British Land pays £240m for Plymouth mall January 6, 2011 British Land, the second-biggest landlord by market value, has bought a mall in Plymouth for £240m to add to its growing retail portfolio. The 425,000 square feet Drake Circus shopping centre was bought at a net initial yield of six percent, with the potential for income growth through asset management, the real estate investment trust [...]
Prices to go up after VAT rise squeeze January 4, 2011 RETAILERS may be promising to bear the brunt of the VAT rise but consumers will be hit by higher prices over time, experts said yesterday. Large retailers such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsburys have rushed to promise consumers they will not bear the burden of the tax rise from 17.5 to 20 per [...]
Rose leaves M&S as new era begins January 4, 2011 SIR Stuart Rose said farewell to Marks & Spencer (M&S) yesterday, drawing to a close a colourful six years at the helm of the retailer. He formally hands over the reins of chairman to former City banker Robert Swannell today. Sir Stuart, 61, was hailed as an inspiration after steering M&S to a £1bn profit, [...]
Capita in £128m double takeover December 23, 2010 Capita has bought two firms which specialise in public sector work for £128.5m. The outsourcing contractor, which is hoping to benefit from a deal bonanza as local councils farm out work to save money, spent £86m on SunGard Public Sector, which supplies IT, radio networking services and communication systems to the NHS, police forces and [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
Utility firms lift FTSE 100 as cold snap drives power sales December 20, 2010 UTILITY stocks helped push Britain’s top shares higher yesterday, as the UK’s near-Arctic conditions boosted demand for energy, but British Airways toiled as the big freeze disrupted airline services. The FTSE 100 closed up 19.86 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,891.61. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 closed up 6.33 points at 11,433.11. It touched a [...]
SMELLING OF ROSES IN CAMERON’S NEW COURT December 19, 2010 AND so it came to pass. Outgoing Marks & Spencer chief Stuart Rose has wasted little time in finding another gig for himself: he’s been offered a job working on David Cameron’s “happiness index”, a headline-grabbing little initiative being led by the Office for National Statistics to monitor our “national wellbeing” as a supplement to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 12, 2010 Lee Overlay Partners Philip Lawson (pictured) has rejoined Lee Overlay, the global active currency managers. Lawson has been appointed as a portfolio manager and will be responsible for investment decisions related to client portfolios. He brings with him 18 years of currency experience, most recently working for Barclays Global Investors, working in the client solutions [...]
How to splurge intelligently this Christmas December 9, 2010 1 WATCH OUT FOR THE VAT RISE VAT is going up to 20 per cent on 4 January, so this year don’t wait for the sales to get your big purchases in. According to Santander, 28 per cent of Brits are planning on a pre tax hike spending spree, with people in the South East [...]
Banks propel FTSE upwards after interest rates decision December 9, 2010 BANKS helped Britain’s top shares rise yesterday after the Bank of England kept interest rates and quantitative easing measures unchanged, while US jobs figures raised hopes that a recovery was under way. The FTSE 100 was up 13.43 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,807.96, eradicating Wednesday’s losses, though gains were muted, with some traders [...]