Hammerson and Westfield plans for Whitgift Centre win approval November 25, 2013 PLANS for the £1bn redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre in Croydon were given the go-ahead by the council’s planning committee last night. Developers Westfield and Hammerson have been granted outline planning consent to convert the tired 1960s shopping centre into a 1.5m square feet retail and leisure destination with 600 new homes. The scheme, which [...]
MoPowered to raise £4m at IPO November 25, 2013 MoPowered, which provides website services for leading retailers such as Next, announced its intention to float on London’s Alternative Investment Market yesterday, hoping to raise £4m. “With the funds raised during the initial public offering, we will aim to increase our market presence still further as retailers increasingly see the benefit of our SaaS platform,” [...]
City Moves for 26 November 2013 | Who’s switching jobs November 25, 2013 FRP Advisory The specialist restructuring and recovery firm has appointed Michael Healy as a partner. He joins from Leonard Curtis, the rescue and recovery firm. Healy has 22 years’ experience in business advisory restructuring, and has held roles at Barclays, Levy Gee, and RSM Robson Rhodes. Capco The business and technology consultancy has appointed Jonathan [...]
Amazon contemplates Tube ticket offices as collection points November 22, 2013 Transport for London is said to be in talks with online retail giant Amazon to convert Tube ticket offices into "drop off" points for parcels. An Amazon Locker is already being trialled at Hammersmith station. The self-service collection points are popping up at pick-up locations across the UK, and are expected to be piloted in other Tube stations [...]
Inside Track: The Royal Mail outcome has not disappointed at all November 21, 2013 AS JOHN Major’s supposedly favourite think tank, the Bow Group, yesterday urged an independent investigation into the sale of Royal Mail Group, it seems that a growing number of people believe the bankers on the deal performed a bad job and should all be sent to the Tower of London or some such place to [...]
Hong Kong’s Gaw buys M&S London offices November 21, 2013 HONG KONG-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners and three South Korean investors have teamed up to buy the London headquarters of retailer Marks & Spencer for around $321m (£198m), adding to a string of property deals by Asian investors this year. Asian investors, including insurers and banks, are buying into European properties as a way [...]
Lessons of the crisis loom large for challenger November 21, 2013 Metro Bank’s Craig Donaldson is determined not to make the same mistakes as the big banks METRO Bank has made a splash since it was granted a banking licence just over three years ago. When it launched in 2010 the new lender was the first to the high street in more than 100 years – [...]
A new public square for north London November 21, 2013 New homes in West Hampstead will be inspired by Bauhaus architecture and contemporary design ACCORDING to rock legend, The Rolling Stones wrote their first song while locked in a West Hampstead flat in 1964. The tale goes that, despite The Stones’ success, The Beatles were making more money because the talented rascals had the cheek [...]
Bonmarché rises on AIM debut November 20, 2013 OVER-FIFTIES clothing chain Bonmarché kicked off its first day of trading yesterday on London’s junior market after an initial public offering that raised £40m. Shares closed up at 220.5p last night, above the original offer price set last week of 200p a share and valuing the retailer at £110m. Some analysts have criticised the company [...]
Management: Meet national culture November 20, 2013 A new book argues that cultural values can make or break a corporate strategy AMERICA has long been seen as a graveyard for British retailers. In 2001, Marks & Spencer sold its Brooks Brothers US chain for a third of the price it paid for it. Sainsbury’s bailed out of its Shaw’s business in 2004. [...]