Private houses stem landslide in troubled construction sector October 31, 2012 PRIVATE house building gave a vital boost to the construction sector in October, a survey showed today, balancing out flagging demand from other sources. Construction activity declined one per cent over the month, according to Glenigan’s index, but it would have declined much more, it says, if not for the 58 per cent boost to [...]
Coalition must not become complacent on economic growth October 25, 2012 UNLIKE some commentators, I don’t think David Cameron did anything especially wrong yesterday. He hinted at Prime Minister’s Question Time that the economy was improving; he didn’t leak the GDP figures. The statistics will be published this morning; so there is little point speculating about them. But it is worth noting that when the Prime [...]
Coalition must not become complacent on economic growth October 24, 2012 UNLIKE some commentators, I don’t think David Cameron did anything especially wrong yesterday. He hinted at Prime Minister’s Question Time that the economy was improving; he didn’t leak the GDP figures. The statistics will be published this morning; so there is little point speculating about them. But it is worth noting that when the Prime [...]
Olympic boom fuels sales lift at Sports Direct October 24, 2012 BRITAIN’S biggest sporting goods retailer Sports Direct yesterday reported an 18 per cent rise in recent sales as customers caught London Olympics fever and kitted out children for a return to school. The group, which owns Sports Direct.com and Lillywhites stores as well as brands such as Slazenger, Lonsdale and Dunlop, said yesterday group total [...]
Advisers Goldman Sachs October 23, 2012 ANTHONY GUTMAN | GOLDMAN SACHS Experian, which yesterday snapped up Serasa on the back of a put and call option agreed between the firm and minority bank stakeholders in 2007, was advised on the complex deal by investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The deal makers worked out of both banks’ offices in London. [...]
Property firms turn to insurers for financing October 23, 2012 PROPERTY developers are turning to insurers for finance as banks become reluctant to lend, according to a report released yesterday. According to research by law firm DLA Piper, the amount of money lent by insurers in the form of UK commercial real estate (CRE) loans will almost double to £52bn over the next five years. [...]
MegaFon holds back its London market listing October 22, 2012 RUSSIAN telecoms firm MegaFon yesterday postponed its London-Moscow listing, striking another blow to hopes that a flood of firms from the country could kick-start the sluggish initial public offering market in the City. The group hopes to raise $2bn (£1.25bn) from the sale of up to 20 per cent of its stock, listing global depository [...]
Hammerson to present revised proposals for Whitgift Centre October 22, 2012 HAMMERSON will this week reveal revised plans for the redevelopment of Croydon’s Whitgift Centre, stepping up its battle with rival Westfield over the highly-contested shopping mall. The developer will return to Croydon council’s strategic planning committee with amended proposals for the tired 1960s mall on Thursday before submitting a planning application in December. Westfield submitted [...]
Bosideng London founder Mr Gao is a man with a plan October 21, 2012 THE LAST time you walked on South Molton Street you would have gone past The Hog in the Pound, a not especially enticing-looking pub that sat at the top of the famous road where it meets with Oxford Street. Walk there today and it looks completely different. Let’s just say it’s had an upgrade; £25m [...]
What the other papers say this Morning October 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES ArcelorMittal explores iron ore sale ArcelorMittal is exploring the sale of a stake in its $10bn Canadian iron ore business, as the world’s biggest steel company struggles to cope with the downturn in its key commodity. People familiar with the matter said ArcelorMittal had appointed advisers and had been sounding out potential buyers [...]