Not for flower girls these days: Covent Garden’s luxury new flats March 29, 2012 Less than a mile up the road in Mayfair, property sells for at least £2,000 per square foot. Covent Garden, arguably a more vibrant area of central London, is still roughly half as expensive – homes can be had at prices from £1,000 per square foot. Perhaps not for long, though: one of the reasons [...]
Mining gains offset retail weakness March 29, 2012 The FTSE was broadly flat in early trading with a bounce back in the mining sector helping to offset weaknesses among blue chip retailers like Marks & Spencer. Official figures which yesterday saw the UK’s GDP figures revised down have hit investor sentiment while energy stocks are coming under pressure from volatile oil prices. But [...]
Banks buoyed by Abu Dhabi move for RBS stake March 27, 2012 Banks fuelled FTSE 100 gains this morning after the sector was lifted by reports that Abu Dhabi was considering making a bid for RBS assets. Talks between Abu Dhabi and the British government over a stake in state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland are at the level of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, a source close [...]
MEET THE ADMINISTRATORS March 26, 2012 PwC partners Mike Jervis and Stuart Maddison have been appointed as joint administrators to Game Group’s UK operations after the retailer formally went into administration yesterday. Mike Jervis oversees PwC’s middle market practice in London and works both in an advisory capacity and takes appointment roles, assisting in the reconstruction or sale of businesses. He [...]
ADVISERS: ROTHSCHILD March 26, 2012 ROTHSCHILD acted as the financial advisor to The Garden Centre Group and to lender Lloyds Banking Group. Majid Ishaq, a London-based managing director at Rothschild, led the team. Ishaq told City A.M. that Garden Centre was attractive because of its mid-market position and its middle class customer base. The chain owns about 70 per cent [...]
Miners dent FTSE as UK retail suffers blow March 22, 2012 Miners pegged back the FTSE 100 in early trading as more data suggesting China’s economic growth is slowing took its toll. The first full trading session sine Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget speech saw investors shun riskier assets with banks also being knocked back. Factory activity in China was down for the fifth month in a [...]
What was in Osborne’s red box: our quick summary March 22, 2012 THE ECONOMY/PUBLIC FINANCES The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts that UK GDP will grow by around 0.8 per cent this year, the same rate as in 2011, up from its earlier forecast of 0.7 per cent. The beneficial effects of falling inflation are expected to be offset by uncertainty over the Eurozone and tighter [...]
Game over as group calls in administrator March 21, 2012 GAME Group is set to go into administration after the crisis-hit retailer admitted talks with stakeholders had stalled and that equity in the group was worthless. The video games retailer, which employs 10,000 staff, requested that its shares be suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange yesterday before filing its intention to appoint an [...]
Game suspends trading March 21, 2012 Struggling British video games retailer Game has asked for trading of its shares in London to be suspended after announcing that it believes there is no equity value left in the group. Game, which trades from about 1,270 stores in nine European markets and Australia, employing 10,000, said on Wednesday it had made the decision [...]
Sainsbury’s sales and market share rise March 21, 2012 J Sainsbury, Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group, beat forecasts for fourth quarter sales growth as it won market share from rivals. “We continue to outperform the market and gain market share,” said chief executive Justin King. He said although the economic climate was likely to remain challenging Britain’s roster of summer events, including celebrations to mark [...]