambitious global expansion plans. The flash deals website set up in London in 2010 which offers luxury holidays at a discount has completed a series C round of funding led by Google Ventures and existing investor Octopus Investments. Index and [...]
Amazon Prime Day delivers as sales skyrocket July 23, 2015 ONLINE retail giant Amazon smashed expectations last night, revealing $23.2bn (£14.9bn) in sales during the three months to 30 June. Analysts had high hopes for Amazon’s sales, with forecasts of a 16 per cent jump, which the company managed to out-do, pushing revenue up by 20 per cent. The group returned to profit during the [...]
Surge for City spaces propels LandSec sales July 22, 2015 PROPERTY giant Land Securities said momentum continues to grow after logging strong annual results earlier this year, with healthy take-up in London, low vacancy rates and rising rental values. The FTSE 100 company yesterday said that of the 1.1m sq ft it had to rent in March, 22,000 sq ft had been let or was [...]
Houlihan Lokey buys boutique firm McQueen July 22, 2015 BOUTIQUE investment bank Houlihan Lokey has taken over London-based corporate advisory McQueen in a deal giving it a bigger presence in North America and London. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, will see McQueen’s 45 staff in London, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco merge into Houlihan Lokey’s consumer team. McQueen is [...]
Thameslink Railway under fire after catering staff sacked with just four days’ notice July 22, 2015 Thameslink Railway has come under fire for cancelling a catering contract as it takes on the Southern franchise, resulting in up to 70 job losses. The contract, with Rail Gourmet, is being axed on Saturday ahead of the transfer of Southern's rail franchise over to Thameslink on Monday morning (27 July). Thameslink is thought [...]
Tower Hamlets rejects British Land’s major Shoreditch Estate development in Norton Folgate July 22, 2015 Tower Hamlets has rejected planning permission for a major new development put forward by British Land. The council threw out proposals for the Norton Folgate scheme, otherwise known as the Shoreditch Estate, during last night's strategic development committee. Had it been successful, the development would have comprised 320,000 sq ft of office, residential [...]
Seabrook Crisps snapped up in Lloyds buyout July 20, 2015 BRADFORD-BASED Seabrook Crisps has been sold to Lloyds Bank for £35m in a management buyout, after the family-owned manufacturer returned to growth with a post-tax profit of £1.3m last year. Seabrook, which employs 150 staff and produces 20m crisp packets per year, has been bought by its senior management and Lloyds’ buyout branch LDC. LDC [...]
Apax takes control of US-based insurance broker AssuredPartners July 20, 2015 Private equity group Apax has snapped up fast growing US insurance broker AssuredPartners. The broker, which was founded four years ago, was previously owned by buyout firm GTCR and is led by former Brown & Brown executive Jim Henderson. It is currently the sixth largest property and casualty broker in the US, and also has [...]
Sofa so good: Made.com bags £40m from Partech Ventures and Fidelity Growth Partners July 20, 2015 Online retailer Made.com, which sells plush furniture at cheaper prices than on the high street, has bagged millions of pounds in new investment to fuel growth. The five-year-old company, co-founded by Brent Hoberman of Lastminute.com fame, has picked up a new round of investment totalling £38m led by Partech Growth Fund, along with Fidelity Growth [...]
British Land confirms dividend after strong performances across the Cheesegrater, Broadgate and Facebook’s new Euston Road premises July 20, 2015 The Cheesegrater, Broadgate and Facebook's new Euston Road premises have contributed to a solid first quarter performance at British Land. The figures The landlord reported strong occupational demand, with lettings well ahead of estimated rental value. In total during the three months the group agreed 129,000 sq ft of retail lettings or renewals, and [...]