City Moves for 08 May 2015 | Who’s switching jobs May 7, 2015 Cording Real Estate Group The real estate investment management firm has appointed Ewan Montgomery as director of investment in its London office. He joins from Aberdeen Asset Management, where he was a property fund director. Montgomery has also held roles at CBRE. Lloyds Banking Group Richard Jones has been appointed managing director for Black Horse [...]
Supermarket share: Rise of discounters Aldi and Lidl continues – although Sainsbury’s performs well May 6, 2015 Sales at discounters Aldi and Lidl grew 15 per cent and 10 per cent respectively in the past year, data published this morning shows. On the day Sainsbury's posted its first loss in 10 years, that's significant. More on this story: Sainsbury's reports its first loss in a decade The figures, published by Kantar Worldpanel, [...]
Poundland brings forward competition probe into 99p Stores deal May 6, 2015 Bargain store Poundland has bought forward a competition probe into its offer to buy rival 99p Stores for £55m. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) previously said the tie-up could create "a realistic prospect of less competition" in 80 local areas – and an additional 12 areas where they will be competitors in the near future. It said [...]
Greene King hit by drink-driving rules in Scotland May 5, 2015 Pub and restaurant group Greene King yesterday blamed recently tightened drink-driving laws in Scotland for flat sales. The company, whose brands include Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale, plus the Hungry Horse and Loch Fyne chains, reported just a 0.4 per cent increase in sales for the 51 weeks to 26 April, but said sales [...]
HSBC profits rise as investment banking rebounds May 5, 2015 The figures Britain's biggest bank beat analyst expectations this morning, posting profit before tax of $7bn (£4.6bn) for the first three months of 2015, up from $6.8bn (£4.5bn) a year earlier. Reported revenue came in at $15.9bn (£10.5bn) for the first quarter of 2015, broadly unchanged from the same time last year. It added that reported operating expenses [...]
Razor sharp: Will King talks moving on from King of Shaves, politics, a plan for Tesco and why we need Tinder for voting May 4, 2015 I came, I saw, I shaved, I died’ isn’t how I want to be remembered,” quips Will King. In 1993, he founded King of Shaves, the popular men’s toiletries brand. In frustration over the poor quality of his own products, he turned to his then-girlfriend’s bath oil for a smoother finish. The resulting businesses, including [...]
ECI Partners cycles off with Evans Cycles May 1, 2015 The 90-year-old bike shop Evans Cycles has been sold by former owners Active Private Equity to another private equity firm ECI Partners for an undisclosed sum. ECI Partners said it will hold a "significant majority stake" in Crawley-based bike chain, which has 56 stores and employs around 1,200 people. This will leave its management with the remaining minority stake. [...]
Virgin Money eats up mortgage market share as lending rises May 1, 2015 The figures Virgin Money delivered a rise in mortgage lending and ate up a larger chunk of market share during the first quarter, cementing its position as one of the UK's fastest growing challenger banks. The lender said it enjoyed a 34 per cent rise in gross mortgage lending to £1.6bn at a time when [...]
Saga investors rewarded with 4.1p dividend as insurer posts 9.6pc jump in pre-tax profit April 30, 2015 Specialist insurer Saga posted a 9.6 per cent jump in pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 January 2015, up to £195.5m from £178.3m the year before. The company, which targets the over-50 market, failed to live up to expectations when it listed on the London Stock Exchange in May last year. It floated [...]
Architects of the future: How young designers are taking on space constraints, the cost of living and technology April 30, 2015 As property prices continue to rise and land available for development dwindles, architects and designers are tasked with devising ways to recommission and re-purpose spaces to make them suitable for modern life. Five architects and designers under 40 explain how they are taking inspiration from these challenges, and how they see their industry changing in [...]