Ted Baker sales and profits driven up by strong performance in Europe and the US March 19, 2015 Ted Baker grew in its established markets last year, and expanded to new areas. The figures During the 53 weeks to 31 January, Ted Baker's retail sales rose 18.4 per cent to £306.9m, while pre-tax profits jumped to £49.5m – 20.4 per cent higher than in 2013. This exceeded the British fashion brand's expected profit [...]
New West End Company boosts board with retail appointments March 17, 2015 THE NEW West End Company has bolstered its board by hiring seven heavyweight retail executives to help oversee the regeneration of the busy shopping district. The lobby group, which represents retailers on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, said the new members included John Lewis retail director Andrew Murphy and Brian Duffy, the chief executive [...]
FTSE rises ahead of Osborne’s pre-poll Budget – London Report March 17, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday to extend a recent rebound from last week’s lows, with gains coming in ahead of key policy announcements from the UK and the US. The FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent to 6,837.61 points, as shares of natural-resources producers ticked up and utilities pushed higher, led by a [...]
Rose offloads almost all his AO World stake March 16, 2015 WHITE goods retailer AO World yesterday announced that non-executive chairman Richard Rose had sold nearly all of his stake in the company for £10m. AO World, which floated on the London Stock Exchange a year ago, said Rose sold 1.3 per cent of its outstanding shares at a price of 180p. Its shares closed down 4.96 [...]
Housing Zones: How we’re using creative partnerships to build homes for London March 16, 2015 This week, thousands will gather in Westminster for the Homes for Britain rally. They are calling for the housing crisis to be solved in a generation by building more homes, with the challenge symbolised by a giant key being passed between campaigners from Land’s End to London. This week the key reached Lewisham, at a [...]
Willis Tower: Blackstone makes iconic Chicago skyscraper most expensive US office building outside of New York March 16, 2015 Private equity group Blackstone will buy Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower for $1.3bn, the most ever paid for a US office building outside New York. The tower, which at 1,450ft is the 12th-tallest building in the world, is a lucrative tourist attraction thanks to its Skydeck observation floor. Blackstone, normally known for buying distressed [...]
London mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan: No Labour landslide in 2015 General Election March 13, 2015 The widely tipped London mayoral candidate and MP for Tooting has said Labour became "arrogant" in office and didn't "spot early enough the need for additional housing". Khan, a close ally of Ed Miliband has been put in charge of heading off the growing popularity of the Green Party that Labour sees as a threat [...]
Lloyds to bank £1.5bn if TSB sale to Banco Sabadell goes ahead March 12, 2015 Lloyds is set to receive a final total of £1.5bn for TSB if the Banco Sabadell sale goes ahead – twice the £750m for which it had previously agreed to sell the lender to the Co-op Bank. The giant bank was forced to sell off TSB under the terms of its 2008 bailout. The [...]
Focus on Battersea: Home of dogs, cats, families and riverside living March 12, 2015 Battersea’s venerable institutions – from its power station to its Dogs and Cats Home – often overshadow its considerable success as a residential destination. While houses easily soar over the £1m mark in this part of south-west London, UK buyers still account for 76 per cent of the market, 80 per cent of whom use [...]
Mipim 2015: Tech takes its toll on the property sector March 12, 2015 I was up early on the third day of Mipim to chair a panel of Sir Eddie Lister, chief of staff at the Greater London Authority; Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council; and Bernstein's counterpart in Birmingham, Mark Rogers, all of whom made a powerful case for further devolution of power to [...]