WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AGARWAL’S PROJECT QUASHED Anil Agarwal, the Indian billionaire who controls Vedanta, the UK-listed mining group, has suffered a setback to his philanthropic ambitions, hard on the heels of legal problems this year involving some of the group’s Indian operations. Mr Agarwal’s plans to build a $3.3bn (£2.1bn) university in a coastal area of [...]
Northern and Greencore agree merger November 17, 2010 FOOD retailers Greencore and Northern Foods revealed plans to merge yesterday, in a deal that will produce one of the biggest chilled food players in the UK. The firms, responsible for Goodfella’s pizzas, Fox’s biscuits and the Weight Watchers range, will be rebranded Essenta once the proposed tie-up is complete in March 2011. Management said [...]
HMV exchanges contracts on £13.7m Oxford Street lease sale November 17, 2010 HMV yesterday announced that it had exchanged contracts on the disposal of the leasehold for its store at 360 Oxford Street to US fashion retailer Forever 21, for £13.75m. In a statement HMV said the money will be used to reduce debt. It said that it will also work hard to transfer sales to its [...]
British Land boosted by bounce back in office lets November 16, 2010 British Land said it had been boosted by an increase in occupancy rates in its buildings in the first half. The landlord’s Net Asset Value (NAV) rose 4.2 per cent to 525 pence a share in the six months to 30 September, against 504 pence at end-March 2010. In the previous half-year period, its NAV [...]
US retail figures support FTSE gains led by banking and commodity stocks November 15, 2010 A rise in commodity shares and banks hauled the leading share index higher yesterday, with better than expected US retail sales numbers also helping, providing a boost to global recovery hopes. At the close the FTSE 100 was up 23.54 points, or 0.4 per cent at 5,820.41, nearer the session peak of 5,832.88 than the [...]
West End sees robust October high street sales November 14, 2010 SALES at London’s West End shops remained robust during October despite the details of the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review acting to unnerve consumers. According to lobby group the New West End Company, which is backed by major retailers and property owners in Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street, West End sales rose 7.7 per [...]
Upbeat Great Portland sees strong gains November 10, 2010 Great Portland Estates booked a 7.3 per cent half-year gain in its London property portfolio to £1.46bn, buoyed by higher income as tenants seek its more affordable office space. The landlord, known for offering office and retail space at competitive rents in the popular West End business district, yesterday said its adjusted net asset value [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 10, 2010 Aveva The engineering software group has appointed James Kidd to its board as its new chief financial officer, effective from the beginning of next year. He replaces Paul Taylor, who has been finance director for the past decade. Kidd, 40, has been at Aveva since 2004, including four years as head of finance. A chartered [...]
Chinese fuel shops boost November 8, 2010 LONDON saw a 167 per cent increase in Chinese shoppers in October, compared to the same month last year. The rise has been fuelled by shoppers snapping up designer goods and a Chinese holiday which saw more holidaymakers than ever from the country. As well as the rise in customers the average spend was up [...]
Threshers fails in sell-off as creditors left high and dry November 8, 2010 FEWER than a third of Threshers stores have reopened as off-licences after the chain folded last year, administrators revealed yesterday. Only 400 of the firm’s 1,400 stores were sold, with most being bought by small off-licence chains, said accountancy firm KPMG which is still working on the administration. The other 1,000 were returned to landlords. [...]