More businesses in the UK than ever before October 3, 2013 New data reveals that the number of businesses in the UK is now higher than ever before. Increasing by 0.9 per cent between March 2012 and 2013, the total number of businesses has passed its 2008 high. These figures come from new estimates by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data for the ONS' [...]
Number of businesses rises by 18,000 says ONS October 3, 2013 The ONS has released its figures for UK business activity, size and location for the year March 2012 to March 2013. The number of VAT and PAYE businesses is estimated to have risen by 18,000 or 0.9 per cent. This represents a slower growth as compared to the 1.8 per cent rise or 37,000 seen [...]
Mobile Streams’ stock hit as cash remains trapped in Argentina October 2, 2013 SMARTPHONE content retailer Mobile Streams, chaired by media entrepreneur Roger Parry, said yesterday its annual profits doubled in 2013 to £4.8m following huge growth in the company’s Latin America operations. But the company’s share price fell over 10 per cent as Mobile Stream’s cash in Argentina, some 73 per cent of the company’s total, remains [...]
A2Dominion launches retail bond October 2, 2013 Social housing group A2Dominion became the latest company in the sector yesterday to tap the public market for cash after launching a retail bond. The company hopes to raise around £140m from the unsecured sterling bond, which has a coupon of 4.75 per cent and is due in 2022. One of the UK’s largest housing [...]
Brookfield Property makes $5bn bid for 99 Bishopsgate owner September 30, 2013 BROOKFIELD Property Partners yesterday offered to buy the 49 per cent of Brookfield Office Properties (BPO) it does not already own for $5bn (£3.1bn) in a deal that would create one of the world’s largest commercial property firms. Both companies are subsidiaries of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management which manages about $175bn in power, property, infrastructure [...]
Help to Buy isn’t the answer to the Conservative predicament September 29, 2013 WITH just 20 months to go before the general election, the Tories need to get their skates on. While many London-centric, private sector employed middle class professionals see Ed Miliband as an unelectable joke, the rest of the country disagrees. YouGov puts Labour 11 points ahead, suggesting a 100 seat majority for Miliband’s party, partly [...]
Sofa giant DFS draws up plans for London float September 29, 2013 DFS, the UK’s biggest sofa chain, is lining up plans to list on the London stock market amid moves by its owner to cash in on its surging sales growth. The company, formerly known as Direct Furnishing Supplies, has ridden out the high street downturn and retail bloodbath over the past year to post an [...]
Two former City workers who built businesses out of the financial crisis September 29, 2013 Adam Taylor and Lexi Tamasan’s pet food subscription service is taking a sizeable bite out of a large market PET FOOD is not the first product most think about when founding a company. But when Adam Taylor saw his mother, who suffers from arthritis, struggling with a large bag of dog biscuits, it struck him [...]
French court orders DIY shops to close on Sunday September 27, 2013 The companies affected were Castorama a subsidiary of Kingfisher with over 12,000 employees and 105 stores and Leroy Merlin 53,000 employees in 2010 and 300 stores. A total of 15 stores will be closed on Sunday in the Paris area. The case came to court due to a complaint by Bricorama, another DIY retailer which [...]
Chinese to splash cash in London September 26, 2013 LONDON’S high-end retailers are expecting a boom in spending by Chinese customers next week, as tourists flock to the capital during Golden Week – the country’s annual October holiday. Last year, luxury stores saw an increase of 31 per cent in Chinese spending during the holiday, while during Chinese New Year in February sales rose [...]