BHS administration: Sir Philip Green could face MP grilling over £571m pension deficit April 26, 2016 MPs are to decide tomorrow whether former BHS boss Sir Philip Green should be called in for questioning over the demise of the iconic high street name and its towering £571m pension deficit. BHS entered administration yesterday with debts of £1.3bn. The pension liabilities have been passed onto the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) – which is [...]
Austin Reed appoints AlixPartners as administrators, putting 1,200 jobs at risk – but buyers are already circling April 26, 2016 Just one day after British stalwart BHS entered administration, another iconic name has been forced to follow suit. Austin Reed has this morning entered administration, affecting 1,184 staff. Peter Saville, Kevin Coates and Catherine Williamson, of AlixPartners Services have been appointed joint administrators. It comes a result of cash flow difficulties arising from challenging retail market conditions, [...]
Henley Camland strikes major deal with Land Securities for part of the Ebbsfleet Eastern Quarry garden city April 26, 2016 Private equity firm Henley has bought a major component of the Ebbsfleet scheme, one of the UK's largest residential schemes, from Land Securities. Fresh from selling more than 500 plots to Taylor Wimpey yesterday, Land Securities has today revealed another deal, selling two "village" sites at the Eastern Quarry, which have capacity for around 4,700 homes, [...]
Now BHS is in administration, the bidders are circling – but wouldn’t it be wiser to let it die with dignity? April 26, 2016 After the sale of BHS by Sir Philip Green to the previously unheard-of Retail Acquisitions last year, it was only a matter of time before we reached this point. Bought for £1 because of the heavy debt and pensions liabilities, too much work was needed for the 88-year-old retailer to find its footing again. Even [...]
Pressure mounts on BHS top dogs as MPs call for Sir Philip Green to be held accountable over department store’s collapse April 25, 2016 Pressure was mounting on Sir Philip Green last night after MPs called for the former BHS owner to be held to account over yesterday’s collapse of the 88-year-old high street chain, which he sold for just £1 last year after 15 years’ ownership. BHS’ failure, which puts 10,000 jobs at risk, is also being investigated by [...]
End of tax year investor rush drives positive fund sales in March April 25, 2016 Net retail investor sales shot up to £379m last month as punters rushed into fixed income, mixed asset and targeted absolute return funds. Cautious investors backed out of equity funds, however, with an outflow of £459m, according to the the Investment Association's monthly statistics release. Investors are still nervous after worldwide share issues slumped to a seven-year [...]
BHS is in administration: Here’s what analysts say was to blame (and what the future holds) April 25, 2016 BHS is in administration having notched up £1.3bn in debt, it has been confirmed this afternoon. Duff & Phelps has been appointed to handle the iconic retailer's administration, with managing directors Phil Duffy and Benjamin Wiles sounding confident about finding a new buyer. City A.M. understands more than 30 enquiries have already been made, and now [...]
BHS appoints Duff & Phelps administrators, putting 10,000 jobs at risk – but more than 30 bid enquiries have already been made April 25, 2016 More than 30 enquiries to buy BHS out of administration have been made since reports first surfaced that the business was teetering on the brink, City A.M. understands. Managing directors Philip Duffy and Benjamin Wiles were appointed joint administrators of BHS this morning, putting around 10,000 jobs at risk. In a statement Duff & Phelps [...]
Visual vanguard: JCDecaux’s Spencer Berwin talks hawks, scaling and London’s digital landscape April 25, 2016 London's landscape is in flux. Almost 120 skyscrapers are in the pipeline, and the proliferation of bright digital billboards in train stations, roundabouts and bus shelters are transforming the capital’s aspect into something altogether more dynamic and enthralling. Outdoor specialist JCDecaux is behind this massive digital roll-out. After winning TfL’s £300m bus shelter contract last [...]
Week ahead: Brexit expected to knock GDP and earnings April 25, 2016 Concerns over Britain leaving the European Union are expected to have weighed on gross domestic product (GDP) over the first quarter of 2016. Economists are expecting to see growth cooled to 0.4 per cent in the last three months, when the latest numbers are released on Wednesday. In the fourth quarter of last year the [...]