Westfield sales up February 17, 2010 SALES at Westfield shopping centre were up 11 per cent last month lifting some of the gloom from the retail market. The mall in West London’s Shepherds Bush also saw spending in the run-up to Christmas soaring by 18 per cent compared with the same period in 2008 when the UK was in the grip of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 16, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES YOUNG GENERATIONS FACE WEALTH DEFECIT Baby boomers hold so much of Britain’s wealth that a prosperity gap is opening between the generations, with people born after 1970 unlikely to acquire the wealth their parents enjoy, a Conservative shadow cabinet member has warned. David Willetts said in a speech to the London School of [...]
FIRMS NEED NEW WAYS TO RAISE CASH February 15, 2010 IT has not been good news of late for UK IPOs. First the US travel group Travelport pulled its £1.2bn London flotation after failing to win investors’ support in turbulent markets. The next day, Madame Tussaud’s operator Merlin Entertainment put its £2bn flotation on hold, with severe market volatility blamed for the delay. Fashion retailer [...]
ING tackles Rugby with bid February 15, 2010 LISTED property fund Rugby Estates revealed a 7.5 per cent increase in the value of its portfolio yesterday as it upped the stakes in bid talks with a trust run by Dutch manager ING. Shares in Rugby rose 12.7 per cent to 55.5p after it announced a fresh external valuation rated its assets at £68.3m [...]
SuperGroup in £125m flotation plan February 15, 2010 FASHION company SuperGroup is is set to launch a £125m stock market flotation. The move comes after a series of other companies, including fellow fashion retailer New Look, decided to shelve their planned initial public offerings (IPOs) last week. SuperGroup owns the Superdry brand sported by celebrities such as David Beckham and High School Musical [...]
Ocado denies problem with upcoming IPO February 15, 2010 ONLINE groceries firm Ocado hit back last night at reports its £1.2bn initial public offering (IPO) was under threat. The shadow of doubt was cast after reports emerged Waitrose is planning to launch a rival delivery service in central London. But Ocado chief financial officer Andrew Bracey told City A.M. the firms are not in [...]
Why the London Stock Exchange’s French boss is taking on the world February 14, 2010 L ONDON’s financial services community has a new champion: Xavier Rolet, the 50-year old French banker who took over as the London Stock Exchange’s CEO last year. Unlike many British commentators, who seem desperate to talk down one the UK’s most important industries, Rolet realises how important a prosperous City is to the UK and [...]
London retail sales growth slows down February 14, 2010 RETAIL sales in London grew at their slowest rate for five years as the stronger pound made the capital less attractive for overseas shoppers. Sales were 3.5 per cent up on the previous January, according to a report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). In January 2009 sales figures grew by 6.5 per cent compared [...]
Politicians begin to focus on real City issues February 14, 2010 Fresh from leading a City delegation to UAE and Qatar last week and before I head out to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia tomorrow, I see that the debate on reform of the financial services industry is slowly beginning to shift. Talk of a global bank tax is rife following Gordon Brown’s declaration that he expects [...]
We will soon find out whether the Bank is right February 14, 2010 AMERICAN markets are closed today for Presidents Day but that does obviously not equate to nap time for London traders. With an exceptionally busy economic calendar, this should be a very active week for everybody in the UK. Some of the big, potentially market moving releases include consumer prices, employment numbers, retail sales and the [...]